Hope Leslie Themes

Hope Leslie portrays events surrounding the Fletcher household in the 17th-century Massachusetts Bay Colony, a context that was infamously intolerant of diverse religious beliefs. The colony was founded by the Puritans, or pilgrims, a Calvinist Protestant group fleeing religious persecution in England and seeking to establish a purely Christian society in the American wilderness. This quest led to conflict with the beliefs of already-present American Indian groups, such as the Pequots, who occupy a prominent…

Hope Leslie is remarkable for its portrayal of interracial relationships, both friendships and marriages, often narrated from the perspectives of American Indian characters as well as white characters. White and Pequot children befriend one another, learn from each other, and later fall in love. Yet these relationships aren’t necessarily accommodated within broader society, which leads to divided loyalties, violence, and exile. Such conflicts are exemplified in the troubled friendship of Pequot Magawisca with white Everell…

Though the spirited Hope Leslie is the titular heroine of the novel, Sedgwick portrays a notable range of female characters. Writing in the 1820s, she seeks both to honor the impact of women on America’s founding and to suggest ways that women’s roles must continue to evolve in order for women to contribute fully to their society. She does this by showing that even women who adhered to the submissive roles expected of them in…

Throughout Hope Leslie, Sedgwick offers a nuanced portrayal of 17th-century Puritan (or pilgrim) society. Like other 19th-century writers, Sedgwick doesn’t refrain from critiquing perceived excesses in that society—hypocrisy being a chief complaint. However, she offers a more positive characterization of the Puritans than some of her contemporaries did, as she tries to fairly portray even their faulty motivations and she assesses their overall mission as a laudable one. Ultimately, she sees the pilgrims’ idealized…