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 next day, Boston is full of gossip about an attempted jailbreak. Many attribute it to Gorton’s followers, since their sentence is soon to be carried out. Secretly, Governor Winthrop instructs Barnaby Tuttle to move Magawisca into a basement dungeon; soon after, Gorton and his men are exiled from Boston. Whatever suspicions the Governor has regarding Everell Fletcher’s involvement, he keeps them quiet.
According to the historical record, Gorton and his followers are scattered to various outlying towns to perform hard labor, but this doesn’t keep them from spreading heretical teachings, so they’re soon deported to England.
Themes
By this time, Hope has recovered from her illness and rejoined the family at meals, to everyone’s delight—except for Faith’s. Hope’s sister languishes, spending her days going “from window to window, like an imprisoned bird.” Faith continues wearing her mantle, rejecting English styles and jewelry, to Aunt Grafton’s consternation.
Faith doesn’t fit in to her Boston surroundings, despite belonging here by blood. Aunt Grafton just sees Faith as incomprehensibly resistant to the good things in life.
Themes
Literary Devices
After the meal, Governor Winthrop invites Hope to tell the story of her escape. Hope apologizes for her crossness and secrecy in the days leading up to the meeting with Faith. Then she explains that Sir Philip had been bothering her, and the Governor says that she ought rather to be thankful to him. Hope skirts the issue and talks about everything that occurred after she and Magawisca were parted. When she describes her encounter with Antonio, Master Cradock laughs uproariously, taking credit for teaching her Italian.
Hope catches the rest of the family up on her adventures since she last saw them on the island. The Governor still doesn’t perceive Sir Philip’s true colors.
Themes
After Hope finishes narrating her escape, Governor Winthrop admonishes Hope for failing to denounce “the idol worship of that darkened papistical youth.” He and Mr. Fletcher get into an argument as to whether Hope ought to have disabused Antonio of his “superstitions.”
Amusingly, the Governor and Mr. Fletcher are preoccupied with whether Hope ought to have taken the time to correct Antonio’s theological position, an example of Sedgwick’s good-humored criticism of Puritan preoccupations.
Themes
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After the group disperses for the night, Hope goes to Governor Winthrop’s study and begs him to release Magawisca from prison. The Governor urges her not to meddle in this—no matter what good Magawisca has done in the past, she and her father are responsible for stirring up the tribes’ anger against the English; “it will be difficult to make a private benefit outweigh such a public crime.”
Governor Winthrop sees Magawisca’s imprisonment as a matter of public safety, not a question of personal loyalties; Hope’s point of view doesn’t touch on his political concerns and so is beneath his notice.
Themes
Hope returns to her room, disheartened. Soon, Esther enters, in great agitation, and throws herself on the bed in tears. Hope struggles to find out what is troubling her friend. Esther cries for a long time, then prays for help. She promises Hope that in time, Hope will understand everything, but that is all she can say for now. However, as they are getting ready for bed, Esther quietly admits that Everell has been trying to get her to help him break Magawisca out of prison. She won’t say anything more.
Esther reaches an emotional breaking point regarding her feelings for Everell—a point she can’t freely confide to Hope.
Themes
Earlier that evening, while they were alone together, Everell had tried to enlist Esther’s help in his plan. After struggling internally, she admitted that she didn’t believe she had warrant from the Bible to do so. While Scripture commands people to practice mercy and compassion, it also says that lawful authorities must be obeyed. She believes it would be presumptuous for her to go against that. Everell cannot understand Esther’s convictions. Esther has, however, been visiting Magawisca daily in prison, hoping that Magawisca might be persuaded to convert to Christianity, whereupon her uncle Winthrop might grant Magawisca freedom and allow her, instead of following her father back into the forest, to join a community of Christian Indians. Everell isn’t impressed, and Esther leaves the room, but still hears Everell say, “Oh, Hope Leslie! […] why has fate cruelly severed us?” That’s when she retreated to her room in tears.
Esther’s strict conscience doesn’t allow her to help Everell in his plan, though she has been friendly and compassionate to Magawisca in her own way. This doesn’t impress Everell, however, whose temperament is much different, both more action-oriented and less pious—more akin to Hope Leslie’s. Esther is heartbroken to find this out.
Themes
