Name: I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem
ISBN: 9780785729303

Maryse Condé

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem

Marion

What is a witch? I noticed that when he said the word, it was marked with disapproval. Why should that be? Why? Isn't the ability to communicate with the invisible world, to keep constant links with the dead, to care for others and heal, a superior gift of nature that inspires respect, admiration, and gratitude? Consequently, shouldn't the witch (if that's what the person who has this gift is to be called) be cherished and revered rather than feared?

Maryse Condé

I, Tituba, black witch of Salem

Maryse Conde’s take on critical fabulations, as Saidiya Hartman describes the approach as “writing against the archive”. A painful but joyous in moments telling of Tituba, one of the witches in the infamous Salem witch trials who has been lost in the history books & stories. Conde brings her to life in the novel, providing texture & colour to a story that has been painted black & white, & erased. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a page-turner & heartbreakingly poetic. 

Aisha Mugo

Maryse Conde’s take on critical fabulations, as Saidiya Hartman describes the approach as “writing against the archive”. A painful but joyous in moments telling of Tituba, one of the witches in the infamous Salem witch trials who has been lost in the history books & stories. Conde brings her to life in the novel, providing texture & colour to a story that has been painted black & white, & erased. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, a page-turner & heartbreakingly poetic. 

Even though this book was written before Saidiya Hartman’s method of story telling she coined “

” It is a precursor to that tradition of finding histories that have been erased in the historical archives and “

combining historical research with fictional narrative to reconstruct the experiences of those systematically excluded from the record, particularly of enslaved people, and then using storytelling and speculative narration to right history's omissions

This is what Maryse Conde does with the story of Tituba an enslaved Caribbean woman who was the first woman to be tried in the Salem witch trials of the 17th century. Unlike the other women who were tried and their stories documented, Tituba’s story remains incomplete after her imprisonment. Its here that Maryse Conde fills in the spaces to create a portrait of the life could have led, she uses some magical realism, adding some context of African spirituality and traditions, I particularly liked the internationalist aspect she included by the oppression of Jewish people during the same time.

 Saidiya Hartman on the violence of the archive: 

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/research/centres/blackstudies/venus_in_two_acts.pdf

Even though this book was written before Saidiya Hartman’s method of story telling she coined “Critical Fabulation” It is a precursor to that tradition of finding histories that have been erased in the historical archives and “combining historical research with fictional narrative to reconstruct the experiences of those systematically excluded from the record, particularly of enslaved people, and then using storytelling and speculative narration to right history's omissions"

This is what Maryse Conde does with the story of Tituba an enslaved Caribbean woman who was the first woman to be tried in the Salem witch trials of the 17th century. Unlike the other women who were tried and their stories documented, Tituba’s story remains incomplete after her imprisonment. Its here that Maryse Conde fills in the spaces to create a portrait of the life could have led, she uses some magical realism, adding some context of African spirituality and traditions, I particularly liked the internationalist aspect she included by the oppression of Jewish people during the same time.

Some further reading:

 Saidiya Hartman on the violence of the archive: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/research/centres/blackstudies/venus_in_two_acts.pdf

Molly M

stunningly good. i’m surprised i hadn’t heard of it before!!

Paige mandia 

Jane McCullough

Sam Pulliam

“Everyone believes he can fashion a witch to his way of thinking so that she will satisfy his ambitions, dreams, and desires...”

This fast-paced story of the first woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, Tituba, really gave me a lot to think about. I don’t really annotate books anymore but I found myself compelled to truly engage with this text. Condé’s portrayal of Puritanical society and the way it oppresses people and sucks every ounce of joy from life juxtaposed with Tituba’s beliefs and ability to help other women and the happiness that brought her before it was vilified, was something I especially kept track of while reading. This story also forced me to think about the way some people use the idea of the devil as a being that punishes the entire community for the sins of an individual and how that leads to marginalized people becoming scapegoats for anything bad that happens. I could talk about this book forever because it really got me thinking about religion and race and why people vilify the things and people they do so if you get the chance to read this book, please do.

Trigger warnings include:
Racial slurs, Racism, Death, Animal death, Rape, Suicide, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence