Point of View

The novel is written in third-person and is generally limited to the perspective of Mary Deerfield. This means that, as a rule, the reader knows only what Mary knows. This is necessary so the author can keep some information secret, allowing for the plot twist at the end. Mary is young and naive in some ways, and these factors affect her perspective. For example, she fully believes that witchcraft is real and that there are people in her community who are in league with the Devil. When she finds two forks buried in her garden, she is frightened because of her belief that witchcraft is real, and she believes someone could do her harm with whatever spell the forks represent. Mary is not alone in this belief. Her servant, Catherine, is afraid of Mary because she truly believes Mary is a witch. Mary does not...