Mary Deerfield in Hour of the Witch: Character Analysis
Overview
Mary Deerfield is the protagonist of Chris Bohjalian's Hour of the Witch (2021), a 24-year-old Puritan wife in colonial Boston whose marriage to a violent miller places her at the center of the witchcraft suspicions that drive the novel's conflict. The opening chapters establish her as a woman of beauty, faith, and private desire, trapped in a cycle of abuse she endures with a mixture of resignation, self-questioning, and slowly growing loathing. She is Thomas Deerfield's second wife, married over five years, childless, and step-grandmother to the children of Thomas's adult daughter Peregrine. Her story raises questions about grief and the pursuit of truth that resonate throughout the novel.
Plot Role
Mary is the narrative center of the novel's early chapters. The story follows her through a single autumn in Boston, beginning with the aftermath of a beating and moving through her attempts to maintain appearances, tend to the sick, and navigate a marriage that has become a cycle of violence and apology. Her position as a beautiful, childless second wife makes her vulnerable to both her husband's rage and the community's suspicion. The witchcraft plot emerges through her connection to Constance Winston, a woman accused of witchcraft whom Mary once visited for help conceiving, and through Beth Howland's suggestion that Constance is a witch—an accusation Mary denies even as she recalls her own past visits. Mary's own actions—bringing herbs to the sick, reading to the dying—carry a quiet risk in a community where healing practices can be mistaken for sorcery.
Motivations and Traits
Mary's actions reveal a woman motivated by survival, propriety, and a desire for meaning in a constrained life. She hides her bruises beneath her coif, not only to avoid shame but to protect the appearance of a respectable household. When Thomas apologizes for his temper, she accepts his apology and attends church with him, performing the role of a dutiful wife. Her compassion is evident in her care for William Howland, Catherine's dying twin brother. She brings comfrey, dill, and mint, dresses his sores, places dill on his tongue, and reads to him—acts of genuine kindness that also demonstrate her competence as a healer.
Her private life reveals more complex motivations. After sex with Thomas, she masturbates, thinking of a boy from England and sometimes of Jonathan Cooke, her stepdaughter's husband. She reflects on her secrets and fears about damnation, calling herself a raft of secrets. This interior life suggests a woman whose desires have no legitimate outlet within her marriage, and whose faith provides more condemnation than comfort. She is also self-aware about her beauty, worrying that her conceit might be a sin.
Chronological Arc
The novel's opening chapters trace Mary's arc from endurance to a growing awareness of her own loathing. In Chapter One, she recalls the first time Thomas hit her—when she was too surprised and pained to notice the motion—and the second time, half a year later, when she recognized the scything arc of his blow. Four years later, she lies beside him, touching her bruise, expecting his morning apology. She reflects on the pattern that has emerged: he drinks, he hits her, he goes away to drink more, and the next day he apologizes.
In Chapter Two, she dresses for church, concealing her bruise, and endures Thomas's apology and the visit of Peregrine and Jonathan. That night, after sex, she masturbates and reflects on her secrets. In Chapter Three, she tends to William Howland, then returns home to face Thomas's drunken rage. He throws her against the fireplace bricks and dumps the meal on her. She reflects on whether other men treat their wives this way, and wonders if his violence stems from something in him or something in her.
In Chapter Four, days after the hearth attack, her mother visits with lace and silver forks. Mary walks to the wharves and her father's storehouse, where she takes a petticoat, a bodice, and two books. Walking home, she admits she loathes Thomas and wants to see as little of him as possible.
Relationships
Thomas Deerfield: Mary's husband, a 45-year-old miller. Their marriage is defined by a cycle of violence, apology, and brief periods of calm. Thomas's first wife, Anne, died when his horse kicked her. Mary wonders if he ever struck Anne, and notes that Peregrine seems to harbor no ill will toward her father. The dynamic between them exemplifies the novel's exploration of trust and deception in relationships.
Peregrine: Thomas's adult daughter, roughly Mary's age. Mary describes her as more like a stepsister than a stepdaughter, and suspects Peregrine doesn't much like her because she isn't Anne.
Jonathan Cooke: Peregrine's husband. Mary has fantasized about him, and recalls moments of accidental contact that felt charged with meaning.
Catherine: The servant girl, 18, whose twin brother William is dying. Catherine fancies Thomas, which Mary observes without comment.
Mary's mother: Visits with lace and silver forks, which Mary calls tools of the Devil. Her mother suspects the source of Mary's bruises.
Mary's father: A wealthy merchant with a storehouse full of goods. He offers Mary clothing and books.
Key Decisions and Consequences
Mary's key decisions in these opening chapters include concealing her bruises and maintaining the appearance of a functional marriage; visiting William Howland with herbs, despite the risk of being associated with healing practices that could be seen as suspicious; defying Thomas over the pewter, which leads to the most violent attack yet; and taking clothing and books from her father's storehouse. Each decision reflects her attempt to navigate between the demands of her faith, her marriage, and her own survival. Her growing loathing of Thomas, stated explicitly in Chapter Four, suggests a turning point that may connect to the novel's ending.
Themes and Symbols
The scythe is the novel's most striking symbol. Thomas hits Mary the way a skilled man scythes—graceful, efficient, an arc. The image connects his violence to the rhythms of agricultural labor, suggesting that his brutality is as naturalized as the work of the fields. The bruise is another recurring symbol. Mary hides it under her coif, and Thomas claims he struck her with a frying pan. The bruise is both evidence of violence and a secret that must be managed. The silver forks Mary's mother brings are called tools of the Devil by Mary, reflecting the tension between old and new ways, and between her mother's worldliness and Mary's piety. Her care for the dying William also connects to the theme of mourning as a catalyst for action.
Questions and Answers
1. Why does Mary hide her bruises?
Mary hides her bruises to protect the appearance of a respectable household and to avoid the shame of public knowledge of her husband's violence. She is also protecting Thomas, in a sense, by not exposing his behavior to the community.
2. What is the significance of the scythe imagery?
The scythe connects Thomas's violence to the rhythms of agricultural labor. His blows are described as graceful and efficient, like a skilled man scything. The image suggests that his brutality is as naturalized as the work of the fields—a disturbing parallel between the work that sustains the household and the violence that destroys it.
3. Why does Mary visit Constance Winston?
Mary visited Constance for help conceiving, a fact she recalls when Beth Howland suggests Constance is a witch. Mary denies the accusation, but she has recently avoided Constance due to gossip linking her to the hanged witch Ann Hibbens.
4. What does Mary's masturbation reveal about her?
Mary's private sexual life reveals desires that have no legitimate outlet within her marriage. She thinks of a boy from England and sometimes of Jonathan Cooke, and she fears damnation for these thoughts. Her self-description as a raft of secrets captures the isolation of her interior life.
5. How does Mary's relationship with her father differ from her relationship with Thomas?
Mary's father is a wealthy merchant who offers her clothing and books from his storehouse, treating her with generosity. Thomas, by contrast, is violent and controlling. The contrast highlights the difference between the world Mary came from and the world she married into.
For more discussion of Mary's choices and their implications, see the questions and answers page or return to the book overview.