The Lessons of Hunger: Food, Drink, and the Concept of Corrective Affliction in Three Puritan Captivity Narratives

While scholars have noted the relationship of food and drink imagery in the Puritan captivity narrative genre to corrective affliction, the focus of this study is to provide an extended evaluation of this relationship. By examining the role of hunger in the reconversion experience, discussing the various contexts of hunger in Puritan discourse, and tracing food and drink imagery through several texts, it is the intent of this thesis to show that hunger is the most significant and transformational mode of affliction within the genre. The narratives of Mary Rowlandson, Hannah Swarton, and John Williams will be examined to show how these authors incorporate images of food and drink into their accounts and how hunger figures prominently. Throughout, this thesis will show how hunger—as the central motif of the theme of affliction—is established, imitated, and manipulated.

Author dc:creator

• Phillips, James Henry IV

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Dr. Carmine Prioli, Committee Chair
• Dr. Allen Stein, Committee Member
• Dr. Jon Thompson, Committee Member

• Cotton Mather
• Hannah Swarton
• John Williams
• Mary Rowlandson
• American colonial
• corrective affliction
• captivity narratives

Statement dc:rights

• I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.

Dc Identifier Other

etd-06042007-184148

OAI record oai:identifier

https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Arepository.lib.ncsu.edu%3A1840.16%2F674