I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem

“I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem”

The title keeps the reader aware that Tituba was a real person whom the fictional character must recreate. It establishes the metanarrative presence of the author, as Tituba speaks through Condé as much as Condé speaks through Tituba to attest not merely to the truth of her existence, but to the lies that depict that existence as insignificant.

“Abena, my mother […].”

Tituba repeatedly refers to her mother as “Abena, my mother” or “my mother, Abena.” The repetition reminds the reader that Tituba is orphaned and outcast; it is simultaneously a reminder that as a fictional recreation of Tituba’s childhood, such details are necessary to provide an accurate depiction of the discrimination against women and people of color.

“They hanged my mother. I watched her body swing from the […] silk tree […] They hanged my mother […] I felt something […] that was never to leave me, a mixture of terror and mourning […] They hanged my mother.”

The repetition of the phrase mirrors how the memory haunts Tituba. Even in falling in love with John Indian, she questions how she can return to the world of white men, given that her mother was raped and killed by white men.