On the face of it, The Female American is an enjoyable, true-life adventure story written by a Renaissance woman whose heritage helped to shape her and enable her to forge paths not generally available to women of her generation. However, without meaning to be, the work is also a commentary on the political and social landscape of the time. This is because the author cannot help but allow her family's position, her heritage and her socio-educational status to inform her account of her life, particularly as it pertains to her relationship with the Indians on the island.
Unca Eliza is a woman who has attained far more gender equality than women were allowed to achieve at that time. Women were weighed down by societal expectations; to make marriage their goal, to accept proposals from suitable gentlemen, and to more or less accept a proposal if the proposer wanted to get married, regardless of whether or not they wanted the marriage themselves. Women were not, in short, supposed to have the upper hand. Yet Unca Eliza maintains the upper hand throughout the majority of the book. She issues the hoops that any man is to jump through if they are to marry her - they must be more proficient than she with a bow and arrow, and they must speak the Native American dialect as well as she does. Ultimately, her cousin does not achieve either of these benchmarks, but a combination of her being impressed with his effort and diligence in learning how to shoot and to converse with the Indians, and her finally giving in to the expectations of the Winkfield family, lead her to get married. It is, though, a marriage of equality, and not of subservience, which again makes it unusual for the time.
Another area in which the work is a commentary on politics and sociology at the time is in its references to imperialism and to the way in which European settlers also took upon the role of missionaries. As much as she likes and respects the Indians, Unca still views herself as superior to them. She still believes that they need to convert to Christianity. Although her method of conversion is far more gentle than the mainstream missionaries, it nonetheless does seek to override the Indians' heritage and ancestral teachings and replace them with a more European belief system. Unca is well-meaning and benevolent in her teaching and so once again separates herself from the norm during that time.
There is reference made also to the invasion of other countries in an effort to extend the British empire. In particular, Unca's father is entreated by his own brother, a clergyman (and a great influence on his niece). not to continue to participate in the invasion of other countries. He did not believe that one country had a right to invade another - in fact, he believed that doing so would in some way bring a curse to the invader. Unca's father took no notice of the plea and continued to attempt to conquer foreign countries. This is something that Unca takes from him, and is most eviden t when she uses the idol statue to convert, and in some ways, conquer, the Indians.
