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Katherine “Kit” Tyler
Hannah Tupper is an old woman who becomes one of Kit’s closest friends. The Puritans in Wethersfield discriminate against Hannah because of her religion (she is Quaker, not Puritan). Their prejudice betrays their hypocrisy: the Puritans migrated to from England to the American colonies so they could practice their religion freely, but they are extremely intolerant of other religions. Before Hannah and her husband, Thomas, moved to Wethersfield, Puritans in Massachusetts beat, branded, and drove the Tuppers out of the state because of their different religious beliefs. The Puritans of Wethersfield also discriminate against Hannah: they exile her to a swamp and force her to pay a fee for not attending Meeting, the Puritan service. When Kit arrives in Wethersfield, she learns that the Puritans of Wethersfield believe Hannah is a witch because she isn’t Puritan and lives on her own with cats, which they consider to be sinister creatures. But when Kit meets Hannah, she discovers that the Puritans are very wrong in their assumptions—Hannah is actually a very kind woman, and her cats are just ordinary, friendly animals. When Kit is with Hannah, she feels comforted and supported, and Hannah’s cottage in the Great Meadows quickly feels like home to her. Hannah is also friends with Nat and Prudence. When a sudden sickness leaves many young people in Wethersfield gravely ill, a Puritan mob accuses Hannah of using witchcraft to cause the plague. Their prejudices get the best of them, and they try to drive Hannah out of town and even burn her house in the process. In a show of loyalty, Kit and Nat help Hannah escape to Saybrook, where she lives with Nat’s grandmother.
Hannah Tupper Quotes in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The The Witch of Blackbird Pond quotes below are all either spoken by Hannah Tupper or refer to Hannah Tupper. 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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Chapter 8 Quotes
“[…] She’s been there as long as I can remember.”
“All alone?”
“With her cats. There’s always a cat or so around. People say she’s a witch.”
“Do you believe in witches, Judith?”
“Maybe not,” said Judith doubtfully. “All the same, it gives me a creepy feeling to look at her. She’s queer, that’s certain, and she never comes to Meeting. I’d just rather not get any closer.”
Kit looked back at the gray figure bent over a kettle, stirring something with a long stick. Her spine prickled. It might be only soap, of course […] But that lonely figure in the ragged flapping shawl—it was easy enough to imagine any sort of mysterious brew in that pot!
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Chapter 9 Quotes
[Kit] looked about her. “‘Tis a pretty room,” she said without thinking, and then wondered how that could be, when it was so plain and bare. Perhaps it was only the sunlight on boards that were scrubbed smooth and white, or perhaps it was the feeling of peace that lay across the room as tangibly as the bar of sunshine.
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Chapter 10 Quotes
“[…] But no one in Wethersfield has anything to do with Hannah Tupper.”
“Why on earth not?”
“She’s a Quaker.”
“Why is that so dreadful?”
Rachel hesitated. “I can’t tell you exactly. The Quakers are queer stubborn people. They don’t believe in the Sacraments.”
“What difference does that make? She is as kind and good as—as you are, Aunt Rachel. I could swear to it.”
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Chapter 12 Quotes
“The river is so blue today,” [Kit] said sleepily. “It could almost be the water in Carlisle Bay.”
“Homesick?” asked Nat casually, his eyes on the blue strip of water.
“Not here,” she answered. “Not when I’m in the meadow, or with Hannah.”
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“Why should you take it upon yourself to mend a roof for the Quaker woman?” demanded [Matthew].
“She lives all alone—” began Kit.
“She is a heretic, and she refuses to attend Meeting. She has no claim on your charity.”
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Chapter 16 Quotes
For Prudence was an entirely different child from the woebegone shrinking creature who had stood in the roadway outside the school. The tight little bud that was the real Prudence had steadily opened its petals in the sunshine of Kit’s friendship and Hannah’s gentle affection. Her mind was quick and eager.
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Chapter 17 Quotes
“Or you can go on to the West Indies with us.”
Barbados! The tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t, Nat. I have to stay here […] ‘Tis Mercy,” she stammered. “She’s terribly ill. I couldn’t go, I just couldn’t, not knowing—”
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Chapter 18 Quotes
“‘Tis true I did not welcome you into my house,” [Matthew] said at last. “But this last week you have proved me wrong. You haven’t spared yourself, Katherine. Our own daughter couldn’t have done more.”
Suddenly Kit wished, with all her heart, that she had never deceived this man. She would like to stand here before him with a clear conscience. She was ashamed of the many times—more times than she could count—when she had skipped off and left her work undone.
I shall tell him some day, she vowed to herself, when I am sure that Hannah is safe. And I will do my full share, beginning this very moment. I don’t even feel tired any more.
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William could help her. Why hadn’t she thought of him at once? Anything William said would carry weight in the town. His position, his character, were unquestioned […] The thought steadied her. She thought of him coming to champion her […] Dear dependable William! Perhaps he would come tonight […]
It was Rachel who finally came instead.
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Chapter 19 Quotes
“Is it true that you were also acquainted with a certain cat which the widow entertained as a familiar spirit?”
“It—it was just an ordinary cat, sir, like any cat.”
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Hannah Tupper Character Timeline in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The timeline below shows where the character Hannah Tupper appears in The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...lives there—don’t the Meadows flood in the spring? Judith tells her that a widow named Hannah Tupper lives there with her cats. She has lived there all alone for years and...
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...kettle in front of the house and immediately feels chilled. Even though she knows that Hannah is likely just making soap, it’s easy to assume that she’s brewing something mysterious.
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Chapter 9
...isn’t alone. Sitting up, Kit sees a very old woman only a few feet away—it’s Hannah Tupper, the woman that Judith says is a witch. Kit is immediately frightened; is the...
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Hannah calmly tells Kit that she also frequently comes to the Meadows—she feels a connection to...
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Hannah invites Kit back to her house for something to eat. Curious, Kit follows her. Inside,...
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Kit suddenly spots a coral ornament on one of Hannah’s shelves. Smiling, Hannah says she received it from “a seafaring friend.” Kit wonders aloud if...
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...hates her life in Connecticut—she feels like a burden to everyone around her. She tells Hannah about the disaster in school that morning and asks what she should do now. Gazing...
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Hannah shows Kit a beautiful red flower. When Hannah’s seafaring friend brought it to her from...
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As Kit leaves, she reflects that Hannah isn’t a witch, but that she did work “a magic charm”—Hannah managed to calm Kit...
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Chapter 10
...got her courage from the old woman who lives in the Meadows. She adds that Hannah Tupper isn’t a witch at all, but a wonderfully kind woman.
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Mercy and Rachel look distressed. Rachel urges Kit to keep her conversation with Hannah Tupper secret. Hannah is a Quaker, one of a religious group whose beliefs differ from...
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Rachel tries to make Kit promise to never see Hannah again, but Kit refuses. She knows that Hannah is a kind woman, and not at...
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Kit wonders whether to tell William about Hannah, but she is sure that he would only be shocked—once again—at her behavior. She considers...
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Two weeks later, after weeding with Judith, Kit goes to see Hannah Tupper again. She invites Judith to come along, but Judith refuses to join, scared of...
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Kit arrives at Hannah’s house to find her spinning flax. Several families pay Hannah to spin their flax for...
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...appears in the doorway: it’s Nat Eaton. He humorously says that he’s unsurprised Kit and Hannah have become friends. Hannah introduces him to Kit as her “seafaring friend,” but Nat informs...
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Hannah eagerly tells Nat that she had told Thomas she was sure that he would come...
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Leaning back, Nat asks how Kit and Hannah met. Hannah chuckles and tells him that she met Kit just how she met Nat—crying...
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...ran crying to the Meadows, he confides that he is genuinely glad that she met Hannah. He asks Kit to “[k]eep an eye on her.”
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Chapter 11
...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...
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...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...
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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...
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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....
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Chapter 12
...harvest and prepare for the winter that she doesn’t have time to spare to visit Hannah. Finally, one day after candle making, Rachel lets Kit and the other girls have the...
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When Kit arrives at Hannah’s, she’s surprised to see Nat chopping wood. Nat teases her, but she decides to “overlook...
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...She feels like she doesn’t “fit in,” but at least she doesn’t feel homesick around Hannah. Nat confides that she reminds him of a bird he once saw in Jamaica. It...
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Hannah calls out that it’s time for supper, which Kit takes as her cue to leave....
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...to know why Kit was gone for so long, Kit announces that she was at Hannah’s house. Nat chimes in, saying that Kit’s tardiness is his fault: he had asked her...
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Furious that Kit is helping a Quaker, Matthew forbids Kit from visiting Hannah again. Even when Kit mentions that Hannah lives alone and needs assistance, Matthew cuts her...
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Chapter 13
...way back from the Meadows, Kit has just enough time for a brief visit with Hannah. Afterward, while walking back alone to the Woods’ house (Judith has already left the Meadows),...
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Kit launches into an argument in defense of Hannah, explaining how the lonely woman has helped her grow. John listens intently. When there’s a...
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Chapter 14
...out to Kit. Handing her some cloth, Nat asks Kit to give the cloth to Hannah—he doesn’t have time to visit her on this trip. In a biting tone, he adds...
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...is spitefully glad that Nat can’t leave, and she promises herself that she won’t visit Hannah until she knows that Nat is gone.
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Chapter 16
But as soon as Kit gets home, she decides to visit Hannah instead—she needs to talk to someone. Once with Hannah, Kit regretfully tells her that Nat...
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Once Hannah hears the reason behind Nat’s punishment, she asks Kit about William, whom Nat never talked...
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Prudence arrives and informs Hannah that Nat won’t be able to visit—as soon as he was released from the stocks,...
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...on a reading lesson, Kit contemplates how much Prudence has blossomed since experiencing Kit and Hannah’s kindness. But Kit also worries about what would happen if Goodwife Cruff found out about...
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Kit and Prudence leave. As they walk down the road, Kit thinks about Hannah’s words regarding the upcoming engagement to William. She doesn’t know that that afternoon will be...
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Chapter 17
...this difficult time. Someone responds to say that they are going to attack “the witch,” Hannah Tupper, whom they blame for the sickness. Matthew says they are being nonsensical—the illness is...
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Frightened, Kit asks Matthew what the crowd plans to do to Hannah, who really is just “a poor helpless old woman.” Matthew is upset that Kit is...
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Realizing that Hannah will be facing a mob alone, Kit decides to warn her. She grabs her cloak,...
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When Kit enters the house, she sees Hannah asleep in her chair. She wakes Hannah up and urges her to leave. Realizing that...
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The mob reaches the house and, realizing that Hannah is no longer there, decides to set the house on fire to have “light to...
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...the ship. Nat is there, and Kit quickly tells him about the mob and how Hannah is in danger. Nat immediately directs the ship toward the shore.
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As soon as the ship reaches Hannah, she tells Nat that she can’t leave without her cat. Nat immediately agrees to find...
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Once they are all on the boat, Nat informs Hannah that he is bringing her to Saybrook, where she can stay with his grandmother. Nat...
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Chapter 18
...appear to be improving, much to everyone’s relief. Kit is glad that both Mercy and Hannah are safe now, but she can’t stop thinking about how she declined Nat’s offer to...
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...Cruff, Goodman Cruff. They tell a skeptical Matthew that they have reason to believe that Hannah used magic to disappear—they think she turned herself into a mouse that they saw the...
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At this, Kit admits to visiting Hannah but insists that Hannah isn’t a witch at all. But the others cut Kit off,...
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...and she desperately hopes that no one will find out that Prudence had also visited Hannah—if Prudence gets in trouble, it will be Kit’s fault. Kit regrets introducing Prudence to Hannah,...
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Chapter 19
...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...
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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...
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...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...
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...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...
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Chapter 20
...the trial. In fact, he’s excited for her to have a fresh start, now that Hannah is gone and Kit won’t have to see Prudence. He recognizes that they are supposed...
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Chapter 21
One April day, Kit walks near Blackbird Pond, feeling homesick for Hannah’s house. As she observes the growing plants, Kit is struck with the beauty of the...
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...so sweet because she was with Nat, not because she was returning to Barbados. Remembering Hannah’s words—that “[t]here is no escape if love is not there”—she realizes that she wouldn’t care...
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Trying to appear more dignified, Kit asks about Hannah, and Nat says she’s doing well. Regarding the new ship, Kit asks about the Dolphin....
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