“They say the Lord's Day is a day of rest, but those who preach this generally are not women.”
Bethia is a firm believer in equal opportunity. She regrets being born a girl because she is not allowed to pursue her passions. She points out much of the gendered hypocrisy of her community, especially when it comes to Sunday chores.
“I felt the reckless abandon of one who knows she stands already among the damned. "Why not, then, another sin?”
Bethia is no saint. She doesn't follow the regulations of her village and lands herself in a great deal of trouble, but she's not worried by it all. Even though they punished many legal offenses with execution, she maintains her devotion to personal integrity. When Bethia decides to do something, she does it regardless of other people's opinions. She's a strong-willed individual.
“Life is better than death. I know this. Tequamuck says it is the coward’s talk. I say it is braver, sometimes, to bend.”
Caleb is also a rebel among his people. He respectfully questions tradition, but his actions and words are enough to upset his elders. When he openly defies a prominent leader, he is sent away to the Puritans by his father who worries he'll get himself killed otherwise.
“I held it out and Caleb took it. This was the first book he had held in his hands. He made me smile, opening it upside down and back to front, but he touched the pages with the utmost care, as if gentling some fragile-boned wild thing. The godliest among us did not touch the Bible with such reverence as he showed to that small book.”
Bethia is astonished at Caleb's caution when it comes to books. His people still have an oral tradition, so he has never held a book in his life before coming to Bethia's town. Oddly enough, his reverence metaphorically extends to all aspects of his education, which is what makes him such an excellent student. He doesn't question the preacher as much as Bethia does in the beginning, but he soon chooses to respectfully differ.
