Character Roles

Protagonist

Kit Tyler

Katherine Tyler is the orphaned protagonist. She is the character we follow throughout the book on her search for identity and a place she can call home. The narration is centered on Kit’s consciousness.

Antagonist

Goodwife Cruff

Goodwife Cruff accuses Kit of witchcraft and is representative of bigotry and small-mindedness. She is also particularly cruel when it comes to her daughter, Prudence. “Goodwife” is perhaps ironic here.

Antagonist

Uncle Matthew

Uncle Matthew is also an antagonist of sorts, since he is always the authority figure getting in Kit’s way. He is a stern man who forbids Kit to see the widow Hannah Tupper – orders which Kit disobeys. Eventually, though, the two learn to understand each other. Kit’s uncle vigorously defends her against charges of witchcraft, blaming her disobedient behavior on an improper education.

Guide/Mentor

Hannah Tupper

Hannah Tupper is the peace-loving Quaker whose home becomes a refuge for Kit. She gives Kit good advice when she needs it – and offers her a sense of belonging.

Foil

Judith and Mercy

Judith and Mercy provide contrasts to Kit’s character. Mercy is at one end of the spectrum: she is far more patient, loving, and gentle than Kit could ever hope to be. On the other hand, Judith is more vain and worldly than even Kit.

Love Interests

Nat Eaton and William Ashby

William Ashby courts Kit through the first part of the novel. He is one of the richest men in town. Marriage to him represents a life of leisure and comfort – the kind Kit was used to in Barbados. William himself, though, is rather dull. He and Kit have very little to talk about.

Nat Eaton is the smirking seaman from the Dolphin. Their friendship with Hannah (and mutual love of Shakespeare’s The Tempest) brings them both together. They both value friendship and the people around them. Nat comes to Kit’s aid when she is on trial for witchcraft, and the two are to be married as the novel concludes.

Shadow Protagonist

John Holbrook

While the story is about Kit Tyler, there is another character who is on a journey to find himself. John’s journey mirrors Kit’s in many senses. John arrives in Wethersfield at the same time as Kit, and from there he must learn to be his own man. John must decide what he thinks politically with Uncle Matthew and Gersholm Bulkeley. He must also decide who he will marry: will he let himself be bullied into marriage with Judith or will he marry Mercy, the woman he loves?