The Heretic’s Daughter is the first novel by author Kathleen Kent, and it’s a surprising debut. It takes place in and around Salem, Massachusetts during the 1690s, before and during the infamous Salem witch trials. The narrator’s mother, Martha Carrier, is based on the royal woman of the same name, who was one of the first women to be tried and hanged in the trials. Ms. Kent is a tenth generation descendant of Martha Carrier.
Ms. Kent has done her research and does a beautiful job of depicting the harsh realities of life during this time. Although the initial Puritan settlers had come to this land to escape persecution and hoped to found a new religious community, they were beset by plagues, crop failures, and attacks by Indian tribes. The infant mortality rate was so high, we are told in the first few pages, “that some families did not name their children until they were over twelve months old and most likely to live. And in many homes, if a baby died, that same baby’s name would be passed on to the next born. And to the next if that baby also died.”
This is from the novel’s narrator, Sarah Carrier, the daughter of Martha Carrier. If Sarah sometimes seems aloof and unfeeling when she describes horrific events, she’s not surprising, given the climate in which she was raised. In fact, Sarah’s voice and attitude put me off at first, making her hard to relate to or feel. But as the novel progresses, her voice becomes one of the book’s greatest strengths, because she provides such a contrast to our emotionally charged, Oprah-fueled times. Sarah helps us see what a harsh and difficult existence does to people, and as she matures, seeing her mother’s trial and surviving her own imprisonment, her growth and newfound wisdom is much greater. obvious.
As the novel begins, Sarah and her family are on their way to live with her grandmother, and unbeknownst to them, they are bringing smallpox to their new community. This fact, coupled with Martha Carrier’s stubborn and outspoken nature, will ultimately lead to the family becoming a target when the horrifying accusations begin. Those allegations, as presented in The Heretic’s Daughter, gains traction in the community due to the lethal combination of fear and doom-based religion. The community, facing so many challenges to its existence, cannot understand why God is attacking them with such anger. Surely there must be some offense, some sin, for which they are being punished. In desperation, they seek out the ‘sinners’ among themselves, literally demonizing their own neighbors for the slightest offense. They seek to scapegoat and purge, as so many have done in the name of religion throughout history.
From there, the paralysis of fear takes control, with each new charge silencing more people within the community, all seeking to protect their own lives and families. Children up to four years old are detained; since the ‘devil’ is behind everything and can take over anyone’s mind, no one is considered innocent. Quite to the contrary, during trials defendants are definitely considered guilty until proven innocent. And her innocence is in the hands of none other than several hysterical teenage girls (I’ll let you read the book to learn more about this).
One of the most moving aspects of the book is how Martha saves Sarah by helping Sarah realize that behind her mother’s stern exterior lies the greatest of motherly loves. While Sarah at first despises her mother’s difficult personality, wanting to simply capitulate to others, she realizes that her mother’s apparent stubbornness is actually born of tremendous faith and wisdom. This is the exact opposite of what the elders in her community teach: that strict obedience is the foundation of faith. As Sarah observes, that obedience, along with fear, is what allows the madness to continue for so long.
And then The Heretic’s Daughter It works on at least three levels. First, as a gripping historical novel that masterfully describes a certain setting and period of time. Second, as a personal story of a mother and teenage daughter struggling to understand each other. And third, as a warning about how religion can go awry when a society is ruled by fear.
