jjares reviewed Hannah Duston: A Captivating Guide to the First American Woman to Have a Statue Built in Her Honor on + 3300 more book reviews
"She was a product of her time," is probably the best way to look at Hannah Duston. People who think that Hannah went too far in revenging the loss of her infant were not there. I have read many, many books about early colonial life. The Puritans' life was incredibly harsh and short. Hannah had given birth to a daughter 6 days before she was captured. It was a difficult birth and Hannah was still abed.
After being captured, walking 12 miles with only one shoe, knowing they were about to be beaten (and worse) by the whole tribe, Hannah formulated a plan. In today's parlance, we would probably say she was suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and we would then think that whatever actions she took were done in the tension, dread, and fear of the moment/event. However many she killed, she probably wasn't aware of her behavior at the time. She was still in shock and fear for her life, and those who accompanied her.Â
The issue of returning to the scene of the murders and scalping the Indians is a bit more problematic. According to the story, there were two reasons for scalping the dead Indians. Hannah and the group thought they would not be believed if they didn't bring proof of their story. Second, there was a bounty on Indian scalps. Â
It is hard to argue with the first justification; women were considered fragile, retiring, and feeble in her day. That might have been the only way the Puritans would have believed Hannah's story. Perhaps the Puritans would have threatened to kill Hannah for being a witch, without proof that no magic had been performed. Remember, the Witch Trials were taking place in the New England area.
Saying that Hannah was practical in bringing home scalps that were worth hard cash, sounds pretty callous. However, we weren't there. We don't know the pressures Hannah and the others were under. It is very easy to demean people and actions from other eras -- but do we have the right?
After being captured, walking 12 miles with only one shoe, knowing they were about to be beaten (and worse) by the whole tribe, Hannah formulated a plan. In today's parlance, we would probably say she was suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and we would then think that whatever actions she took were done in the tension, dread, and fear of the moment/event. However many she killed, she probably wasn't aware of her behavior at the time. She was still in shock and fear for her life, and those who accompanied her.Â
The issue of returning to the scene of the murders and scalping the Indians is a bit more problematic. According to the story, there were two reasons for scalping the dead Indians. Hannah and the group thought they would not be believed if they didn't bring proof of their story. Second, there was a bounty on Indian scalps. Â
It is hard to argue with the first justification; women were considered fragile, retiring, and feeble in her day. That might have been the only way the Puritans would have believed Hannah's story. Perhaps the Puritans would have threatened to kill Hannah for being a witch, without proof that no magic had been performed. Remember, the Witch Trials were taking place in the New England area.
Saying that Hannah was practical in bringing home scalps that were worth hard cash, sounds pretty callous. However, we weren't there. We don't know the pressures Hannah and the others were under. It is very easy to demean people and actions from other eras -- but do we have the right?
