Previous
Chapter 18
Themes
and Colors
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
The next morning, the constable’s wife brings Kit some breakfast. She admits to Kit that she doesn’t think that Kit is a witch—Kit always seemed very decent at Meeting. She certainly thinks it was unjust to lock up a woman in a shed on such a cold night. Kit thanks her and asks when the examination will be.
The constable’s wife isn’t as easily swayed by gossip and prejudice as her husband is. She doesn’t think that Kit is a witch because she hasn’t seen Kit act in any way that would suggest that she is one, although she does show her bias against non-Puritans by basing her judgement on the fact that Kit comes to Meeting. If Kit didn’t participate in the Puritan service, the constable’s wife might feel differently.
Active
Themes
The constable’s wife informs Kit that the examination will take place in about an hour. If they find her guilty, Kit will then go to Hartford for a jury trial. Noting Kit’s rumpled and dirty appearance, the constable’s wife brings her water and a comb to clean herself.
The constable’s wife helps Kit wash up so that she can make a good first impression when arriving for the examination. Her kindness shows that not all Puritans are the same: unlike her husband and many of the Wethersfield townspeople, she is kind to a stranger, even a stranger with a damaged reputation.
Active
Themes
When Kit arrives at the Town House for her trial, she sees that it is crowded with people. Goodwife Cruff is there with her “cronies.” Her uncle is seated with the group of men who are the town selectmen. With a jolt, Kit thinks of how ashamed Matthew must feel that one of his own family is being examined. As she scans the room, she realizes that William isn’t there.
Active
Themes
The examination begins. The magistrate, Captain Talcott, reads aloud Kit’s charge: by being friends with the alleged witch, Hannah Tupper, and by committing deeds that suggest that she conspired with the devil to bring about the recent illness, she is accused of witchcraft. He adds that witchcraft is an art taught by one person to another.
Active
Themes
Get the entire The Witch of Blackbird Pond LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Captain Talcott asks Kit if she is indeed a friend of Hannah’s and was therefore “acquainted” with Hannah’s cat. Kit admits to being friends with Hannah and to knowing the cat, although she adds that the cat was just a cat. Talcott then asks if she and Hannah cast spells on people in the town. Kit immediately denies this accusation. Talcott then calls the witnesses forward; Kit is stunned as she hears numerous people—people whom she barely knows—tell “stories” of Kit enchanting them, their children, and their animals.
Matthew interjects, shouting that these “witnesses” don’t have any “lawful evidence”—it’s all merely hearsay. He offers to “vouch for [Kit’s] good character.” Talcott sharply asks whether Matthew allowed Kit to visit Hannah, and Matthew admits that he had forbidden it. He says that Kit may be “thoughtless and headstrong at times,” but that she is by no means a witch. Talcott insists that they must continue to listen to testimony. Reverend Bulkeley, who is also present, cautions that each of the testimonies so far will not hold up in court, as each event has only one witness.
Active
Themes
At the prompting of Goodwife Cruff, Goodman Cruff announces that he has evidence. Appalled, Kit watches as he holds up her copybook, the one that Prudence wrote in. Goodwife Cruff calls out that Kit must have been trying to cast a spell on Prudence by writing out her name so many times. Talcott asks Kit if she wrote “this name.” Not wanting to get Prudence into trouble, Kit realizes with relief that she can honestly say that she wrote the name—she wrote Prudence’s name the first time. When Talcott asks why she wrote it, Kit refuses to say why.
Active
Themes
The crowd erupts into shouts, some people demanding that Kit be hanged. Talcott exclaims that everyone deserves a trial by jury, so the case—which now has legitimate evidence—will be turned over to Hartford. But at that moment, someone calls out that a man has come with an important witness.
Active
Themes
At first, Kit is relieved and overjoyed to see Nat. But her relief turns to fear as she sees that Prudence is with him. At once, Kit cries out that she is indeed guilty. She agrees to go to Hartford, so long as Prudence doesn’t have to get involved. But Talcott silences her and summons Prudence to speak.
Active
Themes
As Talcott questions Prudence, she reveals that Kit taught her how to read and write at Hannah’s house. She admits to writing her own name in the book and to visiting Hannah’s house on her own volition, after the first visit with Kit. Goodwife Cruff is appalled, and Goodman Cruff insists that Prudence must be lying—Prudence was never bright enough to learn. Kit, meanwhile, is shocked to see that Prudence looks bold and unafraid.
Active
Themes
After Kit confirms that what Prudence said is true, Talcott asks Prudence to prove that she can write her name. She does as he asks. Upon seeing her writing, Goodman Cruff is in awe. Meanwhile, Reverend Bulkeley and Talcott acknowledge that the handwriting looks “[v]ery proper.” They then ask Prudence what she can read, to which she responds, “the Bible.”
Active
Themes
Talcott opens the Bible for Prudence, and she begins to read. As Prudence reads, she becomes more confident. Kit feels proud of Prudence, and she impulsively looks over at Nat. Their eyes meet, and Kit immediately feels supported.
Active
Themes
Goodman Cruff continues to say that he always wished he could read. In the colonies, he adds, it may be necessary for women to read as well as men. Happy that Prudence will be able to read him the Bible at night, Goodman Cruff formally withdraws his witchcraft accusation against Kit. Talcott officially announces Kit as “free and innocent.”
Active
Themes
Furious, Goodwife Cruff shouts that the seaman who brought Prudence is the same man who is banned from Wethersfield. Upon seeing Kit’s stricken face, Matthew asks Talcott to let Nat go—after all, he risked himself to “see justice done.” Talcott agrees, but Nat is already gone, anyway.
Active
Themes
Prudence approaches Kit, who asks how she got involved. Nat had worried that Kit might get into trouble, so he snuck back into town on a small boat. After hearing about the meeting, he found Prudence and asked her to testify, as he knew that Prudence would be the only one who could help Kit.
Active
Themes
Grateful and in tears, Kit asks Prudence if she will be alright. Goodman Cruff approaches Kit to say that Prudence will be safe with him. Next year, he adds, Prudence will attend Kit’s school.
Active
Themes
Talcott announces that Goodwife Cruff must pay the penalty for slander: either time in the stocks or a high fine. But seeing Kit’s horror, Matthew announces that they won’t press charges and will just take Kit home.
Active
Themes
