Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Puritan Hypocrisy
Love, Values, and Attraction
Difference, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Home and Belonging
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
It’s the middle of summer at the dame school, and Kit is feeling dispirited. She wishes she was as patient as Mercy, who is unfailingly kind to the children. Kit remembers Mercy once telling her that she doesn’t think about all the things she can’t do—she focuses on the things she can accomplish.
Kit is much more impatient than Mercy, whose resolve and patience impress Kit. Mercy goes on to tell Kit that she may not be able to use one of her legs, but her injury doesn’t define her. Although other people—like Kit—may assume that Mercy feels limited all the time, their judgments are wrong.
Themes
Kit suddenly spots a figure outside. She hurries to the door and sees Prudence hiding behind a tree. Kit coaxes her out of her hiding place and asks why she doesn’t come to school. Prudence wants to learn, but Goodwife Cruff says she is too stupid to learn. Plus, Goodwife Cruff has forbade Prudence from speaking to Kit.
Goodwife Cruff is still suspicious of Kit, whom she sees as an outsider and possibly a witch. Goodwife Cruff lets her discrimination against Kit prevent her child from learning, and her prejudice negatively affects both Kit (whom she ostracizes) and her own daughter (whom she denies the opportunity to learn).
Themes
On an impulse, Kit tells Prudence to meet her at a tree by Blackbird Pond that afternoon. Prudence immediately recognizes Blackbird Pond as being where “the witch” lives, but Kit tells her not to be afraid. Her eyes wide, Prudence says she will try to meet Kit there. She then turns and runs away.
Kit feels sympathetic toward Prudence, so she generously offers to do private lessons with her. Prudence’s fear of Hannah’s house shows that, like the other Puritans of Wethersfield, she fears Hannah, even though she doesn’t know her. Prudence only knows that Hannah is different from her—Hannah is Quaker—and so she is quick to think negatively of Hannah.
Themes
Kit and Prudence begin to meet regularly by Blackbird Pond, where Kit teaches Prudence how to read using an old hornbook of Kit’s. On the day of their third lesson, Kit invites Prudence to visit Hannah—they can keep the hornbook with Hannah for future use. At first, Prudence is frightened, but after Kit assures her that she will be safe, Prudence agrees to come along.
A hornbook is a teaching aid that originated in England as a tool to help children learn to read. Traditionally, a hornbook had a page displaying text (typically the alphabet and a Christian prayer) that was attached to a tablet. When Kit wants to introduce Prudence to Hannah, Prudence is afraid—she hasn’t met Hannah yet, so she still thinks the Quaker woman is a witch.
Themes
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When they arrive at Hannah’s, Hannah is delighted to have a new visitor. She shows Prudence the kittens that her cat just gave birth to, and Prudence is immediately charmed. Hannah also gives Prudence blueberry cake, just like she did with Kit and Nat.
To Hannah and the people who know her, cats are a source of comfort, not the symbols of demonic influence that the Puritan townspeople think they are. The prejudiced Puritans misunderstand what the cats represent because they already assume that Hannah is a witch, and they allow their judgments to shape how they interpret facts.
Themes
When Prudence and Kit leave, Prudence asks why people think that Hannah is a witch. Kit says it’s because “they never tried to get to know her. People are afraid of things they don’t understand.” Prudence promises that she will keep visiting Hannah, who must be lonely.
Now that Prudence has met Hannah, she knows that Hannah isn’t a witch at all. Kit explains that “people are afraid of things they don’t understand,” like Hannah’s religion. Instead of getting to know Hannah, the Puritans explain her differences by assuming that she is a witch. Now that Prudence knows that the Puritans’ prejudiced gossip is wrong, she vows to keep visiting Hannah.
Themes
Meanwhile, visits with William continue to bore Kit—all he talks about is his house. But while she finds it dull, Judith takes a keen interest in it, and unsuccessfully tries to engage John in their conversation. The one thing they all enjoy, it seems, is hearing John read aloud. When he reads, the whole family and William relax and listen. Kit only wishes that he would read something other than religious texts.
Kit still doesn’t enjoy her time with William—they don’t have any of the same interests. Judith, however, does share William’s interest in material goods, and the two have conversations about it. Because they enjoy talking about the same topics, Judith seems to be a better match for William than Kit is. Meanwhile, John’s piousness mildly frustrates Kit—they don’t have much in common either, even if she does enjoy his company.
Themes
One night, while John is reading, Kit catches sight of Mercy gazing at John and realizes that Mercy loves him. Kit is shocked at first, but she realizes that it seems “incredibly, utterly right.” In awe of Mercy’s selflessness, Kit wonders “What must it be to care for someone like that.”
Kit thinks that Mercy and John are “incredibly, utterly right together,” likely because they are both kindhearted, hard-working, mild-tempered, and pious. The implication is that their similar temperament and principles are what would make them a better couple than Judith and John.
Themes
