A Closer Look at Hannah Dustan’s Affair
Throughout literature, there have been many tales told about strong, brave heroes and mighty, wily savages and beasts. However, one story that still speaks to students today is that of a heroine by the name of Hannah Dustan, who killed ten Indians with the assistance of her two fellow captives. Together, they escaped capture, and Hannah Dustan told her tale again and again to individuals she encountered. Because she did not write her story down, others did it for her. In particular, John Greenleaf Whittier and Jonathan Carver both wrote compelling tales of Hannah Dustan’s capture, but it is only by looking at the differences between the essays, the reader gleans a more complete picture of Dustan’s experiences and societal issues that were occurring during the time period. For instance, gender roles, and savagery versus civility, and revenge are three themes running throughout both essays; all of these themes are still echoing throughout society today.
Hannah Dustan was a married mother of fourteen children who survived a vicious Indian attack in her village. The invading Indian tribe killed her newborn, threatened her husband and family, and took Dustan and her nanny as prisoners. The two were then given over to a smaller tribe, along with a previous captive named Samuel Lennardson, and forced to move with them to north Central New Hampshire. During their captivity, there were threatened with running through a gauntlet naked. Instead of running through the gauntlet, Hannah asked her fellow captive, Samuel Lennardson, to help her steal the Indians’ tomahawks while they were sleeping. They then killed most of the Indians in the camp, scalped them, and sold the scalps for a bounty.
Jonathan...
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...ud war cries, or screams of horror, she was quite like a cat pouncing on a mouse. Whittier creates a bloody scene for the reader, which further supports notion that revenge is not necessarily masculine, just necessary.
Savagery versus civility, gender roles, and revenge are all timeless themes that are still applicable to today’s society and students. Savage war and hate crimes are both examples of modern day savagery. Gender roles are being bent now more than ever with the transgender and queer movements; revenge will always be about retribution or greed. In Hannah Dustan’s case, particularly in Whittier’s version, she was as brave and strong as any man, protecting herself and avenging the death of her baby.
Works Cited
Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. 348-350. Print.
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Lauter, Paul, ed. The Heeath Anthology of American Literature: Volume Two. New York: Houghton Mifflin Inc., 1996
...e, women are the weaker of the two sexes. Women are slaves and spoils of war, if they are valued for sex they are used for sex. The universal portrayal of women causes a reevaluation of modern day gender balances by the reader.
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Perkins George, Barbara. The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
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Baym, Franklin, Gottesman, Holland, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 1994.
Baym, Nina et al. Ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 8th ed. New York:
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Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.