Joining late? Need to catch up? Here’s a snapshot of where we are.
SUMMARY
The doors have blown open in Salem, and the witchcraft hysteria has exploded. In the last 7 weeks, 10 people were arrested. In the next 7 weeks, it’ll be 54. As a reader, it’s overwhelming. But it was also overwhelming to the real-life people at the time. My hope as a writer is to link the two, so today’s readers can experience the same confusion and even pain with those who lived through it. I hope you’ll choose to stay with it – just as they had to.
WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK
12 people were arrested, examined, and sent to jail. One of them was Giles Corey (the gospel woman’s husband). He’s bewildered and angry, and has written a new will, disinheriting the sons-in-law who turned against him and his wife, Martha. He also disinherited Martha – but why?
We also met a new accuser: Susannah Sheldon, a traumatized war refugee who’s lost her brothers and father, and is suddenly living in poverty. She’s accused the wealthiest couple in Salem.
13-year-old Ann Putnam, the most active accuser, has now cried out against Salem’s former minister, and a former deputy who quit because he thought he was arresting innocent people.
WHO’S WHERE
Accused
NEW – The Reverend George Burroughs – a minister in Maine who used to be the minister of Salem Village. He left a few enemies behind. (He doesn’t know he’s accused yet.)
NEW – John Willard – a former constable and deputy who quit when he became convinced he was arresting innocent people. (He doesn’t know he’s been accused yet.)
Arrested
12 people, but they were immediately sent to jail. See below.
In Jail (23 people)
NEW – Bridget Bishop (unruly) – an outspoken woman who’s been in and out of court for years.
NEW – Mary Esty (pious) – With the nervous Sarah Cloyce, another sister of the beloved Rebecca Nurse.
NEW – Sarah Wilds (flamboyant) – an aging, glamorous woman who’s left a trail of scandals in her wake.
NEW – Giles Corey (cantankerous) – the gospel woman Martha Corey’s husband.
NEW – Abigail Hobbs – a wild child who wanders through the woods at night, disobeys her parents, and claims she’s made a pact with the Devil. Her parents were arrested a few days later.
NEW – Mary Warren – the Proctors’ servant, who’s been afflicted, cured, accused, and is now afflicted again. The judges can’t figure out which side of the fence she’s on, so they’re keeping her in jail.
Sarah Cloyce (nervous) – Rebecca Nurse’s younger sister. She’d stormed out of church, which sparked people to question whether innocent people were being accused.
Martha Corey (gospel woman) – a slightly arrogant church member; Giles Corey’s wife.
Dorcas Good (4 years old) – the daughter of the beggar Sarah Good.
Sarah Good (beggar) – a vagrant who smokes a pipe and has a terrible temper. She has her baby in jail with her.
Rebecca Nurse (beloved) – a 70-year-old grandmother who is well-loved throughout the community.
Sarah Osborne (sickly) – a scandal-ridden woman who married her servant and is trying to take her sons’ inheritance.
Elizabeth Proctor (quarrelsome) – an opinionated tavern owner, married to the respected but harsh John Proctor.
John Proctor (harsh) – A farmer and tavern owner, opinionated and sometimes overbearing, but respected.
Tituba (slave) – the minister’s slave who was the first to be accused and the first to confess.
7 other people: A slave, a wealthy merchant’s wife, a woman in a nearby town, the unruly Bridget Bishop’s son and daughter-in-law, and the wild child Abigail Hobbs’s parents.
Tried & Sentenced
(No one … yet)
Died
(No one … yet)