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Tituba is a young West Indian enslaved woman living in Barbados before her sudden sale and relocation to Boston. She respects her Caribbean roots, maintaining traditions such as folklore, tarot reading, and medicinal herbalism. Despite being displaced to the cold and hostile environment of New England, she labors continuously to restore the neglected Parris household. She approaches the people of Salem with compassion and common sense, though her heritage and practical skills make her an object of suspicion among the superstitious villagers.
Wife of John Indian
Enslaved by Reverend Samuel Parris
Caretaker and Target of Abigail Williams
Caretaker of Betsey Parris
Employee and Friend of Samuel Conklin
Sympathetic Friend to Sarah Good
Caretaker of Puss
Formerly Enslaved by Susanna Endicott
Caretaker of Elizabeth Parris
Reverend Samuel Parris is a failed commodities trader who turns to the ministry for financial stability. He is arrogant and deeply concerned with his social status and material comforts, prioritizing free firewood and real estate over the spiritual health of his congregation. His rigid interpretation of religion lacks compassion, making him quick to judge and punish those beneath him.
Husband of Elizabeth Parris
Father of Betsey Parris
Uncle and Guardian of Abigail Williams
Enslaver of Tituba Indian
Enslaver of John Indian
Colleague of Reverend John Hale
Subordinate to William Phips
Abigail is the nine-year-old orphaned niece of Reverend Parris. Feeling emotionally isolated in a household that favors her cousin Betsey, she seeks power and attention through malicious behavior. She possesses a manipulative streak and quickly learns how to exploit the fears of the Puritan community. She stages elaborate physical fits and directs accusations at vulnerable adults for her own amusement.
Niece of Reverend Samuel Parris
Niece of Elizabeth Parris
Older Cousin of Betsey Parris
Antagonist to Tituba Indian
Friend of Mercy Lewis
Blackmailer of Sarah Good
Informant against Pim
John is a physically strong and morally steadfast enslaved man from Barbados. He accepts his difficult circumstances with a stoic pragmatism, understanding that survival is the primary goal for an enslaved person. Forced to work at a local tavern in Salem to supplement his enslaver's income, he keeps a realistic perspective on the dangerous capacities of the Puritan townsfolk.
Husband of Tituba Indian
Enslaved by Reverend Samuel Parris
Formerly Enslaved by Susanna Endicott
Enslaved by Elizabeth Parris
Caretaker of Abigail Williams
Caretaker of Betsey Parris
Coworker of Pim
Betsey is the five-year-old daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris and Elizabeth Parris. She is an anxious and impressionable child who suffers from occasional staring spells that others misinterpret. She relies heavily on Tituba for comfort, storytelling, and emotional support in an otherwise austere and tense household.
Daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris
Daughter of Elizabeth Parris
Younger Cousin of Abigail Williams
Ward of Tituba Indian
Friend of Mercy Lewis
Elizabeth is the frail and ailing wife of Reverend Samuel Parris. Her poor health renders her an invalid, requiring constant care and herbal remedies from her household staff. Her physical condition limits her involvement in the daily management of her family, leaving much of the child-rearing and domestic labor to Tituba.
Wife of Reverend Samuel Parris
Mother of Betsey Parris
Aunt of Abigail Williams
Enslaver of Tituba Indian
Friend of Mistress Putnam
Pim is a young boy who attempts to stow away on the ship but is reported by Abigail and sold into indentured servitude. Bound to a farmer in Salem until age twenty-one, he finds occasional work at the tavern where he sings carefree songs that irritate the local minister. He retains a rebellious spirit and dreams of escaping the restrictive Puritan settlement.
Protected by Tituba Indian
Betrayed by Abigail Williams
Romantic Interest of Mercy Lewis
Coworker of John Indian
Samuel Conklin is a weaver and a neighbor to the Parris family during their brief stay in Boston. Recognizing Tituba's strong hands and intelligence, he teaches her the complex craft of operating a loom. He is an independent thinker who values hard work and skill over the religious paranoia sweeping the colony.
Mentor and Friend of Tituba Indian
Neighbor of Reverend Samuel Parris
Mistress Endicott is a widow in Barbados who owns the estate where Tituba and John initially live. Facing financial setbacks due to her own gambling debts, she sells her enslaved workers to Reverend Parris, though she provides them with warm woolen clothing for the New England climate before their departure.
Former Enslaver of Tituba Indian
Former Enslaver of John Indian
Sarah Good is an impoverished, unkempt woman who wanders the village of Salem asking for handouts. Her status as a homeless vagrant makes her an outcast and an easy target for local rumors regarding witchcraft. She relies on the charity of neighbors and lives fiercely protective of her young child.
Mother of Dorcas Good
Befriended by Tituba Indian
Blackmailed by Abigail Williams
Fellow Outcast and Acquaintance of Sarah Osburne
Dorcas is the young daughter of Sarah Good. Growing up in extreme poverty, she carries a crude corn husk doll stuck with thorns. She names her poppet after a child who recently died in a fire, a choice that inadvertently feeds the morbid superstitions of the girls in the Parris household.
Daughter of Sarah Good
Bullied by Abigail Williams
Mercy is an indentured servant bound to the Putnam household. She quickly integrates into the social circle of Abigail and Betsey, bringing a deck of tarot cards into the minister's home. She is a flighty, suggestible girl who struggles with the heavy responsibilities of her servitude and the strict rules of her community.
Servant of Mistress Putnam
Servant of Deacon Putnam
Friend of Abigail Williams
Friend of Betsey Parris
Romantic Interest of Pim
Acquaintance of Tituba Indian
Mistress Osburne is an elderly, frail neighbor in Salem Village. She seeks out Tituba's herbal remedies to soothe her arthritis. Her advanced age and isolation make her vulnerable to the suspicions of the more aggressive townspeople who look for scapegoats.
Customer and Acquaintance of Tituba Indian
Fellow Outcast of Sarah Good
Mistress Putnam is a prominent neighbor in Salem who frequently visits the ailing Elizabeth Parris. She is an influential member of the congregation whose household employs indentured servants, representing the established farming class of the village.
Wife of Deacon Putnam
Mother of Anne Putnam
Employer of Mercy Lewis
Friend of Elizabeth Parris
Anne is the daughter of Mistress and Deacon Putnam. She joins the circle of girls who gather at the parsonage, participating in the secretive fortune-telling sessions and listening to tales of Barbados.
Deacon Putnam is the patriarch of the Putnam family and a leading religious figure in Salem Village. He represents the rigid authority of the church and quickly accepts supernatural explanations for unusual household events rather than seeking logical causes.
Husband of Mistress Putnam
Father of Anne Putnam
Employer of Mercy Lewis
Mistress Sibley is a proactive but highly superstitious neighbor in Salem. Determined to solve the mystery of the girls' strange behavior, she relies on folklore and magical rituals. Her actions inadvertently accelerate the village's descent into paranoia.
Neighbor of Tituba Indian
Parishioner of Reverend Samuel Parris
Mary is one of the young girls in Salem who begs for her fortune to be read. When Tituba foresees a dark future involving mass tragedy, she fabricates a happy prophecy about a wealthy marriage to placate the anxious girl and keep the peace.
Friend of Abigail Williams
Acquaintance of Tituba Indian
Judah is a mysterious woman who lives on the outskirts of the settlement. She shares her knowledge of woodland roots and plants with Tituba, but is shunned by the religious establishment due to persistent rumors of witchcraft.
Acquaintance of Tituba Indian
Disapproved of by Reverend Samuel Parris
Reverend Hale is a visiting minister called in to assess the strange behavior of the Salem girls. His arrival signals the formal elevation of the girls' antics from a local disturbance to a serious religious investigation backed by colonial authority.
Colleague of Reverend Samuel Parris
Puss is a feral black cat that Tituba befriends and feeds. According to Caribbean folklore, he is a "money cat" that brings good fortune. He provides Tituba with much-needed companionship during her solitary hours of household labor, though the Puritans view him with deep suspicion.
Pet of Tituba Indian
Disliked by Reverend Samuel Parris
William Phips is the Royal Governor stationed in Boston. He represents the secular authority of the British Crown. His position gives him the power to scrutinize the legal foundations of the colony's judicial actions, providing a direct contrast to the religious fervor of the local Puritan ministers.
Authority over Reverend Samuel Parris