The Heretic's Daughter

Part of the reason for the chronic anxiety of the Puritan community is the pernicious influence of gossip. Information is passed through a word-of-mouth network that symbolizes judgment and relates to the theme of A Community in Crisis. Living on farms in isolated rural communities leads the residents of Massachusetts to rely on rumor as fact. No one makes any attempt to check the validity of the circulating stories.

In particular, tales of Indigenous raids frequently glorify the colonial defenders. Roger Toothaker indulges in this practice when he’s trying to enthrall Sarah with his battle stories. While distorting the facts for dramatic effect may be a sound practice in storytelling, it only succeeds in creating needless anxiety in an audience that can’t distinguish fact from fiction.

The same rule applies when it comes to gossip regarding Martha’s many disputes with her neighbors. A few sharp words are amplified to include injuries after the fact that are attributed to a witch’s curse. The anxiety created after hearing one tall tale may help feed another tall tale in a vicious cycle of gossip, fear, and more gossip. Many of these false rumors are spread innocently by overactive imaginations, but some rumors are spread maliciously.