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Hannah Tupper
Nat Eaton is a sailor whom Kit meets on the Dolphin, the ship that brings Kit from Barbados to Wethersfield, Connecticut. Feisty, opinionated, and adventurous, Nat strikes up a friendship with—and develops a crush on—Kit, although his teasing often frustrates her. Though his family lives in Saybrook, a port city near Wethersfield, Nat spends most of his time sailing. Along with many other New Englanders, Nat believes that the colonies should have independence from King James of England. But unlike most of the Wethersfield townspeople, Nat doesn’t care about conforming to Puritan norms. Like Kit, Nat is friends with Hannah Tupper, despite the Wethersfield Puritans’ insistence that because Hannah is a Quaker rather than a Puritan, she is a witch and undeserving of help or mercy. And Nat is similarly loyal to Kit, despite their frequent disagreements. When the Puritans accuse Kit of being a witch, Nat brings Prudence to testify to prove Kit’s innocence. Along with Kit and Nat’s shared interests and temperament, it is Nat’s loyalty that attracts Kit. She falls in love with him, and the story ends with Nat declaring his intention to marry her.
Nathaniel “Nat” Eaton Quotes in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The The Witch of Blackbird Pond quotes below are all either spoken by Nathaniel “Nat” Eaton or refer to Nathaniel “Nat” 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 2
Quotes
“How did you think they got there? Did you fancy they traveled from Africa in private cabins like yours?”
She had never thought about it at all. “But don’t you have slaves in America?”
“Yes, to our shame! Mostly down Virginia way. But there are plenty of fine folk like you here in New England who’ll pay a fat price for black flesh without asking any questions how it got here. If my father would consent to bring back just one load of slaves we would have had our new ketch by this summer. But we Eatons, we’re almighty proud that our ship has a good honest stink of horses!”
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Chapter 12
Quotes
“The river is so blue today,” [Kit] said sleepily. “It could almost be the water in Carlisle Bay.”
“Homesick?” asked Nat casually, his eyes on the blue strip of water.
“Not here,” she answered. “Not when I’m in the meadow, or with Hannah.”
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Chapter 17
Quotes
“Or you can go on to the West Indies with us.”
Barbados! The tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t, Nat. I have to stay here […] ‘Tis Mercy,” she stammered. “She’s terribly ill. I couldn’t go, I just couldn’t, not knowing—”
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Chapter 21
Quotes
She tried to remember how it had felt to stand on the deck of the Dolphin and see before her the harbor of Barbados. The haunting joy eluded her; the dream shores were dim and unreal. Why had she closed her heart to the true meaning of the dream? How long had she really known that the piercing happiness of that moment had come not from the sight of the harbor at all, but from the certainty that the one she loved stood beside her?
If only I could go with Nat, she realized suddenly, it wouldn’t matter where we went, to Barbados or just up and down this river. The Dolphin would be home enough.
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Nathaniel “Nat” Eaton Quotes in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The The Witch of Blackbird Pond quotes below are all either spoken by Nathaniel “Nat” Eaton or refer to Nathaniel “Nat” 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 2
Quotes
“How did you think they got there? Did you fancy they traveled from Africa in private cabins like yours?”
She had never thought about it at all. “But don’t you have slaves in America?”
“Yes, to our shame! Mostly down Virginia way. But there are plenty of fine folk like you here in New England who’ll pay a fat price for black flesh without asking any questions how it got here. If my father would consent to bring back just one load of slaves we would have had our new ketch by this summer. But we Eatons, we’re almighty proud that our ship has a good honest stink of horses!”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
“The river is so blue today,” [Kit] said sleepily. “It could almost be the water in Carlisle Bay.”
“Homesick?” asked Nat casually, his eyes on the blue strip of water.
“Not here,” she answered. “Not when I’m in the meadow, or with Hannah.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17
Quotes
“Or you can go on to the West Indies with us.”
Barbados! The tears sprang to her eyes. “I can’t, Nat. I have to stay here […] ‘Tis Mercy,” she stammered. “She’s terribly ill. I couldn’t go, I just couldn’t, not knowing—”
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Chapter 21
Quotes
She tried to remember how it had felt to stand on the deck of the Dolphin and see before her the harbor of Barbados. The haunting joy eluded her; the dream shores were dim and unreal. Why had she closed her heart to the true meaning of the dream? How long had she really known that the piercing happiness of that moment had come not from the sight of the harbor at all, but from the certainty that the one she loved stood beside her?
If only I could go with Nat, she realized suddenly, it wouldn’t matter where we went, to Barbados or just up and down this river. The Dolphin would be home enough.
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