Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses murder and torture.

Abitha is the dynamic protagonist and anti-hero of Slewfoot. She begins as the young, red-headed, headstrong wife of Edward. Abitha is a highly rational character who often uses logic to come to conclusions that don’t always align with received wisdom. In thinking about whether or not Samson is evil, for instance, Abitha reasons: “If God did indeed create all things, then did He not create Samson? Why then is Samson not but one more of God’s creations playing His role in the Lord’s grand design?” (128). This line of reasoning demonstrates that Abitha has a clear and idiosyncratic view of what God is and how God operates. These personal beliefs about God often lead Abitha to disagree with—and be openly critical of—the Puritan Church. She holds that “the Puritans tended to make most moral matters as complicated as possible” (26), while she only sees her belief system as simplifying her experience of the world. This characterizes her as an outsider, foreshadowing her violent rejection of society at the end of the novel.

Abitha’s arc over the course of the