I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem

The Jewish merchant, Benjamin Cohen d’Azevedo, is a widower with nine children. The family fled Portugal to escape religious persecution, and the children speak only Portuguese and Hebrew.

On her first day, Benjamin gives Tituba a vial and instructs her to drink the preparation, explaining it was something his wife, Abigail, used to prepare. He also gives her Abigail’s clothing. Tituba begins to feel her presence and asks Benjamin if he would like to speak with her. Sacrificing a sheep, Tituba feels “a pair of lips on her neck” and recognizes Hester (125). Abigail emerges, and from that day, it becomes a weekly ritual for Benjamin to see his beloved wife. Eventually, the children also attend to visit their mother.

Tituba and Benjamin become lovers, and Tituba asks, “Why must any relationship with the slightest hint of affection between a man and a woman necessarily end up in bed?” (126), noting that she lives “in that odd situation of being both mistress and servant” (127). The two discuss their ancestry and their histories of persecution.

When Benjamin questions Tituba about her sadness, she expresses her desire to return to Barbados—a discussion that ends abruptly due to Benjamin’s negative reaction. She settles into life with the family, but her comfort is disrupted when she hears news of John Indian living with a white woman.

Tituba enjoys four months with Benjamin, who calls her his “beloved witch.” Alone, Tituba remembers “that misfortune never gives up” (131), and she awaits its arrival. The one-page chapter, only 10 sentences in length, ends with Tituba waiting.

The Puritans begin to attack Jewish homes—first by stoning Benjamin, Tituba, and his family at their front door, and finally by setting fire to the home and killing the children.

Benjamin explains the situation to Tituba: “There is a rational explanation for all of this. They want to bar us from the profitable trade with the West Indies. As usual, they fear and hate our ingenuity” (133). He adds, however, that he does not agree, and that God is punishing him for selfishly refusing her freedom.

Benjamin makes plans to return to Rhode Island. Despite her protests, he grants Tituba her freedom, officially documented, and books her passage to Barbados. Aboard the ship Bless the Lord, Tituba is recognized as a confessed witch of Salem. The captain demands Tituba address him as “Master” and commands that Tituba must use her powers to watch the crew and ward off coming storms. A slave named Deodatus recognizes and befriends Tituba, but in the confusion of embarking in Barbados, she loses sight of him.

In Chapter 11, another one-page chapter, Tituba longs for Benjamin. Feeling Hester’s consternation, she defends her feelings: “Some men who have the virtue of being weak instill in us the desire to be a slave” (137).