The Heretic's Daughter

The book’s third segment focuses thematically on The Dangers of Theocracy. As accusations of witchcraft increase in Salem, attention begins to shift to outlying areas where witches might also dwell. Initially, Martha scoffs at the sheer folly of the notion, but her neighbor reminds her that everyone is behaving like a fool: “People are very much afraid, and fear makes fools of us all” (159). The continued Indigenous raids and worry over another smallpox outbreak have made everyone tense. Church leaders like Barnard, who preaches messages of divine retribution, only intensify people’s anxiety. His words unintentionally increase paranoia, turning neighbor against neighbor. He says that those who aren’t themselves witches might be the victims of witches, and no one is safe:

The Devil preys on the weak both as his victim and as his instrument. It is therefore left to all of us to watch for these instruments. To root them out where necessary and purify them with prayer, with punishment, and, when necessary, with the fire of the Word (154).

Abuse of authority runs rampant in the Salem court. Nine judges, all religious leaders, listen to the testimony of hysterical girls who say that invisible forces are hurting them. When the girls point their fingers at various individuals, these people are arrested. No legal recourse is available. The judges are steeped in Puritan theology and believe that the devil is an active entity that interferes in human affairs. Sarah acidly notes, “The accusers renewed their screeching and rolling about, and the best minds in theology and the law that Salem could produce proclaimed that there were more witches yet to be found” (167). Initially, Martha assumes that reason will prevail and justice will be done. Her husband is more cynical about the motives of the clerics who are running the courts. He tells his wife:

Martha, they will not listen to reason. How can they, when all they have built here is to keep themselves propped up on the backs of others? You do yourself credit to believe in your own strength and courage. But they will not hear you. They cannot (175).

Thomas’s statement highlights the degree to which the social standing of the judges depends on their infallibility in the people’s eyes. They can’t afford to discredit themselves by admitting that they made a mistake in believing the accusers. Essentially, they’re petty despots trying to maintain their power. Thomas fought a war in England to dethrone just such a petty despot. Ironically, he came to the US seeking freedom but instead found the same corrupt power structures attempting to establish themselves in the New World.

While Thomas is weary of struggling against the system, his wife is not, and she pays a steep price. Although Martha realizes that her chances of surviving the accusations are slim, she persists anyway. All the other female defendants give in to pressure and confess to being witches. Martha will not. Her stubbornness is a thorn in the side of the judges. Her denial of the charges shows that she refuses to be awed by their power and won’t support their delusions.

Martha’s recognition that she may not survive prompts her to transfer the red book to Sarah’s care. Her actions thematically foreground the Legacies of the Past. She has recorded the true story of the Carrier family and doesn’t want that legacy destroyed to fit the Puritan narrative of evil witches and righteous judges. Knowing the power of the story that she has written, Martha asks Sarah not to read it until she’s a grown woman. She’s still a child and hasn’t had enough life experience to understand the way of the world. Although she’s mildly curious, Sarah is also fearful of knowing the truth. She has already heard the rumors that her father once executed a king. She might not be able to see him in the same light if those rumors are confirmed.

Sarah’s own encounter with the Puritan legal system gives her an early understanding that people are rarely what they seem. Martha tried to impress this lesson on her earlier, but the lesson only hits home at this point: “I had believed until that morning, as a child believes, that the intent and worth and very history of a person is stamped like a maker’s mark on a silver chalice” (225). The pretenses of humanity make a true history of the past even more critical to preserve.