Blurring in Mary Rowlandson's the Sovereignty and Goodness of God

In Mary Rowlandson's The Sovereignty and Goodness of God the differentiation between the English and native Americans is emphasized as a civilized against barbaric fight rather than disputing communities. This distinction portrays the tribes as savage beasts rather than a distinct culture. The line between these two groups is crossed when the Natives take Mary Rowlandson captive. Her account of her time among them illustrates the similarity of human beings and distorts the line set down between the groups. Throughout Mary Rowlandson's narrative, food symbolizes the blurring line of the civilized self and the barbaric other as Mary relies on the Native Americans for care and nourishment.

Mary Rowlandson describes the food and preparation method of the tribe as barbaric and savage. As she is captive Mary Rowlandson has no method of obtaining food because she is on the move with a tribe of traveling natives who are at war. Therefore, she must rely on them for warmth and shelter. Due to this fact Mary does not eat their food and as she says, "I found my stomach grow very faint for want of something; and yet it was very hard to get down their filthy trash" (79). This statement indicates that although Mary is hungry and on the brink of starvation, she still clings to her idea of a civilized self. This concept rings true because they have provided food for her to eat but she refuses to eat it, even at the risk of starving to death. Later, a squaw of the tribe provides her with bear and her reaction is, "I have sometime seen bear baked very handsomely among the English, and some like it, but the thought that it was bear made me tremble" (85). Mary has now begun to consume some native food but what they eat still strikes her as barbaric and inherently uncivilized. However, this comparison and reference to the English preparing bear demonstrates the softening of her stalwart perception.

The line of distinction is distorted as Mary eats their food in order to survive. Mary begins to eat more of the foods the Indians provide in order to sustain herself through her captivity. For instance, an Indian brought horse liver to camp and offered her some. He asked if she could eat the liver of a horse and she said she would try. She took the piece and began cooking it but before it was finished part of her meat was stolen and so she just ate it uncooked. As she says, "I was fain to take the rest and eat it as it was, with the blood about my mouth, and yet a savory bit it was to me" (81). This event begins to show how Mary is adapting to her new environment and starts to adjust to the food of the "savages." Soon, her need for food causes her to savor the meat and groundnuts given to her. She describes one meal she is provided: They gave me a piece of the fawn, and it was so young and tender, that one might eat the bones as well as the flesh, and yet I thought it very good." (93). The word "tender"