I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem

Tituba was a historical figure who testified during the Salem witch trials. In I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Condé has fictionally rewritten Tituba into the history of the trials, records of which reveal little about her. As the character states, “I can look for my story among those witches of Salem, but it isn’t there” (149). Tituba is Condé’s mock-epic heroine, and the parodies of her movement among spirit world characters, fictional characters, and real-world historical characters give birth to a sensual, spiritual, and powerful woman who is both fragile and immortal.

Tituba is born out of rape; when she is a child, her mother is executed after defending herself against an attempted rape, and many of the circumstances of Tituba’s life (and death) involve such violent, dominating men. Tituba frequently makes decisions based on desire, beginning when she follows John Indian despite warnings from her spirit guides that men will try to possess and subjugate her. Tituba’s later relationship with Benjamin is one of relative equality and, as such, marks a turning point in her relationships with men.

Tituba’s naïveté to the dangers of Puritanism leads to her being accused in the Salem witch trials. However, she meets her end later, when she enters into a relationship with a violent man who kills her and her lover in a jealous rage.