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 nighttime, and Rachel, Judith, Mercy, and Kit can overhear bits of an angry discussion going on in the company room. While the other women fret, Kit is curious as to why William, who stopped by a short while ago, joined the group of men in the room.
The women are locked out of the company room, where the men are discussing politics. The women’s exclusion from this meeting is representative of how they are excluded from the political sphere more broadly. Meanwhile, Kit is surprised that William has joined the other men because he has previously expressed loyalist views.
Themes
When Kit asks the others why they think William got to join the group in the company room, Judith haughtily tells her that William changed his mind about the King when his land taxes were raised. Kit is surprised that Judith knows of this and wonders why William never told her.
William switched political sides because the Governor raised William’s taxes. The implication is that William is picking the side that suits his own interests rather than advocating for what would benefit everyone. William didn’t tell Kit that he changed his mind, but he did tell Judith, which suggests that he feels closer to Judith than he does to Kit. This may be because she has always shown an interest in William’s house and land, which is what the Governor is taxing.
Themes
The voices increase in volume again, and Kit hears bits of their conversation. Apparently, Governor Andros refuses to acknowledge the deeds and land grants that the Native Americans signed—the New Englanders will have to buy new land grants. Yet over the other voices, Kit hears Matthew firmly reminding the other men that they want to avoid violence.
The Puritan colonists’ possessiveness over the land can be read as hypocritical. They are angry that the Governor isn’t going to respect the colonists’ previous agreements on who owned what land, yet the land they claim to own is the same land that they took from the Native Americans who lived there prior to the colonists’ arrival. The colonists aren’t concerned with protecting the Native Americans’ land rights—they only care about advancing their own interests.
Themes
Eventually the men leave. When Rachel sees that Matthew is dejected, she asks him if the Governor’s arrival will actually have any significant impact on their lives. After all, the family will remain together in their house.
Rachel tries to comfort Matthew by reminding him that the family will stay together regardless of the Governors’ arrival. She is focused on her family’s well-being more than political changes, which is perhaps unsurprising, given that 17th-century New England society didn’t permit women to vote or participate in government. Rachel thinks and acts within her prescribed gender role: she does domestic chores and takes care of the family.
Themes
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Matthew coldly dismisses Rachel’s words, saying that her house “is all a woman thinks about.” She isn’t thinking about how the government that the New Englanders built will be wiped out. Dejected, he wishes that they could at least keep their charter instead of handing it over to Governor Andros.
Matthew snaps at Rachel’s words, which emphasizes their different temperaments—where she is kind and tenderhearted, Matthew is harsh and inflexible. He scoffs at Rachel’s attempt to engage with politics, which likely only discourages her from trying in the future. Matthew is thinking about how Governor Andros is going to undo the colonists’ right to self-governance—unlike Rachel, he has actually had a chance to participate in the government. So, perhaps one of the reasons why Rachel thinks nothing will change when the Governor assumes power is because very little will change for her and the other women in Connecticut—they will still be forbidden to vote or express their opinions.
Themes
That night, Kit tells Judith that she’s concerned—the Royal Fleet is very powerful, so the New Englanders won’t stand a chance. But Judith tells her that she doubts that there will be any fighting. In fact, Judith agrees with Rachel—their lives probably won’t change much at all. At any rate, Judith is excited to see Governor Andros and his soldiers arrive. As she says, they don’t usually get to see uniformed soldiers.
Kit briefly considers potential consequences of the current political changes—there may be a battle, which the colonists will certainly lose, since the British fleet is very powerful. Judith, however, doesn’t have any interest in politics, probably because it’s likely that her own rights will stay the same when Andros assumes power—as a woman, she won’t be able to vote or participate in politics either way. Judith’s comment about seeing uniformed soldiers comes off as naïve and frivolous given the severity of the current situation, but it also shows that she is a product of her environment, as 17th-century women generally weren’t expected to think beyond domestic duties and marriage.
Themes
The next day, many people gather to watch the Governor Andros cross the river and march toward Hartford. The people remain quiet and peaceful, although some shake their fists at the soldiers’ backs after the guard has passed. Kit, who loves the sight of the proud and dignified guard, guesses that “[t]he magnificence of Andros” and his men have intimidated the New Englanders. That night, the mood in the Woods’ household is low.
Like Judith, Kit is more interested in seeing the fancy British uniforms than she is in reflecting on the political significance of the moment. Kit, too, is a product of her sexist environment, where women aren’t encouraged to pursue interests outside of marriage and family.
Themes
In the middle of the night, Kit wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. She and Judith scramble out of bed and hurry to the stairs, where they meet Rachel. Matthew opens the door to reveal William, who tells him that the charter is safe. According to William, the meeting with the Governor Andros largely consisted of long speeches, so the Governor wasn’t able to “get in a word of business.” During this time, the charter was in the middle of the table. But after the Governor made a speech about his intentions, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness. When the candles were relit, the charter had disappeared. Knowing that he would never find the charter, the Governor proceeded with business, appointing new people to various positions.
When the real-life Governor Andros arrived in Hartford, Connecticut to take the colony’s charter, he met with the leaders of the colony. According to legend, the candles were extinguished partway through the meeting and, when the candles were relit, the charter was gone. Legend has it that the colonists hid it in a nearby oak tree. In the book, William tells the family this story, with the implication being that the colonists prevailed in saving their charter from the Governor. Nonetheless, the Governor dismantles the colonists’ governments by appointing his favorites to the positions that community members previously held.
Themes
Matthew knows that the Governor Andros doesn’t really need the charter—“the power [is] in his hands without it”—but he nevertheless asks where the charter is. Noting the women on the stairs, William refuses to stay, but he reassures Matthew that it is safe. Taking a deep breath, Matthew says that someday, when times aren’t so hard, the colonists will be able to use their same charter to reform their government and “show the world what it means to be free men.”
When the King of England appointed Andros to the position of Royal Governor, he effectively invalidated all the colonies’ charters. Gathering the charters was a symbolic decision. This is why Governor Andros is able to undo the Connecticut colonists’ local governments, even though he doesn’t have the colony’s charter. But Matthew (and, presumably, the other politically engaged Puritans) appreciates the symbolism of maintaining their charter and hopes that they will be able to reinstate it. Of course, reinstating the same charter will only benefit the same people that it helped before: white Puritan men.
Themes
Once William leaves, Matthew tells the women not to tell anyone that they heard anything. Once in bed, Kit thinks of how magnificent and fierce her uncle seemed, and she understands why Rachel left England for him.
Kit believes that Rachel fell in love with Matthew because she was attracted to his passion and fierceness, which Kit saw tonight during the discussions surrounding Connecticut Colony’s charter. But while these traits attracted Rachel, she doesn’t seem to share them. She isn’t as fierce or impassioned, and Matthew constantly overrides and dismisses her in conversation. Rachel also doesn’t seem particularly happy, which suggests that attraction alone isn’t enough to guarantee a happy partnership—one needs similar values and temperaments as well.
Themes
