Mary Rowlandson wrote "A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson," telling the story of her captivity by the Indians. It happened during King Philip's War in 1676; the Indians invaded Lancaster and other towns in an attempt to regain territories. She describes the tough situations she had to go through, as a devoted Puritan mother, in order to survive among the Indians who she calls the enemy. During this horrendous time, Mary lost her youngest child due to injury; besides that, she also got separated from her family and friends. With horrible living conditions, she learned how to adapt to the environment but at the same time, retained her faith in God. In the beginning, she was absolutely horrified by the lifestyle and behaviors of her captors. As time went by, she started to assimilate and become dependent on them. She was impressed by the Indians' ability to survive in the wilderness with very limited resources. In the end, her mind had opened to Indian culture and the way of living; she no longer thought that they were ruthless savages with whom no long-term peaceful coexistence was possible. .
Starting off the story, Mary describes how the Indians invaded Lancaster, killed many of her people, and took her husband and two children away from her. She calls the Indians the "murderous Wretches" for burning and destroying her home. "At length they came and beset our own home, and quickly it was the dolefulest day that ever mine eyes saw" (68). Prior to this, Mary had no idea of how the Indians lived, or the reason why they were attacking the colonist lands. She perceived them only as "ravenous beasts" who were sent by Satan. Before the incident, she often told herself that, "if the Indians should come, I should choose rather to be killed by them than taken alive," however, "when it came to the trial my mind changed" (68).