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In Hope Leslie, the wilderness or forest is the home of American Indian people, as opposed to the towns and settlements occupied by English colonists. As such, the forest symbolizes the absence of English civilization, the unknown, and the threat of violence at the hands of native characters against white characters. Magawisca is repeatedly referred to as a “child of the forest” whose marked intelligence is thought to contrast with her wilderness origins, and she ultimately returns to that realm, unable to assimilate into colonial society. When the Fletcher homestead is attacked by Mononotto and his warriors, they invade Bethel from the forest, and they take Everell and Faith away into that dangerous, inaccessible realm, beyond their loved ones’ best efforts to discover and rescue them. Ultimately, a character must belong either to the wilderness or to the “civilized” world, even if, like Magawisca, nature-loving Hope Leslie, or Faith (who marries a member of her captor’s family), she is able to navigate both to some degree.
Wilderness Quotes in Hope Leslie
The Hope Leslie quotes below all refer to the symbol of Wilderness. 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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Volume 1, Chapter 6
Quotes
In the quiet possession of the blessings transmitted, we are, perhaps, in danger of forgetting, or undervaluing the sufferings by which they were obtained. We forget that the noble pilgrims lived and endured for us—that when they came to the wilderness, they said truly, though it may be somewhat quaintly, that they turned their backs on Egypt—they did virtually renounce all dependence on earthly supports—they left the land of their birth—of their homes […] for what?—to open for themselves an earthly paradise?—to dress their bowers of pleasure and rejoice with their wives and children? No—they came not for themselves—they lived not to themselves.
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Volume 1, Chapter 7
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His mother's counsels and instructions, to which he had often lent a wearied attention—the passages from the sacred book he had been compelled to commit to memory, when his truant thoughts were ranging forest and field, now returned upon him as if a celestial spirit breathed them into his soul. Stillness and peace stole over him. He was amazed at his own tranquillity. 'It may be,' he thought, 'that my mother and sisters are permitted to minister to me.'
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Volume 2, Chapter 2
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"There lies my mother," cried Hope, without seeming to have heard Magawisca's consolations, "she lost her life in bringing her children to this wild world, to secure them in the fold of Christ. Oh God! restore my sister to the christian family."
"And here," said Magawisca, in a voice of deep pathos, "here is my mother's grave; think ye not that the Great Spirit looks down on these sacred spots, where the good and the peaceful rest, with an equal eye; think ye not their children are His children, whether they are gathered in yonder temple where your people worship, or bow to Him beneath the green boughs of the forest?"
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Volume 2, Chapter 5
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“[M]y sweet mistress […] this having our own way, is what every body likes; it's the privilege we came to this wilderness world for; and though the gentles up in town there, with the Governor at their head, hold a pretty tight rein, yet I can tell them, that there are many who think what blunt Master Blackstone said, 'that he came not away from the Lords-bishops, to put himself under the Lord's-brethren.' […] I know which way the wind blows. Thought and will are set free. […] Times are changed—there is a new spirit in the world—chains are broken—fetters are knocked off—and the liberty set forth in the blessed word, is now felt to be every man's birth-right.
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Get the entire Hope Leslie LitChart as a printable PDF.
Wilderness Symbol Timeline in Hope Leslie
The timeline below shows where the symbol Wilderness appears in Hope Leslie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Volume 1, Chapter 2
...In its early days, the town consists of a fort and log dwellings, and dense forest surrounds it. Mr. Fletcher establishes his family in a modest house on the outskirts of...
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Volume 1, Chapter 3
...in his absence. Martha reports that Mrs. Grafton is a strange fit in the Puritan wilderness, and that Everell teases her about her allegiance to the prayer-book. Everell, meanwhile, is devoted...
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...unique beauty and gifted mind, despite the fact that she is a “child of the forest.” She wonders whether Magawisca and Everell ought to be separated before they grow too attached...
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Lately, Mrs. Fletcher reports, there have been rumors of unfriendly American Indians in the nearby forest. The Fletchers have been encouraged to move into the town fort, but, despite her forebodings,...
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Volume 1, Chapter 4
...night, Digby and Everell sit on the porch of the house at Bethel, overlooking the forest. They see Magawisca sneak out a window and disappear into the forest. When Digby begins...
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...that he is mistaken and goes to speak to Magawisca, who has reemerged from the forest. When Everell questions her, Magawisca bursts into uncharacteristic tears and can’t be consoled. Everell notices...
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Volume 1, Chapter 5
Just then, yells fill the air as three warriors burst out of the forest. Magawisca and Oneco cry, “My father! My father!” Magawisca falls at Mononotto’s feet and begs...
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Oneco, holding Faith, and Everell are taken into the forest. Magawisca, in despair, follows them. As they enter the forest, Mononotto tears off Oneco’s English...
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Volume 1, Chapter 6
Just as the group vanishes into the forest, Digby and another household servant ride onto the property. At first, the house is so...
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...an hour ahead of the group from Bethel that’s pursuing them. Though they know the forest intimately, they are slowed down by their captives. Faith is placed in a makeshift carrier...
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Volume 1, Chapter 8
...Fletcher with a painting of Everell, sleeping under a tree on the edge of the forest, a wolf about to spring on him, a man in the background aiming a musket....
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...be imminent. As soon as they get home, Hope goes to Nelema’s hut in the forest and persuades her to help. At Bethel, Nelema orders everyone except for Hope to leave...
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Volume 2, Chapter 2
...bring her daughters to a Christian colony, only to lose one of them to the wilderness.
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Volume 2, Chapter 5
...says that everyone likes getting their own way; that’s what the pilgrims traveled to the wilderness for. He muses that times are changing, and that liberty of thought and action are...
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Volume 2, Chapter 7
...Faith Leslie to become Oneco’s wife, or taken to a Catholic priest in the western forest.
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Volume 2, Chapter 8
...might grant Magawisca freedom and allow her, instead of following her father back into the forest, to join a community of Christian Indians. Everell isn’t impressed, and Esther leaves the room,...
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Volume 2, Chapter 14
...cannot be happy while separated from Oneco. She must be allowed to fly to the forest.
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...canoe. She plans to go in search of Mononotto and to find happiness in the wilderness. Hope, repelled by the thought of such solitude, acknowledges that Magawisca will be happy there,...
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Volume 2, Chapter 15
...who then leads the small remnant of the Pequot people to safety in the western forests.
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