how Tituba's mother was raped by an English sailor, meaning that even before she was born, she was the product of colonial racism, "hatred and contempt." She later sees her mother hanged for resisting another attempt at rape by a white man.

The intersection of race and sex make Tituba uniquely vulnerable. However, she finds sympathy and friendship with those who share some of her disadvantages. In jail, she meets the pregnant Hester Prynne, another woman who has been the victim of sexist Puritan hypocrisy (since she is punished, while the father of the child remains free). Later, Tituba is sold to the Jewish merchant, Benjamin Cohen d'Azevedo who, although he is white and free, suffers terribly from the Anti-Semitism of the Puritans (both racial and religious), who burn down his house, killing his children.

The religious hypocrisy of the Puritans is also stressed in their treatment of Tituba. They refuse to accept her beliefs and customs as a religion but are eager to use her knowledge as a healer. Then, of course, they use that knowledge as evidence of witchcraft when they decide to imprison her.