SOURCE: Minter, David L. “By Dens of Lions: Notes on Stylization in Early Puritan Captivity Narratives.” American Literature 45, no. 3 (November 1973): 335-47.

In the following essay, Minter considers changes in the purpose and tone of captivity narratives over time, particularly focusing on the narrative of Mary Rowlandson.

The “Indian Captivities” of the New England Puritans were, during the first several years of their existence, deeply devout. Born as they were, however, in the late seventeenth century, in what was for the Puritan way an era of fundamental transformation, the captivity narratives soon changed drastically. First, they became instruments of propaganda against Indian “devils” and French “Papists.”¹ Later, after need for inspiring hatred of the French had subsided, the narratives played an important role in encouraging government protection of frontier settlements. Still later they became pulp thrillers, always gory and sensational, frequently plagiaristic and preposterous.²

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