{"id":1680,"date":"2024-04-24T11:41:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/?p=1680"},"modified":"2024-04-24T11:42:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:42:16","slug":"lavarreda-jemison-intro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/lavarreda-jemison-intro\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading Between the Lines: A Mini Blog Series Investigating A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Claire Lavarreda<\/a>, NULab\/DITI Research Fellow and World History Ph.D. student<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I.\u00a0Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMother, from the time we were taken, had manifested a great degree of fortitude, and encouraged us to support our troubles without complaining; and by her conversation seemed to make the distance and time shorter, and the way more smooth. But father lost all his ambition in the beginning of our trouble, and continued apparently lost to every care\u2014absorbed in melancholy. Here, as before, she insisted on the necessity of our eating; and we obeyed her, but it was done with heavy hearts.\u201d (Jemison 26\u201327)<\/p>\n

Captivity narratives\u2014particularly those concerning women\u2014have long captured the American imagination, and the colonial era was the zenith of such production. Scholars like Julia Wohlforth have explored the connections between notions of sexual purity, cultural encounter, and promotion of imperialism in examination of captivity narratives, specifically the rhetorical differences in those featuring European and non-European women (Wohlforth 1\u201319). This is no more evident than in\u00a0A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison<\/em>\u00a0(1824), in which Mary Jemison (1743\u20131833), a white woman, was captured as a child by a group of Shawnee and French raiders and adopted into a Seneca family (Jemison 34\u201335). Dictated to minister James E. Seaver (1787\u20131827), fictionalized variations of the tale have become deeply\u00a0popular: Lois Lenski\u2019s\u00a0Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison<\/em>\u00a0was published in 1941, Jeanne LeMonnier Gardner\u2019s book,\u00a0Mary Jemison: Indian Captive<\/em>\u00a0in 1966, and most recently, Jane Kelley\u2019s\u00a0Mary Jemison: Native American Captive\u00a0<\/em>in 2017. In fact, the American public remains so fascinated with Mary Jemison that a statue, stone, and a marker were placed in 1923 and 2006 in Biglerville, Pennsylvania, commemorating the site of her capture (Ruppenstein).<\/p>\n

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Caption: A statue of Mary Jemison on a stone pedestal\u00a0bearing an informational plaque. Photo taken by \u201cFrankie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Captivity narratives, especially those concerning white women captured by Indigenous men, highlight colonial and early-republic American fascination with peoples they considered \u201cother.\u201d Constructions of gender and race were major threads in early American literary discourse, grappling with the reality of captivity practices in both Indigenous and colonist-settler communities. In the case of\u00a0A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison,<\/em>\u00a0June Numias\u2019\u00a0White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier<\/em>\u00a0(1993) is especially helpful. Numias writes: \u201cMaterials about white captives, especially those about white female captives, provide a window on North American society by showing us the anxieties of Euro-Americans of an earlier day under the threat or power of a \u201csavage\u201d and unknown enemy. An examination can provide insight into aspects of gender and intergroup conflict in American life\u201d (11).<\/p>\n

In collaboration with the\u00a0Women Writers Project<\/a>\u00a0and scholars like\u00a0Colleen Nugent<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarah Connell<\/a>, \u201cReading Between The Lines\u201d was inspired by my encoding of\u00a0A Narrative of The Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison<\/em>\u00a0in TEI\/XML. My encoding is in progress, with the goal to be finished by the end of Spring. For the scope and purposes of this small project, this entry in \u201cReading Between The Lines\u201d will seek to examine two gender-related phenomena in\u00a0A Narrative of The Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison<\/em>, including (1). The way in which Mary Jemison describes women that shaped her life, in contrast to the way her male transcriber James Seaver represents women and (2). The larger differences between Seaver\u2019s prologue, appendix, and asides compared to Mary Jemison\u2019s overall narration. For example, where Jemison strives to recount her experiences, good and bad, Seaver attempts to portray Indigenous Americans in an inferior light, taking it upon himself to include a lengthy appendix regaling his \u201cresearch\u201d on various Seneca practices (26\u201327). There are also numerous instances where Seaver believes it is necessary to verify the historical accuracy of Jemison\u2019s memory, writing letters to men like John Salmon and L.S. Everett (147\u2013148). This initial blog post will investigate the aforementioned first phenomenon\u2014the way in which Mary Jemison describes fellow women.<\/p>\n

II.\u00a0Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three major sets of female figures in Jemison\u2019s narrative, including (1). Her biological mother, (2). Her adoptive sisters, and (3). Her adoptive mother. Her biological mother, though only a brief part of the narrative, is characterized as both strong and tender, and is a crucial part of Mary Jemison\u2019s initial survival upon the family\u2019s capture (Jemison 27). Where Mary\u2019s father was consumed by fear and \u201cmelancholy,\u201d Mary\u2019s mother encouraged her children to eat and was observant of Mary\u2019s fate\u2014for example, when \u201can Indian\u201d changed Mary\u2019s shoes to moccasins, her mother knew Mary was to be spared, not scalped, and gave her related survival advice (27\u201328). Mary\u2019s mother is a constant thread throughout her narrative\u2014upon her mother\u2019s final request, she recites catechisms, her parent\u2019s names, and English words in private throughout her captivity (40).<\/p>\n

Similarly, Mary\u2019s adoptive Seneca sisters are a major and positive influence on her life. Absorbed into their family as repayment for the loss of their brother in war, Mary notes how she was \u201c\u2026ever considered and treated by them as a real sister, the same as though I had been born of their mother\u201d (39). Her sisters (though only addressed as sisters, not by any names) teach her their language, take care of her when she is sick during childbirth, and educate her on traditional practices. At one point Mary states: \u201c\u2026I loved them as I should have loved my own sister had she lived,\u201d and utilizes words like \u201cwarmth,\u201d \u201ckind,\u201d \u201caffection,\u201d \u201ccompanions,\u201d \u201cgentle,\u201d \u201cdiligent,\u201d and \u201crespect\u201d to describe them throughout (40\u201354). Correspondingly, Mary views her adoptive Seneca mother with equal fondness, though she constitutes only a small part of the narrative. Mary takes care to note the protective nature of her adoptive mother, especially when one of her sisters wishes to take Mary to an execution of two white prisoners at Genishau (56). Mary quotes:<\/p>\n

How, my daughter\u2026 can you think of enduring the sound of their groanings and prayers to the Great Spirit for sudden deliverance from their enemies, or from life? And how can you think of conducting to that melancholy spot your poor sister Dickewamis\u2026who has so lately been a prisoner\u2026 the recollection of her former troubles would deprive us of Dickewamis, and she would depart to the fields of the blessed, where fighting has ceased, and the corn needs no tending\u2026With war we have nothing to do\u2026 (57)<\/p>\n

Further examples of her adoptive mother\u2019s empathy and compassion are noted in the same chapter, in which Mary\u2019s first husband, Sheninjee, passes away in Wiishto. Now a widow with a young child, Mary recalls how her adoptive mother consoles her and eases her pain, supporting her until she is married to a new man named Hiokatoo, also known as Gardow (57\u201362).<\/p>\n

Though her mothers and sisters are her main figures of influence, women in general guide Mary\u2019s life. Her husbands, soldiers that surround her due to the Revolutionary War, and children are deeply important, of course\u2014shaping her domestic sphere, her safety, and her environment\u2014but it is women that comfort, discipline, and educate her. For example, Mary\u2019s kinship with fellow women is noted when she and her second husband, Hiokatoo, take in a Nanticoke woman after she is abused by her white husband (for crafting a red cap for another man), or when she does not recall the names and fates of white prisoners at Wiishto, except for a woman named Priscilla Ramsay, whom she remembers in detail (even listing where Ramsay lives, who she married, etc) (44, 80). In Mary\u2019s account, women are complex: brave, tender, caring, and respectable. Mary did not \u201cdare to cross\u201d her sisters, but loved them deeply (44).<\/p>\n

In contrast, James Seaver\u2019s discussions on women are shallow. In his appendix, he notes \u201cOne thing respecting the Indian women is worthy of attention,\u201d which is a \u201cbecoming subjection to their husbands\u201d (Seaver 171\u2013172). He notes the value of Indigenous women in direct correlation to men, seeking to both uplift the image of white men and shame Indigenous men. For example, in his section titled \u201cOf The Manner Of Farming, As Practised By The Indian Women,\u201d Seaver begins by writing, \u201cIt is well known that the s****s have all the labor of the field to perform, and almost every other kind of hard service, which, in civil society, is performed by the men\u201d (175). In contrast, Mary Jemison notes how her labor \u201cwas not severe,\u201d and the division of labor was equitable\u2014Indigenous men typically hunted and fought, and Indigenous women were in charge of agriculture and their homes (Jemison 47\u201364). In Mary Jemison\u2019s narrative, women are human beings, with feelings, personalities, and problems. Though Seaver\u2019s preface indicates that the appendix was taken from bits of Mary\u2019s account, he mentions \u201cparts not derived from her,\u201d and a close reading of the preface and appendix highlights how different they are from Mary\u2019s \u201cvoice\u201d throughout the main narrative. Where Mary recounts experience and centers women, Seaver attempts to make a grand gesture of \u201ccivilization\u201d and manhood. In his preface, he states:<\/p>\n

Few great men have passed from the stage of action, who have not left in the history of their lives indelible marks of ambition or folly\u2026 such pictures, however, are profitable, for \u201cby others\u2019 faults wise men correct their own\u2026\u201d It will be observed that the subject of this narrative has arrived at least to the advanced age of eighty years; that she is destitute of education and that her journey of life\u2026 has been interwoven with troubles, which ordinarily are calculated to impair the faculties of the mind\u2026 If, therefore, any error shall be discovered\u2026 it will be overlooked by the kind reader, or charitably placed to the narrator\u2019s account, and not\u2026 the compiler\u2026At the same time it is fondly hoped that the lessons of distress that are portrayed, may\u2026excite in our breasts sentiments of devotion and gratitude to the great Author and finisher of our happiness. (Seaver v\u2013vi)<\/p>\n

Not only does Seaver promote Jemison\u2019s work as his own (while simultaneously asking the audience to blame her for any mistakes), but he uses the preface to focus on the achievements of men. Mary Jemison, the\u00a0very subject<\/em>\u00a0of the narrative, is dismissed as uneducated and impaired, merely an accomplice to the great feats of manhood.<\/p>\n

To further support this claim regarding the difference between Mary Jemison and James Seaver\u2019s portrayal of women, I decided to create two\u00a0Word Trees\u00a0<\/a>to investigate the words used after gendered pronouns. One Word Tree features only Mary Jemison\u2019s direct narrative\u2014I excluded Seaver\u2019s appendix, preface, and introduction\u2014and one Word Tree features only Seaver\u2019s excluded material. Using the platform created by\u00a0Jason Davies<\/a>\u00a0(though the\u00a0technique was invented<\/a>\u00a0by Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Vi\u00e9gas), I was able to create two visualizations from\u00a0A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison\u00a0<\/em>and search for gendered pronouns in the \u201cdifferent contexts\u201d in which they appear (Wattenberg and Vi\u00e9gas). The first visualization, which is only Mary\u2019s part of the narrative, can be seen below,\u00a0and accessed here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Caption: An image of a word tree featuring Mary Jemison\u2019s parts of her narrative, which include chapters 1\u201316, featuring the search term \u201cshe\u201d on the left.<\/p>\n

The first words immediately following Mary\u2019s use of \u201cshe\u201d are rooted in action\u2014women \u201clived,\u201d \u201cmade,\u201d \u201csaid,\u201d \u201chad,\u201d and \u201creturned.\u201d Phrases like \u201cShe is handsome and pleasant,\u201d \u201cShe lived and I had been brought up with her,\u201d \u201cShe said she would bake a small cake and lay it at the door,\u201d are present. A search for the term \u201cHer\u201d reveals similar action\u2014though the word \u201chusband\u201d is present, it is describing\u00a0women<\/em>\u00a0traveling and interacting with a husband. The visualization can be seen below\u00a0and accessed here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Caption: This is a second image of Jemison\u2019s narrative, this time featuring the searched term \u201cher\u201d on the left.<\/p>\n

In contrast, a search for \u201cHe\u201d and \u201cHim\u201d reveal interesting differences. \u201cHe\u201d is associated with words like \u201cwas,\u201d \u201chad,\u201d \u201cwould,\u201d \u201cdied,\u201d and \u201cshould,\u201d and \u201cHim\u201d is associated with words like \u201cand\u201d and \u201cwith,\u201d which are followed by connections to women: for example, the statement \u201c\u2026\u00a0him, and fed him, and clothed him, and welcomed him there! Oh friends, he is happy; then dry up your tears!<\/a>\u201d is actually said by Mary\u2019s adoptive sisters as they mourn their brother and welcome Mary.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Caption: Two images side by side of Jemison\u2019s narrative featuring the search terms \u201chim\u201d and \u201che.\u201d The left side featuring \u201chim\u201d is reversed.<\/p>\n

James Seaver\u2019s\u00a0sections look different<\/a>. A search for the word \u201cHer\u201d reveals some action words \u2013 the presence of \u201cwas,\u201d \u201cis,\u201d \u201chad,\u201d and \u201cwore,\u201d but the connecting phrases are not centered on women\u2014rather, they are\u00a0about<\/em>\u00a0them. For example, by selecting \u201cShe \u2013 had \u2013,\u201d we can see Seaver\u2019s focus on describing\u00a0Mary Jemison\u2019s physical appearance, noting how \u201cShe had never worn a cap nor a comb,\u201d and \u201cShe had some rags, and over these her buckskin moccasins.<\/a>\u201d
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Caption: The above two images feature the search \u201cshe\u201d in Seaver\u2019s parts of the narrative, including the preface, the introduction, and the appendix.<\/p>\n

A search for the term \u201cHer\u201d is especially interesting. Here the top words are \u201cLife,\u201d \u201cTo,\u201d \u201cHouse,\u201d \u201cAge,\u201d \u201cHead,\u201d and others. These seem promising\u2014as if Seaver has some actual content on women \u2014 but a click on one of these corresponding terms reveals either a focus on Seaver, the men in Jemison\u2019s life, or, again, Jemison\u2019s physical appearance. For example,\u00a0\u201cHer-life\u201d connects to \u201cI was employed to collect the materials,\u201d and \u201cAlthough her companion was a bosom<\/a>\u00a0ancient Indian warrior\u2026<\/a>\u201d while \u201cHer-cousin\u201d connects to \u201cMr. George Jemison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Caption: An image of the search term \u201cher cousin\u201d in Seaver\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n

By contrast, searches for \u201cHe\u201d and \u201cHim\u201d are rich with action and characterization. \u201cHe\u201d connects to phrases like \u201cWas a hero,<\/a>\u201d \u201cWas a young man,\u201d \u201cIs able to give much information,\u201d etc. \u201cHim\u201d has more context, diving into glorified war tales and phrases like\u00a0\u201chim, designing, no doubt, to make his sufferings more lasting than that of his companions\u2026\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Caption: These two images feature the search terms \u201che\u201d and \u201chim\u201d side by side, drawn from Seaver\u2019s parts of the text.<\/p>\n

Of course, it should be noted that gender relations and social roles were vastly different two hundred years ago. Mary Jemison herself notes what is respectable for women and men, and frequently compares white and Indigenous practices, morals, and labor, occasionally upholding those of white people as superior. In this sense, both Seaver and Jemison conceive of Indigenous peoples as \u201cOther,\u201d but with stark differences. Jemison sees herself as \u201cOther\u201d in both white\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0Indigenous spaces, considering herself \u201can outcast\u201d (19). She is raised in a white Christian home but adopted into a Seneca family, wherein she chooses to stay and have a family, learn the language, practice the customs, etc. She is both an insider and an outsider. On the other hand, Seaver views the Seneca (and other Indigenous peoples) as \u201cOther\u201d and therefore\u00a0lesser,<\/em>\u00a0not just different. It is easy to see these differences throughout Jemison\u2019s narrative\u2014where she details times of peace, boredom, joy, cruelty, loss, and war, Seaver focuses only on sensational bits, such as \u201cgreat Sacrifice,\u201d \u201cFeasts,\u201d \u201cTheir Preservation from utter Extinction,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n

III.\u00a0Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through an examination of three major female roles in Mary Jemison\u2019s life, it is clear that her kinship with fellow women extended beyond boundaries of race (or, as explained by scholars such June Numias, ethnicity due to pre-nineteenth century definitions). Furthermore,\u00a0A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison<\/em>\u00a0is a small window into broader structures of gender, identity, and political upheaval throughout the colonial period. Stay tuned for Part II of the \u201cReading Between the Lines\u201d series, in which we explore the ways in which Mary Jemison\u2019s story has changed over time and portrayed women.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/p>\n

Jemison, Mary.\u00a0A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison.<\/em>\u00a0Canandaigua: J.D. Bemis,\u00a01824.<\/p>\n

Numias, June.\u00a0White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier<\/em>.\u00a0University of North Carolina Press, 1993.<\/p>\n

Ruppenstein, Andrew\u00a0 and \u201cFrankie.\u201d \u201cMary Jemison Historical Marker.\u201d\u00a0The Historical\u00a0Marker Database,\u00a0<\/em>February 7, 2023,\u00a0https:\/\/www.hmdb.org\/m.asp?m=121191<\/a><\/p>\n

Wattenberg, Martin and Fernanda Vi\u00e9gas. \u201cWord Tree.\u201d\u00a0Hint.FM,<\/em>\u00a0accessed February 16,\u00a02024,\u00a0http:\/\/hint.fm\/projects\/wordtree\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Wohlforth, Julia. \u201cCaptive Bodies and Captive Minds: Women in English Captivity\u00a0Narratives from the Early Modern Mediterranean to Colonial America.\u201d\u00a0Dissertation. Tufts University, 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Claire Lavarreda, NULab\/DITI Research Fellow and World History Ph.D. student   I.\u00a0Introduction \u201cMother, from the time we were taken, had manifested a great degree of fortitude, and encouraged us to support our troubles without complaining; and by her conversation seemed to make the distance and time shorter, and the way more smooth. But father lost all his ambition in the beginning of our trouble, and continued apparently lost to every care\u2014absorbed in melancholy. Here, as before, she insisted on the…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encoding-explorations","category-racial-identities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1680"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1699,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1680\/revisions\/1699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwp.northeastern.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}