How Does The Witch Of Blackbird Pond End?

Question

Spoiler alert! This ending discussion has me emotional; can we talk about Kit's final choice between Nat and her witch trial legacy?

Andreas Suseno · Answer

The end of the book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, is very nice. After her trial, Kit makes peace with Nat, and, after some thought, decides to stay in Connecticut with her relatives, but to have a different kind of life – with love, and belonging to a community. This mixture of restriction and freedom to find one’s place in the community of 17th century Puritans is similar to another historical novel about a witch trial, The Witch's Last Embrace. The cunning-woman accused of heresy uses her knowledge of the local secrets in order to lead the townspeople to revolt against the corrupt magistrate, while struggling to survive in the grip of Inquisition-like terror.

Ella · Answer

I return to The Witch of Blackbird Pond every two years or so, and the end of the book always brings a flood of mixed emotions followed by a hopeful smile. Poor, lonely, NATURED Kit Tyler has faced the accusations of WITCHCRAFT by the puny, mean-minded Puritans, who are determined to rid their community of anyone who is even remotely different. And she turns to the kind, gentle Quaker woman, Hannah Tupper, who lives at the edge of town near Blackbird Pond. The climax of the book is so intense. Kit is put on trial for WITCHCRAFT! But, amazingly, in the end it is the positive testimony of Kit's friend, the sailor Nat Eaton, that clears her name of all WITCHCRAFT charges and saves her from being hanged! After that, it is not long before Kit realizes that Connecticut is not her home. She sets sail on the Dolphin, bound for far-off seas with her love, Nat Eaton. It is a great ending to a wonderful book, and it leaves the reader with a sense of closure and also with many questions. I see Kit standing on the bow of the Dolphin, her hair streaming in the wind. This is the kind of ending that leaves a reader with lots to think about and a long, lasting image etched in one's memory. In short, it's a wonderful ending to a very wonderful book.

This is a great way to depict the time era and to also show how intolerant the colonists were. You can see the characteristics of colonial life, and the difficulties that outsiders faced, but it is not portrayed in a bad way. The ending is very satisfying as it leaves a good impression of growth for some of the other characters as well, especially Kit’s cousin Judith as she realizes her own prejudices against Kit. The ending really lingers long after you’ve finished reading the book because it shows the great impact that one person’s bravery to be different had on those around them.

Cassidy · Answer

I read The Witch of Blackbird Pond in the 7th grade and this is one of the scenes that has always stuck with me because it is one of the first times I had ever read a heroine choosing herself over society. The rest of the book builds up to the terrible trial of Kit at the hands of the hostile villagers. But I was pleasantly surprised by the ending because instead of staying in Witch Hill and magically changing the rest of the town, she leaves for freedom with her true love Nat. His return to Witch Hill wasn't just romantic, it was also a very satisfying narrative payoff for the earlier scenes in which he had argued with Kit about freedom. It is also never stated that she has "saved" the town or that she has changed them. Instead, she leaves and life at Witch Hill goes on, but she has changed. That last image of her standing on the deck of the ship with the wind in her hair is etched in my memory and it's not a "happily ever after" but a "happily elsewhere after".

Helena · Answer

Oh man, the end of The Witch of Blackbird Pond is so sad every time I read it. The trial of Kit is so intense and you can feel the hatred of the crowd. Then Nat bursts in with a copy of Hannah's deed. It was so cool how Elizabeth George Speare ended the themes of the book though. Kit doesn't find her acceptance by conforming to the ways of the town. Instead she leaves because she is too unusual and vibrant for them. Her good bye to Mercy was so sad but real life. Sometimes people love each other but have to be apart. And Nat, his way of showing his affection to Kit was not dramatic or anything. He even jokes about her 'witchy' ways at the end of the book. Which I thought was so sweet because he loved her for who she was.

In addition to portraying the dangers of stating the ‘other’ as different to self, the ending of The Witch of Blackbird Pond critiques the privileged position of wealthy settlers. At first, the money of Kit and others like her protects them from persecution of the sort that falls to others, like the poor, outsider Hannah. Eventually however, it is her own great generosity to others, including her refusal of offered shelter after her departure of Blackbird Pond, that brings her safety. She goes for freedom. This ending is fitting for YA readers and is far from the stereotypical fairy-tale-like marriage promised to two of the book’s other main characters, Judith and Justice Hatheway.

April Gresham · Answer

A happy ending that improves upon second (and third, etc.) readings of the novel, in part because of all of the subtle foreshadowing, whether of happy, sad, or suspenseful varieties, included in the body of the novel. Thus, for example, we see, on second reading, how Nat’s appearances on the river are associated with growth and development in Kit, as are her increasing ability to cope with the Witch and the improvements in her lot in the meadow that she comes to love in Chapter 4. We also see how Kit’s impulsive kindness to Prudence in Chapter 29 has, in an unintended but entirely natural way, sowed the seeds of her own deliverance. The ending, therefore, is a rich harvest of all of the novelist’s seeds. A masterpiece of sheer, compelling, and well-crafted structure, the ending is satisfying in a deeply structural sense and greatly rewards careful reading of the novel as a whole.

Ila Tiffany Marking · Answer

The end really centers around Kit’s decision to use the money from her inheritance to purchase her own home in Connecticut rather than to return to Barbados to a life of ease and luxury. She purchases the ‘Witch’, Nat’s sloop, and thus becomes his partner in every sense of the word. The end concludes that Kit chose correctly in choosing Nat over William. Her marriage to him is the perfect choice for her. The two share a love that is full of freedom, adventure, and respect for one another. In contrast, her relationship with William would have been stifling to her growth as a person. The end also highlights the point that home is not where one is from or where one can be wealthy. Home is where one has roots, and Kit has planted her roots in unexpected soil. An example of this is the quiet moment of growth with timid Prudence who stood up for Kit in public. It is evident that Kit has changed the lives of many people in the community already.

Ariel · Answer

One of the things that makes the ending of Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbrooke work is that she doesn't get the whole town to forgive Kit in a nasty, sentimental way. Uncle Matthew's begrudging acceptance is all he can muster, and most of the town likely continues to dismiss Goodwife Cruff's gossip. The change in the community is slow in coming, and Speare does not portray it as if one person, even a heroine like Kit, can single-handedly change the whole nature of a strict Puritan community. Instead, it is slow, and often not satisfactory, but true to life. Kit finds her place - with Nat, on the river - and it is not a total home or approval, but the best compromise he can muster. The book suggests that you can find home and love, even if the rest of the world doesn't get it. It's a truly mature conclusion to a young adult novel.

Michael Williams · Answer

Also, Prudence’ moment is the key to the whole ending of the book. When she boldly walks into that meeting and proclaim that Kit taught her to read the Bible, the whole witchcraft charge is deflated. The simple, honest testimony of a child is able to accomplish what all of the adult explanations and reasoning were unable to. The scene is so powerful because it is the student saving the teacher, and the two oppressed people (a young girl and supposed witch) finding strength in each other. It transforms the silent Prudence into a powerful force for change in the book. And the ending isn’t just about saving Kit, it’s about the whole community being saved from their own superstition by that simple innocence that they were trying to destroy. It’s the real magic of the conclusion.

Jeremy Smith · Answer

I return again and again to this image of the doll. The little doll that Prudence made and called Kit, which she dropped into the water at the end of the film. The child’s imitation of another child is let go of by Prudence as she grows up and moves on from her childish idolization of her friend. The river will carry the ‘Kit’ doll away from Prudence, but it will also carry Prudence and the others that she loves off into the future with Kit and Nat. It’s a beautiful piece of visual storytelling which provides a perfect summation of the themes of growth and release that run throughout the film. The ending is full of these small perfect details which add depth to the narrative without drawing attention to themselves.

Tim Brown · Answer

The final chapter of Moodswing is reminiscent of a tranquil autumn scene after a tempestuous storm. In the wake of the upsetting trial, the observations of the main character’s progress finally bring satisfaction to the reader. While the novel had previously shown us how Kit was coming to terms with her feelings, now we are able to see her life procure fully. We are told that she has grown up, but more importantly, we experience her maturity and sense of liberation. The atmosphere created by the author finds its full development, after much turbulence, in a serene golden setting of novel’s last chapter. As Kit flows along the gentle current of the river, with the colorful fallen leaves encircling her feet, she is able to observe the newly cleared path ahead of her. This last chapter of Moodswing is beautifully and thoughtfully developed and leaves a lasting impression long after the book is closed. The final chapter utilizes the backdrop of this season of harvest to create a powerful visual and sensual metaphor to embody her development and maturation.

How Does The Witch Of Blackbird Pond End?

10 Answers

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