At the time
of the story, 1687, both Barbados and the Connecticut Colony, where Weathersfield is located,
are under British rule. Aside from that, there appear to be more differences than similarities
between the two places.
As Kit remembers it, Barbados is a bright, sunny
place. As a tropical island, it has a warm climate, and the people there are at home in the
surrounding sea; Kit recalls that her "grandfather taught (her) to swim as soon as (she)
could walk". The island is surprisingly cosmopolitan, with "a famous town and fine
streets and shops" (Chapter 1). Kit thinks of Barbados as "a paradise", a
beautiful place where there are "flowers every day of the year...you can always smell them
in the air, even out to sea" (Chapter 9).
In contrast, Weathersfield is
dour and gray; although there are occasionally sunny days there, the climate is cooler and the
fog shrouds the town frequently. Weathersfield is a Puritan town, and the center of the
community is the Meeting House, before which stand instruments of discipline, "a pillory, a
whipping post and stocks". The people of Weathersfield reflect the severity of their
surroundings. Well-meaning, devout, and sincere for the most part, they adhere to strict
standards set forth by their religion in every aspect of their lives. To Kit, everything about
Weathersfield is "plain and unlovely" in comparison to the life she lived on the
island of Barbados (Chapter 5).
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