Tituba of Salem Village

Ann Petry

Tituba of Salem Village

Ann Petry
43 pages1-hour read
Fiction
Novel
Middle Grade
Published in 1964

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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

Supporting Characters

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.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris

Daughter of Elizabeth Parris

Younger Cousin of Abigail Williams

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.

Key Relationships

Wife of Reverend Samuel Parris

Mother of Betsey Parris

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

Servant of Mistress Putnam

Servant of Deacon Putnam

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Mistress Putnam

Daughter of Deacon Putnam

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

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.

Key Relationships

Authority over Reverend Samuel Parris