Hour of the Witch

Hour of the Witch (2021) is a work of historical fiction by Chris Bohjalian. The novel traces the life of Mary Deerfield, a Puritan woman in colonial Boston in 1662 who petitions for divorce from her abusive husband. The trial, however, becomes a spectacle of witchcraft, dark magic, and hysteria, with Mary caught in the middle. The novel is divided into two sections: “The Book of the Wife” and “The Book of the Witch.” Each section examines the ways religion and hysteria work in tandem with patriarchal oppression to keep men in power, oppressing those who would defy them. Hour of the Witch explores themes of patriarchal oppression, mass hysteria, and what happens when women undermine both to determine their own futures.

Bohjalian is the author of 24 New York Times Bestselling books, many of which have been adapted for film and television, including The Flight Attendant and Midwives.

This study guide uses the Vintage Books paperback edition of Hour of the Witch published in 2022.

Content Warning: This study guide contains content exploring domestic violence, self-mutilation, homicidal and suicidal ideation, as well as racism and marital rape.

Plot Summary

Mary Deerfield is 24 years old and trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage to Thomas Deerfield. She spends much of her time wondering whether God is granting her gifts or punishing her for mortal sin: Her abusive husband, her male suitor Henry, or her “barrenness” might all indicate either salvation or damnation. Mary realizes the only way out of her suffering is to take the unusual step of petitioning the Court of Assistants for a divorce.

Mary came to the Americas with her parents, who settled together in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, while Mary’s brother stayed behind in England. In her late teens, she married Thomas Deerfield, who is almost twice her age and soon became abusive toward her. Thomas is a well-respected miller in Boston; no one suspects his violence, as he intentionally beats and degrades Mary only when they’re alone. Unhappy with her situation, Mary begins to explore her own pleasures and secrets, including lustful thoughts and ways to escape her violent marriage.

The Puritan colonies in 1662 are all confronting the specter of witchcraft, and Boston is no different. One evening, Mary finds three-pronged forks—otherwise known as the “Devil’s tines”—buried in the soil by her front door. She wonders who might be casting a spell on her, and why. Mary considers that the forks might be a spell to help her conceive a child. She then decides they could be a useful lure to trap whoever buried them in the first place and leaves them in the ground. When she goes to check on the tines and discovers a wooden pestle buried next to them, her servant girl, Catherine, catches her and accuses her of witchcraft. In the chaos, Thomas awakens and, to “discipline” Mary into being a more submissive wife, stabs her in the hand with one of the Devil’s tines.

Mary, fearing for her life and refusing to tolerate Thomas’s abuse any longer, petitions the Court of Assistants for a divorce—a very uncommon action at this time, but occasionally granted on the grounds of adultery, violence, or abandonment. However, the trial and the Boston community tend to focus on Mary’s independent spirit and her inability to be a submissive wife, sidelining her experiences of abuse. Mary, meanwhile, begins an affair with Henry Simmons, a sailor and a free spirit. Despite their attempts to conceal their feelings for each other, their affair is noticeable to the public eye and becomes ammunition against Mary. Suspicions about her allegiance to the Devil continue to rise. To prevent her death, her parents and Thomas conspire behind her back to end the trial quickly so that she might be spared the gallows—even if it means she must stay in a violent marriage.

When her petition is denied, Mary decides to poison Thomas. Her friend, Constance Winston, a single woman who is also suspected of being a witch, suggests she visit the Hawkes, an excommunicated family who live on the outskirts of Boston. Under the guise of a spiritual mission, Mary ventures into the woods outside of Boston to meet Esther Hawke, who gives her a vial of wolfsbane. Mary cannot go through with the poisoning, and instead hatches a plot to fake her death, using the empty vial and a note to Thomas as evidence. Meanwhile, more evidence of witchcraft appears around her home, including a carving of a five-pointed star inside a circle—the mark of the Devil—carved into her door frame. While Mary designs a plan to escape with Henry on a trading ship to Jamaica, Thomas, Catherine, and the government officials discover these items, alongside her note and the vial of poison.

Mary is tried as an alleged witch. She is blamed for the death of Catherine’s brother William and the loss of her stepdaughter Peregrine’s third child, as well as the instruments found in her home. She is condemned to hang. Peregrine and Mary’s friend Rebeckah, however, plot Mary’s escape from the stocks. Peregrine reveals she’s been attempting to curse and poison Thomas all along, as both her mother and Peregrine experienced his abuse before Mary and, like Mary, have had to resort to drastic measures to escape him.

Peregrine and Mary flee to a trading ship, which Mary is set to board with Henry. Thomas discovers them, but Mary kills Thomas. She travels back to England with Henry, where the two have a child and live together on her brother’s land.