How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
Her hands were unskillful not so much from inability as from the rebellion that stiffened her fingers. She was Katherine Tyler. She had not been reared to do the work of slaves. And William Ashby was the only person in Wethersfield who did not expect her to be useful, who demanded nothing, and offered his steady admiration as proof that she was still of some worth. (7.46)
Though William is not an ideal match, his way of life more closely fits to Kit’s vision of who she is: an aristocratic woman who does not perform hard labor. Will her desire for an easy life free of hard work be the only thing that defines Kit’s identity – and the choices she makes?
Quote #5
At the second tug an onion shoot came too, and glancing to see if Judith had noticed, she guiltily thrust the tiny root back into the earth and patted it firm. Bother the things, she would have to keep her mind on them! All at once tears of self-pity brimmed her eyes. What was she doing here anyway, Sir Francis Tyler’s granddaughter, squatting in an onion patch? (8.20)
Kit objects to working in the onion patch because it is backbreaking labor; however, she also scorns the hard work because of how she sees herself: she is the granddaughter of an aristocrat.
Quote #6
“My friend brought the bulb to me, a little brown thing like an onion. I doubted it would grow here but it just seemed determined to keep on trying and look what has happened.” (9.78)
Hannah tells Kit a story about a gift she received from a friend: a tropical flower bulb. Though the flower was not native to Connecticut, the plant was determined to thrive. The flower is a metaphor for Kit herself. Though from Barbados, Kit must persevere in order to survive in the Puritan soil of the Connecticut Colony.