Introduction
The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos is a story exploring the life of John Williams, a Reverend, together with his family as captives in the hands of Indians during the 1704 war.
After much struggle, the Indians finally released John Williams together with his children; unfortunately, Eunice, his youngest daughter, remained behind with the captors and regrettably married one of the Indian men. This is a very compelling story as John Demos uses rich writing styles like argumentative style, among others. This paper is a narrative summary analyzing the story and giving insights into religion, one of the outstanding themes in this story.
Synopsis
The kidnapping of John Williams emanated from the imprisonment of a French privateer by the English colonies. The French would do anything to free their privateer, but this was not an easy task. They tried to loot the English colonies without success. After careful and high profile consultations, the only way they could free their privateer was by giving a ransom; unfortunately, the ransom happened to be Reverend John Williams.
After failing to get help from Native Americans, the French enlisted the help of Indians, and their strategy worked in their favor. John Williams lived in Deerfield, and on the night of the attack, the guards of this village were asleep allowing the Indians to execute their plans successfully. The men of this village had left to keep watch of the town, and this facilitated the kidnapping.
Reverend John Williams and his family were among the many captives that ended in the hands of the Indians that night. A long journey to Montreal, Canada then started; however, it was a horrendous and tiring journey, and many captives died on the way.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Williams, the wife of John Williams succumbed to the harsh conditions of the journey and died before reaching Canada. After entering Canada, the captives were divided into different groups each going with either the Indians or the French. John Williams, together with his family went with the Indians.
After two years in captivity, John Williams, together with his family was released. Unfortunately, Eunice, his youngest daughter remained behind and married a French Indian man. The theme of religion clash sets in at this point where there is a clash between Puritanism, Catholicism, and Indian beliefs. John Williams made every effort to free his daughter but to no avail.
His attempts were met with statements like, “we would rather part with our hearts” (Demos 146). This was a clear indication of how resolute the Indians were in their bid to keep Eunice as one of their own.
Initially, John Williams thought the Indians wanted to keep Eunice of course after receiving responses like one aforementioned. However, as he continued to pursue the release of his daughter, Williams got the shock of his life; Eunice wanted to stay with the Indians. One of John Williams’s greatest fears was that Eunice would change her religious beliefs from Puritanism to Catholicism. This is understandable given the fact that John William was a Reverend and he would not want to see any of his family members miss out in Heaven.
Nevertheless, John Williams confirmed his fears when he learned that Eunice went through Catholic baptism and her new name was Margaret Williams. This news, coupled with rumors that Eunice had married an Indian man almost killed Mr. Williams. However, Mr. Williams did not let go of his attempts to free his daughter; unfortunately, he did not succeed.
The theme of religion sticks out in this story and one would wonder why someone would convert from Puritanism to Catholicism and condone ‘feral’ Indian cultures. Eunice was separated from her family at a tender age; however, why the immediate change, forgetting her language and adopting Iroquois language and lifestyle? Eunice had seen his father fail in many occasions starting from his failure to protect his family back in Deerfield, to let his wife die on the journey.
Again, John Williams remarried as soon as he returned to the English colonies, something that hurt Eunice deeply. Eunice states that had her father not remarried so quickly she would consider visiting him one day; however, as things stood, she would, “Jaghte oghte. Peut-Etre queue” (Demos 107).
This translated into English means “no.” Eunice must have questioned the essence of the faith that her father confessed and its application. According to Puritans, heaven was for a select group like them, and no other party would enter it. However, the actions of the Puritans were similar to those of other religions.
Conclusion
This story depicts clashing interests in religion. It insinuates that one religion may break the other despite the underlying beliefs. For instance, in this story, Catholicism broke down Puritanism. This move shocked many Puritans who could not understand whether Eunice would enter into heaven after delving into Popery.
Given the fact that Eunice married out of free will and love, she does not seem like someone in need of redemption. As John Williams, together with the Puritan society pushed to redeem Eunice, it appears she was already redeemed; redemption came that night she left Deerfield. Nevertheless, to Williams and his Puritan followers, Eunice was an “Unredeemed Captive.”
Works cited
Demos, John. “The Unredeemed Captive.” New York: Vintage Books, 1994.