Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma

The powers and dangers of myth are a frequent theme in this book. According to Townsend, how do myths around historical events emerge, and what is the historian’s responsibility when approaching mythologized events?

What cultural beliefs and myths are revealed in the story of Pocahontas rushing in to save John Smith from execution? What does the story tell us about its inventor and his culture’s inherent beliefs about Englishmen and Indians, in particular, Indian women?

Why does the story of Pocahontas’s affectionate marriage to John Rolfe make less of an impression on the modern imagination than John Smith’s invented sensational tale?

Find 20th- or 21st-century depictions of Pocahontas (there have, for example, been several movies about her story). How does Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma change your view of these depictions? What myths do you see being played out and/or challenged in these depictions?

Describe the importance of names and naming in Pocahontas’s story. How do names bestow both identity and notions of power?

Reread Townsend’s description of Pocahontas’s portrait. Take a look at a reproduction of the portrait yourself, and compare it to other early 17th-century portraits of women. How does Townsend’s interpretation of Pocahontas’s portrait broaden your understanding of the portraits of Pocahontas’s contemporaries? What might one portrait reveal about the other?

Imagine writing a letter from the perspective of one of the historical figures in this book, describing an important turn of events. What are the difficulties of imagining your way into one of these people’s experiences? How does imagination enhance your perspective of the person, and how might it incorrectly alter the truth of who they were?

Take a look at some of the primary sources that Townsend provides in her bibliography. Based on those sources, what was a day in the life of one of Powhatan’s people like? The life of a colonist? What strikes or surprises you about what you discover about these people’s lives?