Witch Child is a book about a girl named Mary. Mary is a witch in the time of very strict Puritans, and so she must conform to their rules to keep her true identity a secret, for witchcraft is considered to be highly Satanic, and evil. Her Grandmother, whom she lived with for the first 14 years or so of her life was hung for this ?crime? and so Mary must leave the village she grew up in to escape and start a new life in America.
Having never met her mother or father before, Mary leaves the village she has lived in with no knowledge of the future to come. However, for a brief moment previous to the long journey ahead, Mary lays eyes on her mother for the first, and what she is sure to be, the last time.
The journey to America isn?t very pleasant and involves a lot of prayer. The church people on board (EVERYONE) are sure that they are God?s chosen people, and so mustn?t disobey Him. They think the good things that happen to them are miracles sent by God, and the other things; the bad things, are sent by the Devil through a Witch who is on board. Mary must be on her guard and remember that she has a new life, however it becomes increasingly difficult, especially as whilst on board she has a vision of a boy?s whole life, and ?brings somebody back to life?, according to other passengers.
Mary doesn?t travel with a family, only a few friends she has made, and she spends her days scribing for the church people, as she is intelligent, helping out with the ill, or sewing.
Because she has no direct family on board, she feels very alone, but included at the same time. Written in diary form, we can see exactly how she feels throughout the book.
When they reach America, life isn?t always as great as they had imagined, and Mary?s life is over run by the church, and having to face the hardships of adapting to new surroundings. Mary makes a new Native American friend, but has to keep this a secret too; as she could be expelled from the village should anybody find out she has this acquaintance, as although many villagers respected these Indians, they saw their pagan views and beliefs as being in line with the Devil. This is much like what Mary would face should they discover her past.
Mary is obviously quite confused because she doesn?t really know whom she belongs with, and she faces a lot of dilemmas, she must attend Church but not be true to herself, etc.
I think that I can relate to this book in some ways, even though the times were so different in the 17th Century. Of course, the life of today may not be so materialistically hard, or as strict, however, millions of people face the same issues and dilemmas that Mary or somebody in her time may have faced. There are still huge cultural divides, and ?pagan? religions, especially those including ritual or witchcraft such as Wicca, are still hugely not accepted in today?s society. Those wishing to follow such religions may feel outsider, or like they have to hide the fact they follow these religions and practice these crafts, simply because of how others will judge them for it. Like Mary in Witch Child, they may come to feel like they don?t truly know themselves, and have to be on their guard to not be themselves.
I think the key themes in this book are general hardships and not accepting others, a lot of this down to faith and belief. There?s also love and searching for a new life too.
Many of the characters are so wrapped up in the Bible that they forget what is going on around them. The book teaches a fictional, yet historical and quite factual insight into what life may have been like for somebody like Mary in the 17th Century. I think this book was really well written, and it was very authentic. It gave a full picture of what life may really have been like in Mary?s time.
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