This paper traces the theme of consumption throughout Mary White Rowlandson’s captivity narrative The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. From Rowlandson’s fear of actual cannibalism at the outset of the work, her obsession with recording the strange foods she consumes, her status as a consumer of Algonquin culture, and lastly, the consumption of the novel by both contemporary and modern readers alike, consumption becomes the leitmotif of the text. A closer analysis elucidates that the fear of consumption truly belies a fear of colonialism and the cultural exchanges taking place at the frontier.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper traces the theme of consumption throughout Mary White Rowlandson’s captivity narrative <em>The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. </em>From Rowlandson’s fear of actual cannibalism at the outset of the work, her obsession with recording the strange foods she consumes, her status as a consumer of Algonquin culture, and lastly, the consumption of the novel by both contemporary and modern readers alike, consumption becomes the leitmotif of the text. A closer analysis elucidates that the fear of consumption truly belies a fear of colonialism and the cultural exchanges taking place at the frontier.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Woodington, Samantha"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA English","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mary Balkun, Ph.D","John Wargacki, Ph.D"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-08T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-08T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:33:15Z","subjects":["Early American Literature","Consume","Mary Rowlandson","Captivity Narrative","Literature in English, North America"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2223","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mary Balkun, Ph.D","John Wargacki, Ph.D"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Woodington, Samantha"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-02-20T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA English"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Early American Literature","Consume","Mary Rowlandson","Captivity Narrative","Literature in English, North America"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/2223"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper traces the theme of consumption throughout Mary White Rowlandson’s captivity narrative The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. From Rowlandson’s fear of actual cannibalism at the outset of the work, her obsession with recording the strange foods she consumes, her status as a consumer of Algonquin culture, and lastly, the consumption of the novel by both contemporary and modern readers alike, consumption becomes the leitmotif of the text. A closer analysis elucidates that the fear of consumption truly belies a fear of colonialism and the cultural exchanges taking place at the frontier.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“The Indians gaping before us”: Anxieties of Consumption in Mary White Rowlandson’s Sovereignty and Goodness of God"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mary Balkun, Ph.D","John Wargacki, Ph.D"],"dc:creator":["Woodington, Samantha"],"dc:date.available":["2017-02-20T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper traces the theme of consumption throughout Mary White Rowlandson’s captivity narrative The Sovereignty and Goodness of God. From Rowlandson’s fear of actual cannibalism at the outset of the work, her obsession with recording the strange foods she consumes, her status as a consumer of Algonquin culture, and lastly, the consumption of the novel by both contemporary and modern readers alike, consumption becomes the leitmotif of the text. A closer analysis elucidates that the fear of consumption truly belies a fear of colonialism and the cultural exchanges taking place at the frontier.
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