Susanna Endicott is an elderly widow and landowner in Barbados. Though she claims to be anti-slavery, she has kept John Indian in bondage since he was a little boy—and once he marries Tituba, she also claims Tituba as her property. Susanna repeatedly tries to convert Tituba to Christianity, and she frightens Tituba with concepts of Satan and inescapable evil. Susanna is also one of the first people to suggest that Tituba is a witch, capable only of evil magic. When Tituba grows tired of Susanna’s gossip and frequent humiliations, she uses Mama Yaya’s teachings to make her sick; soon after, Susanna dies, but not before selling Tituba and John Indian to Samuel Parris. As a profoundly racist, inhumane white woman, Susanna represents the limits of female solidarity.
Susanna Endicott Quotes in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
The I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem quotes below are all either spoken by Susanna Endicott or refer to Susanna Endicott . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1: Chapter 2
Quotes
What is a witch? I noticed that when he said the word, it was marked with disapproval. Why should that be? Why? Isn't the ability to communicate with the invisible world, to keep constant links with the dead, to care for others and heal, a superior gift of nature that inspires respect, admiration, and gratitude? Consequently, shouldn't the witch […] be cherished and revered rather than feared?
Related Characters:
Tituba (speaker), John Indian , Mama Yaya, Susanna Endicott
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Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Chapter 3
Quotes
John Indian closed the door with a wooden latch and took me in his arms, whispering: “The duty of a slave is to survive! Do you understand? To survive!”
Related Characters:
Tituba (speaker), John Indian (speaker), Susanna Endicott , Mama Yaya, Abena
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem LitChart as a printable PDF.
Susanna Endicott Character Timeline in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
The timeline below shows where the character Susanna Endicott appears in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Chapter 2
...to an indigenous father and a Nago mother. John explains that he is enslaved by Susanna Endicott, an old widow. He invites Tituba to a dance at Carlisle Bay the following...
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...of all the food these animals have provided for her, she begins to head to Susanna Endicott and Carlisle Bay.
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Part 1: Chapter 3
Susanna is a bitter, cruel, and deeply racist woman. As soon as she meets Tituba, she...
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Susanna claims not to believe in slavery, so she has sold all the other enslaved people...
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...meals with tropical plants for Tituba. As soon as the two days are up, however, Susanna (who eats only bread and gruel) commands Tituba to start cleaning the main house at...
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...Tituba regrets that unlike the rest of the enslaved people in Barbados, she had entered Susanna Endicott’s home “of her own accord.”
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Both John and Susanna try to force Tituba to believe in Christianity and the Holy Trinity, but Tituba cannot...
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...the first night since they got married, they do not have sex. Tituba decides that Susanna Endicott has to die.
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Part 1: Chapter 4
Though Tituba wants to kill Susanna, both Abena and Mama Yaya counsel her against doing so. “Even if she dies,” Yaya...
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John and Tituba make up, and a few days later, Susanna gets very sick. A witchcraft expert is summoned, but he can find no evidence of...
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Two days later, Susanna tells John and Tituba that she believes Tituba is a witch—and that she feels Tituba...
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Susanna announces that she is dying, and that she is planning to sell John and Tituba...
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Still, Susanna is firm that John and Tituba will belong to this new slaveholder, Samuel Parris—and worse...
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Part 1: Chapter 10
...every strange occurrence or mishap is blamed on Satan. Tituba recalls from her experience with Susanna that many white people believe that Tituba’s Blackness makes her a “visible messenger” of Satan....
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Part 1: Chapter 11
...made them almost attractive, even though many of them are quite ugly. Tituba dreams of Susanna Endicott, and she wonders if this was her revenge. But slowly, the nightmare fades into...
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Part 2: Chapter 12
...She takes in a group of bossales at a horrifying slave auction and passes by Susanna Endicott’s house, which makes her again long for John Indian.
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Part 2: Chapter 15
...and cuts her own foot open. The smell of blood causes Tituba to think about Susanna Endicott, dying in a puddle of her own urine.
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...the Parris family and John Indian, whom she has never gotten over. She wonders if Susanna Endicott is still trying to get her revenge, and if she is “more powerful.” But...
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