Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

Samson (who goes by many names over the course of the novel) is a dynamic protagonist of Slewfoot. Samson’s many names reflect the ways in which his life has been defined by choices made for him by others: he begins as a stag-like forest god but is tricked into becoming a monstrous slayer by the wildfolk, and he is then killed by Mamunappeht. The many stages of Samson’s existence are also marked by a series of physical transformations. He begins as a stag, is resurrected after losing his head to take on a goat’s head, and then is transformed into a dark stag-god after destroying Mamunappeht.

Samson’s arc over the course of the narrative deals with Self-Knowledge and the Possibility of Self-Definition. Samson is a curious character who is unwilling to accept a single lens when it comes to figuring out who he really is. He is immediately wary of the wildfolks’ narrative about who he has been and what he should do; he seeks information from Abitha, the other townspeople, and the Pequot. Samson’s eventual moment of self-definition comes when he’s able to merge various perspectives about what he is. He keeps the name “Samson,” given to him by Abitha who always believed him to be a fundamentally good, powerful being. After the encounter with Mamunappeht, though, he learns to cast off the false dichotomy of “slayer and shepherd” (122); he embraces the idea that he may need to be both for the Earth Mother. Samson’s arc through the novel is also concerned with his intimacy with Abitha. The Epilogue confirms that the relationship Samson builds with Abitha is lasting and mutually fruitful.

Wallace is Abitha’s brother-in-law, and he is the primary antagonist of Slewfoot. Wallace is, to Abitha’s detriment, a highly perceptive character. He is the only person from town who observes that the products Abitha creates seem to be supernaturally bountiful. He also embodies many of the characteristics of the patriarchal Sutton society: He is entitled, believing that he deserves the resources he’s inherited as the eldest son in the family, and he believes that women exist to serve the men in their lives. Wallace is also a greedy character who is incapable of seeing his own failings: when the tobacco crop he wasn’t supposed to plant fails, he tries to steal from his brother in order to pay off his own debts. Wallace has a keen understanding of how the mechanisms of Gender and Institutional Power work within a patriarchal society. He’s quick to lean on the resources of men in power and he understands how to manipulate the prejudices of those men in order to get what he wants.

Wallace’s assumption that Abitha is a witch, while correct, is rooted in his misogyny and fear of female power. Wallace’s arc over the course of the narrative is closely linked with Abitha’s: as he pushes Abitha closer and closer to the prospect of indenture—and thus closer and closer to Samson—he also becomes increasingly harried and less in control of his own life. As Abitha finds a power that no man in Sutton can contain, Wallace gradually loses his authority. The scene of his death epitomizes this loss of control—he’s not able to control even the members of his household or what happens in his own home as Abitha and Samson invade. By forcing Wallace to cut out his own tongue, Abitha robs Wallace of the root of his power: his ability to lie and manipulate. Wallace ultimately ends up entirely in Abitha’s power as he’s eaten by insects and returned to the Earth Mother.