Caleb's Crossing

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-6

Part 1, Chapters 7-9

Part 1, Chapters 10-11

Part 2, Chapters 1-6

Part 2, Chapters 7-12

Part 2, Chapters 13-18

Part 2, Chapters 19-23

Part 3, Chapters 1-5

Part 3, Chapters 6-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Part 2, Chapters 7-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: “Anno 1661 Aetatis Suae 17 Cambridge”

Part 2, Chapter 7 Summary

Immediately prior to his departure for England, Bethia’s father gives a sermon that seems to recall his hopeful sermons of earlier, happier days. Many of the Wampanoag come to give their goodbyes; however, Tequamuck comes to frighten off those paying tribute to his rival.

After Bethia’s father leaves, a powerful storm strikes the settlement. Two weeks later, settlers learn that the storm also sank her father’s ship. It is especially horrifying to Bethia that both her father and Solace died by drowning, which is a death that island dwellers constantly fear.

Part 2, Chapter 8 Summary

In the wake of the wreck, bodies and objects begin to wash up on shore. Some important figures in the colonies see the death of Bethia’s father as a tragedy. The settlement mourns and the Wampanoag construct a cairn of white stones on the beach as a monument.

Makepeace feels that Tequamuck killed his father. Bethia agrees regarding Tequamuck’s intentions, but doubts that God would grant him the power to do so. Makepeace also suspects Caleb of harming Solace. He wants to side with the Aldens against the island’s Indigenous population, but Bethia manages to contend rationally with these violent and suspicious thoughts caused by grief.

Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary

According to Bethia’s father’s will, Bethia receives a Hebrew Bible and a version of Homer, as well as a picture of her mother. The property goes to Makepeace. Because their grandfather had sent much of his savings with their father by ship, there is insufficient money to adequately prepare Makepeace for Harvard. He will have to seek education at a preparatory school in Cambridge. For this reason, Bethia’s grandfather proposes to indenture Bethia to Master Corlett. Caleb and Joel will go as well, with funds provided by a philanthropic organization.

Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary

Bethia decides that her grandfather’s plan is God’s will. She does take a few days to assent, during which Makepeace is fearful of her power over him. Caleb tries to dissuade her from indenturing herself, but she is determined.

Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary

Bethia signs the indentures, which make her Corlett’s servant for four years. She describes the journey to Boston, which involves one leg on sea and another over land. At the school, Corlett attempts to be kind and tells her that finding a female gentlewoman to work at the school is difficult because the school accepts Indigenous pupils: Most white women refuse to be in such company.

Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary

Bethia experiences her first day of servitude at Corlett’s school. One of the pupils is Joseph Dudley, son of the former governor. Though Dudley and other affluent students abuse her, Bethia stands up for herself and earns respect from them. Dudley is impressed that Bethia knows the poetry of his sister, the famous New England poet Anne Bradstreet. Bethia argues that Bradstreet’s literary skill justifies education for women.

To the surprise of everyone, a Native woman, Anne, arrives at the school, sent there by the governor to get an education. She explains to Bethia that after her parents died of smallpox, a fur trader took her in. Anne is clearly afraid of men, including Corlett.

Part 2, Chapters 7-12 Analysis

The theme of class intensifies as Bethia experiences how precarious class status could be among the settlers. Since money is a physical object, an unforeseen accident like a shipwreck could lead to the loss of one’s wealth and status. At the same time, the small size of the colonies means that classes must intermix; for example, the wealthy and important Joseph Dudley attends school alongside Native Americans and farmers. But this intermixing does not mean that things are always harmonious.

The theme of women’s education is key in these chapters. Bethia has been denied the ability to fully explore her intellectual gifts, which are so prodigious that she manages to learn several languages simply by listening while someone else is studying. Now, in a maddening twist, although Bethia has ended up in a school after all, she is still not allowed to learn—instead, she is a maidservant. In Anne Bradstreet, the poet, Bethia finds an exemplar for the sort of possibilities that could be available to women granted education. The fact that Bradstreet’s work benefits the entire Puritan society makes it all the more impressive as a model to follow. Most intriguing is the appearance of Anne, a new student at Master Corlett’s school whose wild intersectionality—she is a Native American, a woman, but raised by white settlers, and clearly more economically privileged than Bethia—makes her an interesting foil for Bethia.