Blog Entry 2

In 1939, Paula Gunn Allen wrote a poem entitled "Pocahontas to Her English Husband, John Rolfe", which speaks in first person as Pocahontas, writing to her husband about their lives together and how he was a deceitful and tactless man. The story of Pocahontas in today's culture is seen much differently than what really happened and I find it really interesting reading this poem and realizing how much Pocahontas had done for Rolfe, how smart and competent she was as both a wife and companion--despite the europeans views of her people and their lifestyle (which were negative obviously). This poem shows us that despite the cultures view at the time of how "helpless" the indians were, Pocahontas was the one to teach Rolfe the ways of the land, she made him successful and was there for him to take care of him and aid to him when he was left behind. He wouldn't have been successful ever if it wasn't for her. Rolfe without Pocahontas, was nothing. Pocahontas adopted to the culture of Europe, was baptized and even had a child with Rolfe, but these things were not something she wanted to do necessarily. Many see the relationship between her and Rolfe as if she was being held captive. This was something really interesting to me and was very eye opening. I loved this poem a lot because it was different from what the audience would normally expect--I loved seeing that she was the one who was brave, smart and a true hero to Rolfe, and he was just a helpless man.