This statement goes right along with something John Smith says in his letter to Queen Anne in 1616. He writes, "and at last rejecting her barbarous condition, she was married to an English Gentleman, with whom at this present she is in England; the first Christian ever of that Nation, the very first Virginian ever spoke English, or had a child in marriage by an Englishman: a matter surely, if my meaning be truly considered and well understood, worthy a Princess understanding." It sounds like he's glorifying, in a way, this unprecedented act that Pocahontas has done. He is cheering the fact that she is "rejecting" her own people and culture and adopting the English way of life. He seems to be indirectly trying to convince others to join her and come on over to the other side. I wonder how she felt when all this happened. I doubt she had this great feeling of accomplishment because she just abandoned and condoned everything she has known. Green is showing how Indians are only seen as "good" if they follow this example of Pocahontas, condone their culture, and do things as the European Christians do. They're only doing the "right" thing if they save and protect the Englishman. Again, this shows the automatic response of the English to look down on the Native Americans and be extremely geocentric.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Pocahontas Perplex
"Always called a Princess (or Chieftain's Daughter), she, like Pocahontas, has to violate the wishes and customs of her own 'barbarous' people to make good the rescue, saving the man out of love and often out of 'Christian sympathy.' Nearly all the 'good' Princess figures are converts, and they cannot bear to see their fellow Christians slain by 'savages.'" -Rayna Green in The Pocahontas Perplex (pp. 19-20)
This statement goes right along with something John Smith says in his letter to Queen Anne in 1616. He writes, "and at last rejecting her barbarous condition, she was married to an English Gentleman, with whom at this present she is in England; the first Christian ever of that Nation, the very first Virginian ever spoke English, or had a child in marriage by an Englishman: a matter surely, if my meaning be truly considered and well understood, worthy a Princess understanding." It sounds like he's glorifying, in a way, this unprecedented act that Pocahontas has done. He is cheering the fact that she is "rejecting" her own people and culture and adopting the English way of life. He seems to be indirectly trying to convince others to join her and come on over to the other side. I wonder how she felt when all this happened. I doubt she had this great feeling of accomplishment because she just abandoned and condoned everything she has known. Green is showing how Indians are only seen as "good" if they follow this example of Pocahontas, condone their culture, and do things as the European Christians do. They're only doing the "right" thing if they save and protect the Englishman. Again, this shows the automatic response of the English to look down on the Native Americans and be extremely geocentric.
This statement goes right along with something John Smith says in his letter to Queen Anne in 1616. He writes, "and at last rejecting her barbarous condition, she was married to an English Gentleman, with whom at this present she is in England; the first Christian ever of that Nation, the very first Virginian ever spoke English, or had a child in marriage by an Englishman: a matter surely, if my meaning be truly considered and well understood, worthy a Princess understanding." It sounds like he's glorifying, in a way, this unprecedented act that Pocahontas has done. He is cheering the fact that she is "rejecting" her own people and culture and adopting the English way of life. He seems to be indirectly trying to convince others to join her and come on over to the other side. I wonder how she felt when all this happened. I doubt she had this great feeling of accomplishment because she just abandoned and condoned everything she has known. Green is showing how Indians are only seen as "good" if they follow this example of Pocahontas, condone their culture, and do things as the European Christians do. They're only doing the "right" thing if they save and protect the Englishman. Again, this shows the automatic response of the English to look down on the Native Americans and be extremely geocentric.
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