Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hope Leslie, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Religious Conflict and Tolerance
Interracial Relationships
Violence and Historical Memory
Women’s Roles
The Puritan Heritage
Summary
Analysis
The earliest New England settlers were serious people, and their religious faith was severe. Because of this, Mr. Fletcher’s reserve, prompted by grief, went largely unnoticed; and when it was noticed, it was sometimes attributed to pride. Upon arriving in the colony, Mr. Fletcher was often disturbed by the persistence of heresies, as well as denials of religious liberty to others. Due to these things, he refrains from offers of leadership positions in Boston, and in 1636, he decides to move to the frontier settlement of Springfield. Mrs. Martha Fletcher meekly submits to her husband’s decision, as did most wives of that era.
Mr. Fletcher is a somber person, even by Puritan standards; but in his case, it’s prompted by his loss of Alice. He also differs from his fellow colonists in other ways—he’s particularly sensitive to what he sees as the pilgrims’ failures to live up to their ideals. Restless and unable to fully belong even in this “ideal” land, he pulls away from mainstream society. His wife’s submissiveness fits the standard of the times.
Themes
Springfield soon becomes a prosperous village. Following the American Indians, the newcomers settle along rivers. In its early days, the town consists of a fort and log dwellings, and dense forest surrounds it. Mr. Fletcher establishes his family in a modest house on the outskirts of town, more concerned about nosy neighbors than “the incursions of the savages.” The narrator observes that people like the Fletchers truly deserved the name “pilgrim” for their willingness to give up the familial associations of their childhood homes in order to become “voluntary exiles.”
In the novel, the forest symbolizes the American Indian realm—and, by implication, unknown dangers. Mr. Fletcher’s settlement is poised right on the edge of that realm—suggesting the looming threat of danger. Though Fletcher himself is not overly concerned about such dangers, Sedgwick shows appreciation for the isolation and struggle to which the pilgrims were willing to expose themselves.
Themes
One day, a few months after the family’s settlement in Springfield, Mr. Fletcher enters the parlor with a letter and a look of concern. He sends his 14-year-old son, Everell, outside to await the arrival of an American Indian girl. To Martha, he says that he has just received word from Governor Winthrop in Boston. With some hesitation, he explains that his cousin, Alice Fletcher, had arrived in Boston on a recent ship. He admits that his love for Alice was unique, recalling that Sir William offered him Alice’s hand in exchange for renouncing his views, which he could not do. Yet Martha’s obedience and love have meant much to him.
William Fletcher’s association with Alice continues more than a decade later, after Fletcher has established his own family. Even with a wife he loves, he’s unable to forget the special devotion he felt for Alice and the painful choice he was forced to make before coming to New England. Now, Alice has followed him to the colonies, which will have unanticipated effects on their family life.
Themes
William explains that Governor Winthrop’s letter has reopened old wounds. Following Sir William’s and her husband’s deaths, Alice Fletcher ventured to the colonies, but the voyage proved too much for her, and she died soon after, leaving behind her sister-in-law, Mrs. Grafton, and her two daughters. Alice’s will commits the children to William’s care, and he must fetch them from Boston. In the meantime, Governor Winthrop has sent two “Indian servants,” a boy and a girl, to assist the growing household. The girl is already here.
Alice, too, remembered William fondly—following his footsteps in her pursuit of a new start and even willing to leave her children to him. Alice’s journey is a subtle example of a Puritan woman taking bold initiative, even at risk to her life, a characteristic which will be echoed in the life of her daughter, Hope Leslie.
Themes
Literary Devices
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When Martha doubts whether an Indian servant can be of much use, William assures her that “these Indians possess the same faculties that we do.” The 15-year-old girl, Magawisca, is very intelligent and speaks English well. She is a chief’s daughter who, after her “wolfish tribe” was “dislodged from their dens,” was brought to Boston as a captive, along with her mother, Monoca, and brother, Oneco. Other captives were sent to the West Indies as slaves, but Governor Winthrop, admiring Monoca’s dignity and seeing that she is near death, promises to care for her children.
Sedgwick shows the complicated attitudes represented among Puritans regarding American Indians. In some ways, William is progressive in his attitudes about racial equality (especially regarding exceptional individuals, like Magawisca), but at the same time, he uses racist, animalistic comparisons in talking about tribes as a whole. Sedgwick’s American Indian characters are a blend of historical and fictional characters. Sedgwick cites Trumbull’s Complete History of Connecticut (1797) as praising Mononotto’s modest and sensible wife, though she is not named; neither are the children.
Themes
Before Monoca died, many Christians sought to convert her, but she resisted, believing that all people are children of the “Great Spirit.” William tells Martha that because Monoca lived a good life, they should not despair for her salvation. However, such musings are best kept to themselves.
Christians of the day would have felt duty-bound to urge Monoca to convert for her soul’s sake. William’s position is more reflective of Sedgwick’s own 19th-century Unitarianism, which stressed human goodness and commonalities among religions.
Themes
Just then Magawisca arrives at the door, led by a smiling Everell. Magawisca is tall and graceful, with a thoughtful, sad expression. She wears a traditional outfit instead of English-style clothing. Mrs. Fletcher welcomes Magawisca to their home. A middle-aged servant, Jennet, enters the room and calls the girl “Tawney,” but Everell hastily hushes her. Mrs. Fletcher says that Magawisca will find their lifestyle better and easier than that with which she was raised.
As will be true in most of her encounters with colonial society, Magawisca is welcomed by a range of responses from her new English household: Everell’s kindness, Jennet’s racist greeting (“tawney” refers to a brown skin tone), and Mrs. Fletcher’s attempted warmth (tempered by her assumption that the English lifestyle is superior).
Themes
Literary Devices
Shortly, the Fletchers’ servant, Digby, arrives with a tall, gaunt American Indian man. The man is carrying a shriveled scalp, which is said to have belonged to the Pequot chief. Hearing this, Magawisca screams, “My father!” But Digby quickly explains that it’s the scalp of the other Pequot chief, Sassacus, not Mononotto, Magawisca’s father. Mononotto is still alive.
Sassacus and Mononotto were both historical Pequot chiefs. Sassacus was murdered by Mohawk rivals, with his head sent to the English as a token of friendship. Relationships between different tribes, and between different tribal alliances and the English colonists, were complex and ever-shifting in the aftermath of the Pequot War.
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