A study of Tituba, a central character of the notorious Salem witch
trials of 1692, based on skimpy historical evidence that could have
been exhausted in one short article. The slave Tituba, accused of
inducting young Salem innocents into the practice of witchcraft,
has long presented fodder for the imagination. Unfortunately, she
provides much less nourishment for a historical treatment. While
the sorry tale of the Salem trials is well known - two young girls
were suddenly afflicted with a strange illness involving fits,
contortions, and other unexplainable symptoms, which were
eventually attributed to witchery - Tituba's role in the affair
and, more particularly, her life before and after 1692 are shrouded
in mystery. This is partly due to the lack of documentation, which
becomes conspicuous early in this treatment, with the preponderance
of phrases such as "it may well be" and "it is possible." The only
definite records of Tituba's existence are found in relation to the
Salem trials - the transcript of her examination, a warrant for her
arrest, etc. Still, relying on the property records of a plantation
owner in Barbados who can be connected to Tituba's Salem owner,
Breslaw (History/Univ. of Tennessee) argues fairly persuasively
that she was an Arawak-speaking American Indian, not African or
Carib Indian as is often assumed. Breslaw also asserts that Tituba
contributed significantly to events in Salem, not because she was
guilty, but because her "confession" helped reshape the Puritans'
belief in the devil by giving them a multicultural tale of sorcery
with which to enhance their own notions of evil. But though Breslaw
is convincing on these points, the book is so packed with
repetition and filler (such as an illustration depicting a house
that "most closely resembles the Salem Parsonage where Tituba
lived") that the author often seems to be grasping at historical
straws. (Kirkus Reviews)
A landmark contribution to women's history that sheds new light on
the Salem witch trials and one of its most crucial participants,
Tituba of The Crucible In this important book, Elaine Breslaw
claims to have rediscovered Tituba, the elusive, mysterious, and
often mythologized Indian woman accused of witchcraft in Salem in
1692 and immortalized in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Reconstructing the life of the slave woman at the center of the
notorious Salem witch trials, the book follows Tituba from her
likely origins in South America to Barbados, forcefully dispelling
the commonly-held belief that Tituba was African. The uniquely
multicultural nature of life on a seventeenth-century Barbadan
sugar plantation—defined by a mixture of English, American
Indian, and African ways and folklore—indelibly shaped the young
Tituba's world and the mental images she brought with her to
Massachusetts. Breslaw divides Tituba’s story into two parts. The
first focuses on Tituba's roots in Barbados, the second on her life
in the New World. The author emphasizes the inextricably linked
worlds of the Caribbean and the North American colonies,
illustrating how the Puritan worldview was influenced by its
perception of possessed Indians. Breslaw argues that Tituba’s
confession to practicing witchcraft clearly reveals her savvy and
determined efforts to protect herself by actively manipulating
Puritan fears. This confession, perceived as evidence of a
diabolical conspiracy, was the central agent in the cataclysmic
series of events that saw 19 people executed and over 150
imprisoned, including a young girl of 5. A landmark contribution to
women's history and early American history, Tituba, Reluctant Witch
of Salem sheds new light on one of the most painful episodes in
American history, through the eyes of its most crucial participant.
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