Caleb

*"Tell me."
" Tell thee what? He is gone, Caleb."
"Is he in Hell?"
"Caleb!"
"Mother will not stop her prayer..."
"Hand me that engine!"
"And if died? If I died this day?"
"What is this?"
"I hold evil in my heart. My sins are not pardoned."
"Thou art youngly yet –"
"And if God will not hear my prayers?"*
―Caleb and William[src]
**Caleb** is an English Puritan living in New England.

## Biography

### Background

*"Remember once he lay upon the table, and Father saw him and he saith "we will have him for meat! Kate, Kate! We will roast this beast". You must remember that!"
"I remember that day, but no glass."*
―Thomasin and Caleb[src]
Caleb is born in England to William and Katherine. He has an older sister, Thomasin, and two younger siblings, the twins Jonas and Mercy. At some point the family, along with their pet dog, Fowler, emigrate to America, where they find home at a plantation in New England.

### Banishment

*"Thomasin! Come."*
―**Caleb** to Thomasin[src]

Along with the rest of his family, Caleb is brought before the governor of the plantation due to a religious dispute. He watches as his father argues with the governor, stating that they left their home and kinsmen and travailed a vast ocean for the pure and faithful dispensation of the Gospels and the Kindgdom of God. William declares the dignitaries to be false Christians unfit to judge him and the governor accuses him of dishonoring the law of the Commonwealth and the Church with his prideful conceit. William refuses to back down and the governor banishes the family from the plantation. William declares that he is glad of it and the family leave, though Caleb has to alert Thomasin to go with them.

The family then leave the plantation with what little they can fit on the back of the carriage pulled by their horse, Burt. They travel for some time before finding a fertile stretch of land at the edge of a forest where they can set up a farm. Kneeling, they join hands in prayer.

### Samuel's Disappearance

*"Was...was Samuel born a sinner? How might then –"
"We pray he hath entered God's Kingdom."
"What wickedness hath he done?"*
―Caleb and William[src]

Over the next few months, the family build their family and welcome a new son, Samuel. One day while Thomasin is looking after him, Samuel goes missing. Katherine falls into a deep depression, not sleeping and spending the day lying in bed, praying and crying. Early one morning, Caleb wakes and finds Thomasin stirring in her sleep. He glances at her cleavage before waking her. He urges her to sleep, telling her that all will be well. He then finds Fowler and they go outside.

Caleb meets with William and tells him that everyone is still in bed besides Katherine. He offers to wake them, but William tells him to let them sleep. He tells him that they can no longer search for Samuel, as if a wolf has not eaten him he will have died of hunger. He tells Caleb that he has been laying traps in the wood, as they must catch their food due to ergot destroying their crops. Caleb is reluctant to go, having been forbidden to set foot there, but William insists, as the harvest will not last the winter.

In the wood, Willam tells Caleb to outline the concept of original sin. Caleb does so successfully and and William commends his memory. They check the traps, but find them empty. Caleb asks if Samuel was born a sinner and William replies that he was, which leads Caleb to worry that his little brother is in Hell. William tells him that he wishes he could reassure him, but cannot, for God alone knows who is a son of Abraham and who is not. Caleb asks him where he acquired the traps and William replies that he traded the silver cup that belonged to Katherine's father to Indian Thom and Old Slater in exchange for them. He tells him not to inform Katherine, as she is overwrought due to losing Samuel, and promises to tell her himself when her grief has passed.

William whistles for Fowler, but he does not respond. They hear him barking and run towards it. They discover that he has spotted a hare. William loads his musket with some difficulty. Once it is loaded, he takes his shot, but it backfires and sends gunpowder into his eye. The hare escapes and Caleb expresses worry for his father. Fowler runs to William, who pushes him off.

Caleb and William return to the farm and discover that the twins have riled up the billy goat, Black Phillip. Caleb orders him to get back and William runs up and grabs him by the goat by his horns. He orders Caleb to open the gate to the goat pen and he does so. William wrestles Black Phillip into his pen, but falls into a pile of dung, prompting the twins to laugh at him. Katherine chastises William for taking Caleb from the farm without explanation. Caleb lies to her by telling her that they were looking for apples as he thought he has seen an apple tree in the valley. He tells her that they had hoped to surprise her, but there were no apples. Katherine is touched, but tells him not to leave the farm again. William tells him to fetch some water for Katherine, ordering him not to stray from the brook.

Caleb reaches the brook to collect the water and finds Thomasin scrubbing William's rags. He glances at her cleavage and she asks him why he is dallying. When he does not reply she playfully splashes him and he tells her to stop it. She asks him what is the matter and comforts him by holding him close. She comments that she has seen no apples since they left England and wishes for one, pretending to take a bite out of his head. They laugh and he tickles her.

They are alarmed when they hear a twig snapping, but it turns out to be Mercy playing a trick. Mercy pretends to be a witch and Thomasin tells her off for playing while she works like a slave. Mercy tells Thomasin that Katherine hates her and Thomasin threatens to tell on her for leaving the farm. Mercy replies that Black Phillip has told her she can do what she likes and that it is Thomasin's fault she cannot leave the yard, as she let a witch take Samuel. Caleb replies that a wolf stole Sam, but Mercy insists that it was a witch. Thomasin tells Mercy that she is the witch and that she gave Sam to the Devil. She pins Mercy down and threatens to eat her if she displeases her and warns her not to tell their parents. Caleb pulls Thomasin off and Mercy runs away. Caleb tells her off for telling horrible fancies and she tells him to leave her alone, as she hates his pity and does not need it.

Later that evening, the family sit down for supper and William leads them in prayer. Katherine asks Thomasin what has become of the silver cup and Thomasin replies that she does not know where it is. Katherine does not believe her and William backs up Thomasin. Katherine is not convinced and asks what is amiss on the farm. Attempting to diffuse the situation, William asks Caleb to read out a chapter of the Word, encouraging the family to find light in the darkness.

As the family are in bed that night, Caleb and her siblings overhear a conversation between their parents. Katherine calls out to the children and they do not reply. They listen as Katherine tells William that Thomasin has begun to mature into a woman and is now old enough to leave and serve another family. She tells him that due to their corn being infected with ergot, they will starve if they do not take drastic action. William ultimately gives in, promising to take Thomasin to the village the next day and give her to the Tildens or the Whytings.

### A Search for Food

*"If thou wilt back to sleep, and keep silent of this, I promise thee, you’ll need not leave to serve the Tildens nor any family else."
"Caleb –"
"'Tis not pity for thee, so chide me not. I'll be back by mid-day."
"Let me along with you."*
―Caleb and Thomasin[src]

In the early hours, Caleb goes to the stable and saddles up Burt. Thomasin follows him and demands to know what he is doing, asking if he is running away. He replies that he is not and promises her that if she goes back to sleep and keeps silent, she will not need to leave to serve another family. She asks to go with him and he refuses, but she threatens to wake William and Katherine and he allows her to come along.

Thomasin rides on Burt as she and Caleb travel into the wood with Fowler, where they find a dead rabbit in one of the traps William has set. Thomasin tells him that they had glass windows back in England, but he does not believe her. She recalls Fowler laying on the floor in the sun and that one day he laid on the table and William joked that they would eat him. Caleb replies that he remembers that day, but not the glass windows. Suddenly, Fowler begins to bark. He has spotted a hare, the same one that Caleb and William saw the the previous day. Burt begins to panic and Fowler chases after the hare. Caleb pursues them and tells Thomasin to stay with Burt.

### Witchcraft

*"Cast the light of thy Countenance upon me. Spread over me the lap of thy love. Wash me in the ever-flowing fountains of thy blood. Let me ever be with thee. Wholly thine I am, my sweet Lord Jesus. O my Lord, my love! Kiss me with the kisses of thy mouth, how lovely art thou! ...thy embrace! MY LORD, MY LOVE, MY SOUL’S SALVATION, TAKE ME TO THY LAP!!"*
―Caleb's last words[src]

Caleb loses track of Fowler and calls out for Thomasin. He attempts to whistle for Fowler, but is unsuccessful. He prays frantically as he makes his way through the wood. He hears Fowler crying out and runs towards the sound, only to find the dog disemboweled. He spots the hare again and follows it through an undergrowth to a hovel. A beautiful, voluptuous young woman emerges and he watches, terrified, as she approaches him with a hungry grin on her face. She kisses him on the mouth and grabs the back of his head with a clawed hand.

The witch returns Caleb to the farm later that night and leaves him at the goat pen, naked and delirious in the rain. He awakes screaming the next day and his family gather around him. He screams about the witch's torment of him before his mouth becomes sealed. William attempts to pull it open, but is unsuccessful. He takes out his knife and inserts the handle into Caleb's mouth, prying his jaws apart. To the shock of everyone, Caleb spits out a bloody apple.

William, Katherine and Thomas all pray for Caleb, but the twins cannot remember their prayer and fall to the ground, screaming and convulsing. Caleb suddenly shouts about animals performing sexual acts on the witch and Katherine cries and encourages him to think on Christ. He begs Jesus to save him and William, Katherine and Thomasin join hands in prayer. Once they finish their prayer, Caleb ecstatically declares his love for Jesus and dies.

### Post-Mortem

*"We would see you oft, Mother. Would that please you?"
"Aye."
"I have brought a book for you, Mother. Will you look at it with me?"
"Aye."
"One moment yet, Samuel is hungry. Come come, my little Sam."*
―"Caleb" and Katherine[src]

William and Katherine bury Caleb and she climbs into the grave and holds their son one last time before it is filled. Later that night, Black Phillip conjures an apparation of Caleb and Samuel to appear before Katherine. She hugs "Caleb" and he tells her that they have longed to see her and she replies that she has longed to see them too. She states that she will wake William, but he tells her to let him sleep. He tells her that he and Samuel would see her often and asks if that would please her. She replies that it would and he tells her that he has brought a book for her and asks him to look at it with him. She tells him that she will but notices that Samuel is hungry and begins breastfeeding him. She laughs deliriously as a raven pecks at her breast.

## Personality

*"Thomasin. All will be well. Sleep."*
―Caleb to Thomasin[src]
Caleb is a caring boy who desires to help his family in any way he can. He helps his father William hunt for food, though he later lies to his mother Katherine to avoid upsetting her. He and his older sister Thomasin turn to each other for comfort during difficult times, though he tells her off when she scares their younger sister Mercy by pretending to be a witch. Caleb attempts to hold his family together when his baby brother Samuel goes missing, though is unsure of what to do in such a difficult situation. As she is the only girl close to him in age in his life, Caleb has incestuous feelings towards Thomasin, which are later exploited by the Witch.

## Religion

*"Art thou then born holy and righteous?"
"No, nay! My first father sinned and I in him."
"Art thou then born a sinner?"
"Aye. I was conceived in sin, and born in – iniquity."
"Good. Then what is thy birth sin?
"Adam's sin imputed to me, and a corrupt nature dwelling within me."
"Well-remembered, Caleb. Very well. And canst thou tell me what thy corrupt nature is?"
"My corrupt nature is empty of grace, bent unto sin, only unto sin, and that continually. Well remembered, Caleb"*
―William and Caleb[src]
Caleb is a Christian, often reading from the Bible and having memorised the concept of original sin. However, his faith is shaken by the possibility that Samuel is in Hell as he knows his baby brother to have committed no wickedness. Once he is tormented by the Witch, Caleb begs Jesus to save him and dies ecstatically proclaming his love for him.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Eggers, Robert, *The Witch*, A24, USA, February 19, 2016