The Witch Of Blackbird Pond

“She tried to tell him of her own childhood, and it was as though they each spoke a totally different language.”

Kit and John have become friends on shipboard, but the young divinity student comes from a humble background, and his thoughts are entirely devoted to pleasing God. Kit has no context for relating to his life experience. 

“You will fit yourself to our ways and do no more to interrupt the work of the household or to turn the heads of my daughters with your vanity.”

Uncle Matthew makes it quite clear that Kit must adapt to Puritan ways because no one is going to accept her as she is. His attitude is not unusual for the elders in his religious community. While Puritans demanded religious tolerance and came to America to create it, they do not accord the same tolerance to anybody else. 

“Beside the plain blue homespun and white linen which modestly clothed Aunt Rachel and Judith, Kit’s flowered silk gave her the look of some vivid tropical bird lighted by mistake on a strange shore.”

Kit is describing the dress she wears to her first church service. The color and texture are at odds with Puritan simplicity. At many points in the story, Kit uses the imagery of the tropics to describe the variance between her old life in Barbados and her new life in Connecticut.

“One week in Wethersfield seemed to have changed the dignified young man she had known on shipboard. Tonight he appeared to be a shadow, hanging on every word from this pompous opinionated man.”

Kit is noting the change in John once he comes under the sway of Reverend Bulkeley. At later points in the novel, John is afraid to express his political opinions in the presence of her uncle, too. The community of Wethersfield suppresses dissent in all forms. Kit escapes to the meadows to shed it, just like how John will eventually escape to the militia.

“Kit had soon discovered that Mercy was the pivot about whom the whole household moved. She coaxed her father out of his bitter moods, upheld her timorous and anxious mother, gently restrained her rebellious sister and had reached to draw an uncertain alien into the circle.”

The community perceives Mercy as weak and afflicted because of her crutches. However, she doesn’t see herself as disabled. Kit is quick to perceive that Mercy’s physical limitations have caused her to develop an inner strength that holds her entire family together.

“William Ashby was the only person in Wethersfield who did not expect her to be useful, who demanded nothing, and offered his steady admiration as proof that she was still of some worth.”

Kit is materialistic enough to recognize the advantages she could gain from marrying William. She was raised by a wealthy grandfather and would like to enjoy that pampered lifestyle again. However, she comes to realize that William’s wealth would not free her from drudgery. It would imprison her spirit for the rest of her life.

“From that first moment, in a way she could never explain, the Meadows claimed her and made her their own […] Was it the fields of sugar cane they brought to mind, or the endless reach of the ocean to meet the sky? Or was it simply the sense of freedom and space and light that spoke to her of home?”

The Great Meadow is located on the outskirts of Wethersfield, and the townsfolk rarely go there. This means that the values of Puritan society hold no sway over it. While the spot certainly bears a physical resemblance to Kit’s old home that evokes physical freedom, it also allows her to find a psychological escape from constricting social expectations. 

“Thee did well, child, to come to the Meadow. There is always a cure here when the heart is troubled […] Many’s the time I’ve found it here myself. That is why I live here.”

When Hannah and her husband are driven out of Massachusetts, they wander aimlessly until they find the meadows. The couple is seeking to escape religious persecution, and they must live in a spot that is physically removed from the closest community. Kit is also trying to escape social persecution and gravitates to the same refuge that Hannah did. 

“‘You’ve given me an answer, haven’t you? I think I know what you mean.’ The woman shook her head. ‘The answer is in thy heart,’ she said softly. ‘Thee can always hear it if thee listens for it.’”

Part of the reason that the meadows are appealing is that they are quiet. The grassland contains no evidence of human activity. As such, it holds society at bay long enough for a person to find inner guidance. Listening to one’s heart is actively discouraged in the Puritan community, where one is supposed to listen only to the outer voices of authority.

“The hard little knot had kinked up inside her tighter than ever. Coming home through the meadow everything had seemed so simple, and here it was all tangled again. Only one thing was sure. She had found a secret place, a place of freedom and clear sunlight and peace. Nothing, nothing that anyone could say would prevent her from going back to that place again.”

Kit is registering the confusion that besets her every time she walks back to town. Fortunately, she realizes the benefit of returning to the meadow. Her uncle has apparently understood instinctively that the meadow represents a threat to the rule of church and man. This is why he has forbidden Kit to return there. Wisely, she chooses to follow the advice of her heart over that of her uncle.

“Always putting her at a disadvantage somehow, and yet, now and then, surprising her, letting her peek through a door that always seemed to slam shut again before she could actually see inside. She would never know what to expect next from him.”

Nat is a contradictory person. He lives among Puritans but is not one himself. He works as a simple sailor but loves to read the plays of Shakespeare. In some ways, he is also caught between two worlds, just as Kit is. Perhaps, this is part of the reason that he appeals to her. 

“Father had carried me to the doorstep, and I sat there watching the children playing a game in the road. I thought of all the things I would never be able to do. And then I thought about the things that I could do. Since then I’ve just never thought much about it.”

Mercy is explaining her philosophy of life to Kit. She developed wisdom at an early age. Because she had the capacity to see the value in a disability that everyone else views as a calamity, Mercy has been able to live a far more productive and valuable life than most of her contemporaries.

“A man is loyal to the place he loves […] I suppose it’s like that for these people in Wethersfield. How can a king on a throne in England know what is best for them? A man’s first loyalty is to the soil he stands on.”

These words are ironic since they are uttered by Nat. He is a sailor who rarely stands on the soil at all. Nevertheless, he is articulating a belief that was common among New England men of his time. Kit finds his loyalty to his native land to be an admirable quality.

“What her answer would be he seemed to have not the slightest doubt. As they walked on, his hand remained on her elbow with a new possessiveness.”

William has just proposed to Kit, but she puts off giving him an answer until spring. Nevertheless, she notes his presumption that she will accept. By taking her elbow, William is claiming her as his property. Kit recognizes this gesture as a sign that she will be an ornamental fixture in his fine new house and little more. 

“How elegantly he sat the saddle of his borrowed horse. Why, he was a gentleman, an officer of the King’s Dragoons, a knight! Who were these common resentful farmers to dispute his royal right? He made their defiance seem childish.”

The citizens have just gotten their first glimpse of Governor Andros. While they resent the interference of the crown’s representative in their affairs, they are impressed by his fine show of authority. This quote illustrates the contempt with which British aristocrats viewed their colonial subjects. Puritans think of themselves as free men. The British see them as ignorant peasants.

“The magnificence of Andros and his procession had shaken their confidence. They all knew that this haughty man was on his way to meet with their council, and that before night fell he would hold their very lives in his hand.”

While the colonists are demoralized by the appearance of Andros and his retinue, they refuse to be cowed completely. Later that night, the colony’s charter is stolen away from the governor. This small act of defiance is a warning of what will come one hundred years later when the colonies fight to assert their independence.

“Tonight she had understood for the first time what her aunt had seen in that fierce man to make her cross an ocean at his side. There was a sort of magnificence about him, even without the fine uniform that made Governor Andros so splendid. Lying there in the dark, Kit had to admit it—she was proud of him.”

During her time in Uncle Matthew’s house, Kit finds her attitude changing toward him. His intolerance toward other viewpoints can also be seen as a determination to stand fast for what he believes is right. He would defy the governor himself to keep his family’s land. Kit finds this sense of conviction admirable.

“Hannah knew that no threats could keep Nat from coming again. As always, here in this house, things seemed to look much less desperate.”

Kit is upset because Nat’s punishment after the Halloween prank bans him from Wethersfield on pain of a lashing. When she gives Hannah this news, the old woman is unfazed. In her cottage in the meadows, the laws of Wethersfield don’t apply. Kit realizes this truth as well. 

“‘If I don’t marry him, how shall I ever escape from my uncle’s house?’ ‘Bless thee, child!’ said Hannah softly. ‘Perhaps ’tis the answer. But remember, thee has never escaped at all if love is not there.’”

Throughout much of the story, Kit is undecided about William’s proposal. She feels the greatest confusion when she is surrounded by the community. In their eyes, her marriage would be advantageous, even though her own heart tells her otherwise. It isn’t until she returns to Hannah and the meadows that she can feel any clarity about the issue.

“Mercy spoke thoughtfully. ‘Try to understand, Judith,’ she said slowly. ‘Sometimes it isn’t that a man doesn’t care. Sometimes he has to prove something to himself. I don’t think John wanted to go away. I think, somehow, he had to.’”

John is frequently overawed by the opinionated older men who surround him. Like Kit, he needs to distance himself physically from their influence before he can hear his own inner voice. Kit escapes to the meadows, and John must escape to the militia. Ironically, Mercy is the one who needs to explain this fact to Judith, John’s supposed fiancée, proving how unsuited they are to one another.

“She could see the glow of the fire, but she could not feel its warmth. It was like gazing in at a window, from the cold outside, at a forbidden room she could never enter again.”

Kit is locked in a shed awaiting her appearance before the magistrate and is thinking back to her last visit to Hannah’s cottage. The feeling of security that it held is fading now that the hut has been burned, and the mindset of the community is infecting her own thinking. She has lost her only refuge both physically and psychologically.

“Watching Prudence, Kit suddenly felt a queer prickling along her spine. There was something different about her. The child’s head was up. Her eyes were fastened levelly on the magistrate. Prudence was not afraid!”

From the very start of the book, Prudence is consistently described as a malnourished, overworked child who endures a joyless existence. Once Prudence learns to read, she succeeds in breaking out of the psychological prison that her mother has created for her. Prudence will not inherit the ignorance and superstition of her mother. She has been to the meadows and is no longer afraid.

“‘But it wasn’t charity!’ Kit burst out. ‘Hannah and Prudence—they are my friends!’ ‘That’s just what I mean. We’re judged by the company we keep. And in our position people look to us for an example of what is right and proper.’”

William is trying to persuade Kit to dissociate herself from her friends. He emphasizes her future standing in the community as his wife. As usual, appearances matter more than anything to this young man. His insistence on controlling her behavior finally helps Kit realize that she would be making a mistake to marry him.