Thomas is Margaret’s husband. He works as a carpenter, and because of his skill, his work is in high demand. Thomas is quieter and more reserved than Margaret. He has a calm, even temperament and is not quick to anger. Thomas is also more invested in following social protocol than Margaret: He does not want to act in any way that will draw negative attention from his neighbors. This is in part due to his personality, but also because Thomas hides several secrets: He is Irish and Catholic in a society that stigmatizes both. To live freely, Thomas must do his best to erase his Irish accent and never let on that he grew up in a Catholic household. Although not a devout man, he does still turn to Catholic prayer in times of need. He views the extreme religiosity of his community with chagrin and suspicion. Although he would never publicly criticize Puritan beliefs, values, and social norms, he privately disagrees with the outsize role that religion plays in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Thomas is an ethically grounded man. “Truthful to a fault,” he does not like to lie (22). Because of his habitual honesty, he is deeply troubled by his betrayal of Margaret with the Widow Hallett. Though he is sure that she drugged him, it pains him to keep this secret from Margaret. The value Thomas places on honesty is also the source of emotional distress for him during Margaret’s trial: To Thomas, the false charges represent a kind of lie, and he is troubled to live in a society in which lies are so readily told and hold so much sway. He is additionally troubled by the role that wealth and privilege play in Puritan society. Because people like the Widow Hallett occupy privileged positions within the community, their word has more sway even though they themselves might not be truthful, ethical individuals.

Thomas is also characterized by the depth of the love that he feels for his wife and daughter. He loves Margaret in part for “her forthright words,” even when that forthright nature becomes a liability both to Margaret and to him (48). Because he values honesty, he respects Margaret for speaking her mind. As her words become increasingly vituperative, however, he begins to find fault with her. While he would prefer an honest wife to one who makes a pretense of piety, he also understands better than Margaret that their society is built on pretense and appearances. He is devastated when Margaret dies, but shows the enduring nature of his commitment to her by locating her first daughter. Although Constance is a stranger to him, she is also family. He becomes a father to Constance as a way to honor Margaret’s memory and keep his connection to her alive.

The Widow Hallett is one of Margaret and Thomas’s fellow townspeople and the novel’s antagonist. A foil for Margaret, she uses deceit and manipulation to get her way while Margaret remains scrupulously honest even at the risk of her life. “A widow wealthy, young, and pretty,” she uses her sexuality as a form of power and does her best to entrap Thomas (18). She is a flat character who undergoes no significant change, driven by greed and deceit throughout the novel. She demonstrates her lack of personal ethics in her willingness to steal another woman’s husband, and she shows additional cruelty by promising to bear Thomas children: She knows that Margaret struggles to conceive and that Thomas is grief-stricken over the loss of his daughter, Bess. Ironically, she embodies exactly the manipulative and deceitful traits falsely imputed to Margaret. She drugs Thomas with an aphrodisiac when he does not respond to her many romantic overtures. She also marries a man whom everyone observes is far less assertive than she is and whose position as a minister will grant her a better position within their strictly religious society.

In addition to harnessing the power of her sexuality and using her husband’s religious authority as a form of social capital, the Widow Hallett also represents the power that affluence affords individuals within the colony. Although Thomas notes the stated Puritan goal of establishing a society that privileges religion over wealth, English social structures remain intact; Calvinism in fact reinforced social inequality by arguing that wealth was a sign of God’s favor. Those who possessed wealth were often assumed to be more faithful and virtuous than those who did not. Women like the Widow Hallett, who was wealthy in England, retain their social prominence and enjoy a better position within society than their social “inferiors.” That the Widow Hallett uses her many forms of influence to ensure Margaret is charged and convicted of witchcraft further speaks to her malign intentions. She is, however, punished for her crimes: During their final scene, Margaret notes that punishment will rain down on her “times three,” and the Widow Hallett ultimately loses her own life, that of her child, and that of her second husband.

Alice Stratton is Margaret’s only real friend. She is Samuel’s wife and one of Margaret and Thomas’s neighbors in the colony. Alice is small of stature, but “her slight build belied the tenacious, stubborn strength within her” (8). She is a character associated with strength and assertiveness, although she is not as outspoken as Margaret. Much more so than Margaret, she understands and accepts that certain behaviors are forbidden within their strict society. Alice is also noteworthy for her enjoyment of other forbidden practices like alcohol consumption and pre-marital sex. Like Margaret, Thomas, and her husband Samuel, she has not internalized the more rigid aspects of Puritan doctrine, and although she does not publicize her desires and habits, she does not think less of herself for the kinds of activities she enjoys. Other than Thomas, Alice becomes the only person willing to speak out on Margaret’s behalf, demonstrating both the strength of her commitment to Margaret and her willingness to point out the hypocrisy of Puritan society. She risks being charged with witchcraft herself for defending Margaret, but Alice is an ethical woman who cannot stand idly by as injustice occurs.

Samuel is Alice’s husband and Thomas and Margaret’s friend. “A generous man,” he enjoys hosting and is at ease in his home and in the company of others (41). Samuel is kind and gregarious and has an honest, open personality, but he is aware of the danger of speaking one’s mind too freely in the colony. Like his wife, he keeps his enjoyment of sex and alcohol to himself. Samuel is a good friend to Thomas, and as public sentiment turns against Margaret, he provides Thomas counsel, urging him to impress upon Margaret the importance of discretion. Samuel does not judge Margaret himself and thinks that her actions have not merited the charge of witchcraft, but he is perceptive enough to understand the strict gender politics of his day and realizes that as an outspoken woman, Margaret will have to do very little to be labeled a witch. Although it is Alice who speaks out on Margaret’s behalf after her trial, he and his wife both offer Thomas sanctuary when he is forced off his ship, demonstrating the strength of his friendship with Thomas and his willingness to come to the aid of one of the colony’s most notorious social pariahs.

Mary Doyle is a minor character but one who gives the narrative important socio-historical context. She is a young woman, “indentured to the Hallett family, but originally from Ireland” (18). Indentured servitude was common during the period detailed in The First Witch of Boston both in England and in its colonies. It was a labor system in which individuals were contracted to work for a specific period, often 5-7 years, in exchange for either basic necessities like food and shelter, passage to a new country, or both. Sometimes indentured servants received small sums of money upon the completion of their servitude. Indentured servants had little power and were often subject to mistreatment. The First Witch of Boston is interested in multiple forms of inequality: gender, class, and religious. Mary’s status as a female indentured servant means she has little recourse in the event that she is abused and no power to make decisions that impact her life during the years of her servitude. Mary is additionally disempowered by her status as a Catholic: In the strict Massachusetts Bay Colony, it is forbidden to practice Catholicism, and even making the sign of the cross is seen as heresy.