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The Witch of Blackbird Pond | Puritan Parallels: The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Late-1950s America

Scott Malia received his PhD in drama from Tufts University, and he currently works in theater and education. In the following essay, Dr. Malia discusses the intersection of American Puritanism and 1950s values in the Witch of Blackbird Pond.

The title of Speare’s novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond can be interpreted in two ways. Ostensibly, it refers to the aged Hannah Tupper, who lives in a kind of localized exile because of suspicions of witchcraft. As the wily, self-possessed sailor Nat points out, however, it also applies to the young heroine Kit, who earns a similar reputation upon her arrival in the Puritan town of Wethersfield. The book itself leads a similar double life. Its esteemed reputation is that of a historical romance for young-adult audiences. Yet underneath Kit’s struggles with her family,...

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