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Captain Eaton
Mrs. Eaton is Captain Eaton’s wife and Nat’s mother. She and Kit became friends during Kit’s journey from Barbados to Connecticut, as they “share[] the bond of being the only two women aboard the Dolphin.” In 17th-century New England, women didn’t travel as much as men did—especially alone—and they rarely worked on ships. The scarcity of women on the Dolphin more broadly represents gender roles at the time of the novel, as American colonial society dictated that women be limited to domestic work. Mrs. Eaton steps into this gender role: she tells Kit that she looks forward to being “a proper housewife” during the summer, as opposed to sailing with her husband.
Mrs. Eaton Quotes in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The The Witch of Blackbird Pond quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Eaton or refer to Mrs. Eaton. 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:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“But I thought the Dolphin was your home!”
“In the wintertime it is, when we sail to the West Indies. But I was born in Saybrook, and in the spring I get to hankering for my house and garden. Besides, I’d never let on to my husband, but the summer trips are tedious, just back and forth up and down the river. I stay at home and tend my vegetables and my spinning like a proper housewife. Then, come November, when he sails for Barbados again, I’m ready enough to go with him. ‘Tis a good life, and one of the best things about it is coming home in the springtime.”
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Mrs. Eaton Quotes in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The The Witch of Blackbird Pond quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Eaton or refer to Mrs. Eaton. 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:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“But I thought the Dolphin was your home!”
“In the wintertime it is, when we sail to the West Indies. But I was born in Saybrook, and in the spring I get to hankering for my house and garden. Besides, I’d never let on to my husband, but the summer trips are tedious, just back and forth up and down the river. I stay at home and tend my vegetables and my spinning like a proper housewife. Then, come November, when he sails for Barbados again, I’m ready enough to go with him. ‘Tis a good life, and one of the best things about it is coming home in the springtime.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
