In the time in which Mary Rowland lived, it was a very hard time for women. Women were looked at as if they were a little higher than slaves, meaning that they really had no say in the communities in which they lived.
Mary a devout Puritan, believed whole heartily in the bible, and believed that women should be quiet, chase keepers of their homes. Not having say in the affairs of their husbands, only to take care of the necessities of child rearing, this had to be hard on women, knowing within themselves that they could help their husband's avoid some hardships if they could only have a voice.
I am intrigued when a person goes through a terrible experience, they some how go through the process of evolving, and realize that their voice is important to the society.
With the horrific details of the torture that Mary had to experience, it was evident that she did in fact have a mind, and was very capable of articulating her feelings.
While society shunned women, and excluded them from making important decisions, one can only imagine if women like Mary played an important part in the liberation of women.
It is enough for someone to go through the ordeals that she went through, but to come out of it, and still maintain a sense of pride. In her writings she only revealed so much, and it was ingenious of her to portray such feats of endurance, and perseverance to show that a woman can hold her on to her faith in time of despair.
www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/mary.html
Holding on to her Puritan values she continued to put her God first in her life, and displayed a powerful resolve, in the fact that He was a deliverer!
Her voice, once her ransom was delivered was as strong as any, I believe that through hardships, trials, and testing of women's faith, it gave way to what women of today experience, freedom! Without even expressing it, Mary became a voice for faith in her God, therefore, commissioning her a minister of the gospel, which was unheard of in her day!
