How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I knew what concerned our magistrates and why the Hobbses were so fearful for Abigail. Women who read books, who wrote their thoughts on parchment, did not honor their fathers or ministers. They were considered dangerous. It went back to the time of Anne Hutchinson. (6.21-22)
It might tough to believe, but books were considered dangerous for a long time. (They still are—just check out this banned books list.) And in Salem, reading a book as a woman was a major no-no. What do you think it is about a woman reading that scared people so much?
Quote #5
Again Abigail laughed. "All girls 'twixt twelve and twenty are witches, don't you know that? How else can we accomplish our goal of becoming women?" (6.99)
Abigail has a theory about teenage ladies: they're basically witches. Whoa, hold up Abs—that's a pretty bold thing to say, especially in a witch-hating town like Salem. She believes that going from a girl to a woman takes a type of witchcraft, and we know Abigail doesn't really mean riding on broomsticks. So what do you think she's referring to when she calls girls witches? What about the transition from girl to woman requires so-called witchcraft back in the day?
Quote #6
I'd learned, too, that I was not the only one dissatisfied with our way of life in Salem. Abigail Hobbs was trying to escape its suffocating effects. And, if I were to be truly honest with myself, so were the girls in the circle. (6.108)
It looks like all the girls in Salem have something in common—Susanna finds it tough to be a gal, and it turns out Abigail feels the same way. They both want some freedom and we can't blame them. Susanna even calls the climate in Salem "suffocating," so that tells us she feels super constrained there. The fact that the lying girls also want to find some freedom means that these gals are all in the same boat. Susanna may not like it, but they're all going through the same struggles of being a dudette in a dude's world.