Sexism Theme Analysis

The Witch of Blackbird Pond explores sexist attitudes in 17th-century Puritan New England. The book begins with Kit moving to Connecticut because, after the death of her grandfather, she needs someone to financially support her. As a woman, Kit doesn’t have the option to work, so she moves in with her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Matthew. Sexism follows Kit to New England, where cultural attitudes forbid women from participating in various activities, from swimming to voting. While the men have a variety of job opportunities, women have almost none: they simply do domestic work in their families’ homes until they marry, after which they are expected to be submissive to their husbands. Kit, like her cousins and aunt, is a product of this sexist environment. Despite the political upheaval that serves as the background of the novel, Kit’s thoughts about the future are mainly limited to marriage, which is representative of the limited opportunities afforded to women in Puritan New England. Through the experiences of its female characters, The Witch of Blackbird Pond shows how 17th-century women’s personal and professional development are restricted due to sexist cultural assumptions and gender roles.

The Puritans in the novel impose gender roles on women to restrict how they behave. The novel opens with one such sexist restriction when Kit finds out that, as a woman, she isn’t allowed to swim. According to a Puritan superstition, respectable women sink in the water, whereas witches float. This gendered rule sets the scene for an environment in which cultural attitudes dictate what women can and can’t do. In addition to activities like swimming, the Puritans bar women from participating in civic life through voting or serving in government. When Matthew invites over men to discuss politics, the women wait outside the meeting room, which is representative of how women in their society aren’t permitted to participate in politics. When Rachel tries to talk about politics, Matthew dismisses her opinion, saying that “all a woman thinks about” is “[h]er own house.” Indeed, the Puritans expect women to only care about their domestic duties. While Matthew works in the fields and in the government, the women of the Wood family are primarily confined to the house (although they do occasionally work outside).

These same gender roles also restrict women’s professional growth. Their opportunities for work are few, which makes economic independence very difficult for them to attain. Kit’s economic dependence on men is clear from the beginning of the novel, when her grandfather, whom she relied upon, dies. As a 16-year-old young woman, Kit cannot live or work on her own. This limits her options: she can either marry an old man who wishes to exploit her financial difficulties, or she can move to Connecticut to be with her only remaining relatives. Kit decides that going to stay with her family in Connecticut is preferable, but here she finds that the Puritans value boys over girls because sons are seen as more “useful” than daughters in supporting a family. In fact, Kit overhears Judith and Rachel discussing how they wish Kit were a boy. In Puritan society, boys were able to help their fathers with agricultural and trade work, whereas women were generally required to stay at home. The only jobs in the novel that women can do are related to children. Kit teaches to earn a small wage, which she hopes will make the family “think [she is] of some use, even if [she’s] not a boy.” When she’s planning to move back to Barbados, she hopes to work as a governess there. When Kit decides not to go back to Barbados, she chooses the other means of financial security that Puritan society deemed acceptable: marriage. Because girls are considered a drain on a family’s resources, marriage is the typical end-goal for them. Kit, Judith, and Mercy all feel this expectation; Rachel and Matthew want the girls to marry so that the “girls [will be] well provided for.”

The book’s female characters are products of their environment: as the Puritans restrict their behavior and professional opportunities, the women step into their prescribed gender roles and rarely challenge Puritan society’s expectations for women. Throughout the novel, Kit’s primary concerns revolve around her marital prospects. Marriage is her future, so as soon as William begins courting her, most of her attention is dedicated to him. She might not think about him as much if there were “anything else to break the long monotonous stretch from Saturday to Sunday,” but her life consists of housework, which the novel suggests is dreary and unfulfilling. Despite the momentous political changes occurring during Kit’s time in Wethersfield, she—along with her cousins and aunt—never express considerable interest in the political goings on. This lack of interest shows the impact of Puritan society’s banning women from participating in the government: the women of the novel simply accept that “[t]he men can take care of the government” and carry on with the housework. In this way, Puritan society’s strict gender roles prevent women from even entertaining the idea of pursuing interests outside of the home.

Notably, The Witch of Blackbird Pond was published in the 1950s, when American society generally expected women to be obedient housewives, whereas the men had authority in the household. The book reflects these same gender roles and even implies that women should be submissive to their husbands. For instance, the novel repeatedly condemns Goodwife Cruff—the only female character who has more authority than her husband—for being the dominant figure in her marriage. The narration describes Goodwife Cruff as a “shrew,” and her husband as “too spineless to stand up […] against his […] wife.” In the end, Goodman Cruff silences Goodwife Cruff, an act that the novel describes as “[Goodwife Cruff’s] husband stepp[ing] into his rightful place.” In this way, the novel appears to be a product of its environment, too, as its female characters’ restricted opportunities reflect the gender roles of both Puritan society and mid-20-century American society.