Bibliographic Data and ISBN
Hemphill, Stephanie. 2010. Wicked Girls: a Novel of the Salem Witch
Trials. New York: Balzer + Bray. ISBN: 9780061853289
Summary
Using
free verse three afflicted young women narrate their perspective of the Salem
Witch Trials.
Critical Analysis
Layout
A
table of contents is not listed. Instead this book begins with descriptions of
each of the afflicted girls. Each poem has a title in all caps and below it
lists the girl’s name and age in italics.
BAG
OF WOOL
Mercy Lewis,
17
The
poems are told from four perspectives: a narrator, Ann Putnam Jr., Margaret
Wolcott, and Mercy Lewis. Pages of the poems by the narrator are embellished
with what looks like a stamp of swirling vines. They have titles like the other
poems, but instead of a girls name in italics underneath each title there is a
date. The poems are listed in chronological order. Storytellers are often
repeated since there are multiple poems from each one listed back to back.
In
addition to the print version I had the chance to listen to the audio. A
different voice actor represents each role. The narrator crowed like an elderly
woman telling a ghost story. Ann Putnam Jr. enunciated her words like a young
preteen. Mercy Lewis spoke like a dignified woman. Margaret Wolcott sounded
like a typical teenage girl. I felt like I could hear her roll her eyes.
The
book concludes with several sections. The first section contains the real
stories of the characters that appeared in the book, over twenty paragraphs.
This was the most fascinating part of the book for me. Not only was this
section informational, but I enjoyed linking the facts with the fictional
account. I was not as impressed as I hoped to be reading the poetry. After
finding out how much research went into this story, though, I changed my mind
about its quality. An author’s note talks about linking the fiction with the
documented facts and how the story of the girls came to be. Hemphill then lists
some her resources in the last pages inviting readers to look into this
historical event.
Poetic Elements
The
poems are told in the type of language people used in the time around 1692. Characters
frequently ask, “How fare ye?” Readers will find vocabulary like thee and thou
amongst many other phrases not typical of contemporary speech.
Like
many verse novels the imagery is strong. Hemphill often uses metaphor to bring
her characters’ emotions to light:
I feel as though I’ve been thrown
to an ocean of ice floes,
the weather so flays my skin
and gnaws on my bones.
(Hemphill, p. 4)
And
in the poem “Ingersoll’s Ordinary” Hemphill paints the picture of the
townsfolk’s interest in accusing witches:
Ingersoll’s serves
a hearty stew
of witch fever.
(Hemphill, p69)
Hemphill
invokes all the senses to create scenes of the girls during their fits. The
girls are afraid, jealous and very lonely.
I scream, for the pain
crashes over my friends face
like a tidal wave,
but she cannot make noise;
barely can she make breath.
(Hemphill, p. 77)
Appeal
Like
most novels in verse, “Wicked Girls” is appealing in it’s brevity. Readers will
also enjoy the heavy dialogue. Female readers may be especially interested
because the book is entirely from the female perspective. Female readers often
enjoy major themes like beauty, romance, and friendship.
While
this may not recount familiar childhood experiences for most readers, I believe
the story is somewhat relatable. These teen girls experience many of the same
emotions girls do today. Ann seeks friendship with anyone who will pay
attention to her. Margaret spends much of the book jealous of Mercy. These
young women grew up in a different period when children grew up sooner and had
more chores. They also grew up in a time when women did not have nearly as many
rights as we do today. It would great to discuss switching places with the
girls and talking about the time in which they lived.
Margaret’s
sexual relationship with Isaac may affect the appeal for some readers. They do
have more than one sexual encounter in the book. Margaret felt guilty and
ashamed for partaking. However it is clear that she was taken advantage of.
Some readers may feel like they are not ready to read about these sorts of
topics.
Some
readers may find it too challenging to understand the language of the period.
In guided reading this can also be taken as a good learning experience. I would
take the quote, “That bonnet be right smart” (Hemphill, p. 82) and discuss its
meaning.
Overall Quality
Poems
are consistent in quality. It is the characters voice though, that are the most
consistent. Each girl is distinctive. Mercy is strong and firm, yet patient and
nurturing. Ann is young, naïve, and bossy. She is hungry for attention.
Margaret is traditional and judgmental. She is focused on status. Even though
each voice has a distinctive point of view you can still see each character
change throughout the story. Once Mercy knows that she has power she starts to
abuse it. She fakes affliction to punish those who have wronged others. Ann
becomes increasingly manipulative once she believes the other girls in the
group are going to leave. She tries to force them to stay. These were once
quiet girls. Then they became power hungry.
The
purpose of “Wicked Girls” is to humanize the history of the Salem Witch Trials.
Hemphill fictionalizes a new perspective, that of the young accusers. As a
reader it is scandalous to find that teenage girls controlled the fate of
innocent people. Many times adults manipulated the girls in order to falsely
accuse others. Though fictionalized it is hard to discern what was real and
what wasn’t. We may never know all the facts, as much from this time was not
documented.
Poems
represent the various moods of our protagonists. They shift from fear to
powerful to jealousy and shame. Their emotions are as volatile as those of teens
of today. It was uncomforting to see how heartless they were when killing the
innocent. I was especially distraught by Margaret’s reaction to Elizabeth’s
demise. The girls were also cruel to Susanna about her weight. I believe the
topic of bullying would be an important conversation to have with readers in a
book club.
Final Analysis
Although
I feel that Hemphill trivializes the female experience of those times, and
reduces it to simple subordination her story is thoroughly researched. Her
timelines for each character compares well to her information on the Salem
Witch Trials that the reader can almost believe there is truth to this story,
even the matter of whether or not the girls were ever truly afflicted. I am
still on the fence about this book. I think if I were to conduct a book club
using it I would want to have a conversation about the state of womankind in
this period. Some audiences are not comfortable with witchcraft, but the book
has merit as a well-research piece of historical fiction.
Featured Poem/Excerpt
An Excerpt from “A Real Beauty”
Margaret Walcott 17
Ann
says, “Mercy can read and write.
And
she has been a servant
since
she was only five.
Mercy
helps me with my lessons.”
Ann
offers this to me
like
it be flavored sugarcane.
“She’ll
not make a goodwife
with
all that reading and such.
‘Tis
against the Lord’s way.”
I
nod, but as soon as she turns her back
I
grab the parchment paper
and
slip it into the pocket of my new skirt.
Maybe
if I look at it enough, I’ll figure
how
to read it.
Poem Connections
I
would use this excerpt as a starting point for a discussion about what the life
of a young woman would be like in those times. Would one be happy then if she
had no idea about her life as it is now? What kinds of feelings do us readers
have when we hear certain lines of this poem? I would encourage matching
opinions to facts and hope it would spark the curiosity for teens to do their
own research on the Salem Witch Trials.
Harper
Collins teaching guide: http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/ReadingGuides/0061853283.pdf
Hemphill
lists several sources after the author’s note that readers can use in
conjunction with finding more resources in the library such as the database,
U.S. History In Context.
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