Previous
Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Puritan Hypocrisy
Love, Values, and Attraction
Difference, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Home and Belonging
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
Setting down his napkin, Reverend Bulkeley compliments Rachel on the meal. Kit, who’s sitting nearby, bitterly thinks about how much work went into cleaning the house and making the dinner to please the Reverend.
Kit is still bitter about having to work for others. She doesn’t like to sacrifice her time or effort for other people, which only increases her sense of isolation.
Themes
The rest of the Wood family has been quiet throughout dinner. Only Judith has been animated, smiling prettily every time the Reverend looks at her. But the Reverend has spoken mostly to Kit; he knew her grandfather from his trips to Barbados. Now, he asks whether her grandfather was loyal to King James. Kit confirms that he was, adding that she shares her grandfather’s views.
Although the reader doesn’t know for sure why the Wood family has been quiet for most of dinner, it may be because the Reverend is loyal to King James, whereas Matthew isn’t (he has already scorned Kit for her grandfather’s royalist views).
Themes
When the Reverend implies that Matthew will try to persuade her to drop her loyalist views, Matthew becomes furious. He insists that he isn’t a traitor—he merely refuses to recognize Governor Andros, a new governor who was appointed by King James. He is certain that this governor will try to undo the “free government” that the people of Connecticut have “labored and sacrificed” for. The Reverend warns Matthew that such ideas can lead to bloodshed.
The real-life King James appointed Governor Andros (also a real person) to govern several New England colonies. Andros’s appointment overrode the colonists’ charters, the legal documents that granted them certain rights and liberties. The Connecticut charter granted the colonists’ the right to govern themselves. Matthew fears that Governor Andros is going to dismantle the government that the Connecticut colonists have set up. To Matthew, the colonists’ government is a “free” one, yet this is only true for white men—women can’t participate in the government, and Black people in the colonies are enslaved and denied their rights. So, Matthew’s fury could be read as hypocritical—he is upset that Andros may limit his rights, yet he (Matthew) and the other white men in town deny other people those same rights.
Themes
After a tense moment, Mercy asks the Reverend if he’ll read aloud to them. The tension breaks. The Reverend suggests that his pupil, John, read instead. John is thrilled at this distinction. Observing John’s total admiration for the Reverend, Kit unhappily reflects on how John has changed since she first met him. He seems like “a shadow” now.
John is rather subservient to the Reverend, which Kit doesn’t respect. Kit is headstrong and stubborn, which makes her temperament very different than John’s. So, Kit and John no longer seem all that compatible as friends.
Themes
Get the entire The Witch of Blackbird Pond LitChart as a printable PDF.
Reverend Bulkeley instructs John to read a passage about remaining loyal to kings. Kit is surprised to find that she enjoys listening to John read; even if she isn’t following the words, his voice is nice. During the prayer afterwards, she catches Judith intently observing John’s face.
By picking a Bible passage about obeying kings, Reverend Bulkeley is implying that Matthew is wrong for wanting greater independence from the King of England. Meanwhile, Kit notices Judith looking at John’s face, which suggests that Judith is more interested in John’s handsome looks than what he’s saying.
Themes
During the prayer, the Reverend asks that God “bless [their] sister in her weakness and affliction.” Kit realizes with a jolt that he means Mercy. Angry and shocked, Kit muses that the Reverend must not be paying attention to how accomplished Mercy is. Not only does Mercy do at least as much work as the rest of the family, but she is also the glue that holds the family together.
Because Mercy can’t use one of her legs, the Reverend assumes that she’s weaker than the rest of them. But the Reverend is wrong in his prejudice: Mercy seems to be stronger than the rest of the family. Not only does she work at least as hard as everyone else, but she is emotionally intelligent and resilient enough to keep the family together—she isn’t defined by her disability.
Themes
After the Reverend and John leave, Matthew rages that he will never again invite the Reverend over for dinner. As the women begin to clear the table, Matthew adds that, earlier that day, William Ashby asked him if he could call on Kit. As Kit blushes, Rachel tells Matthew that William has “good standing” in the town. Matthew sharply counters that William is also a Royalist before he tells Rachel that it’s time for bed.
Matthew lets his political prejudices get the better of him when he dismisses Rachel’s comment that William is well-respected in Wethersfield. Although William has “good standing” and seems to be kind and respectable, Matthew cares less about William’s character than his political views.
Themes
After the adults to upstairs for the night, Kit eagerly asks Mercy and Judith what they know about William. He has a good plot of land and has plans to build a house as soon as he “makes up his mind.” Judith bitterly adds that “he was just about to make it up […] when [Kit] came along.”
William seems to be wealthier than the Woods—as a single man, he owns land and even plans to build a house when he knows whom he wants to marry. Given Judith’s earlier hopes of impressing a certain William, her comment here likely that she had hoped that he would marry her instead of Kit.
Themes
Suddenly, Kit remembers that Judith had mentioned a William on the morning of Kit’s arrival. Kit hurriedly tells Judith that she’ll tell Matthew that she isn’t interested in William; then maybe he’ll redirect his attentions to Judith. But Judith orders her to not say a word—she’s already decided that she’ll marry John.
Kit’s offer to refuse William’s visit shows her loyalty to her friends and family—she prioritizes her cousin’s marital dreams over her own prospects. But Judith tells Kit that she wants to marry John. So far, the book has characterized Judith as proud and envious, so it is likely that Judith would never ask her cousin for help. She would sooner switch her sights to a different man—even though this man may not be as good a match for her as William would be.
Themes
