Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Surviving vs. Enduring
Slavery and Daily Life
Nature as Knowledge
Desire, Patriarchy and the Difficulty of Feminism
Archival History vs. Memory
Summary
Analysis
Tituba thinks with sadness about the children she and Hester each aborted; she sings her old moonstone lament for them. Around the same time, Dorcas (Sarah Goode’s daughter) is placed in Tituba’s cell. When Dorcas asks Tituba where Sarah Goode is, Tituba is unable to answer. Filled with pity, Tituba begins to include Dorcas in her lament.
Once more, Tituba’s decision to protect her unborn child from the horrors of slavery conflicts with her own loving, motherly nature. Tituba’s kindness to Dorcas perhaps also reflects a certain amount of guilt she feels over accusing Sarah Goode (even though Goode accused her first).
Themes
