Puritans and Native Americans in C. Sedgwick's Hope Leslie

Abstract

The bachelor thesis focuses on the novel Hope Leslie by Catherine M. Sedgwick. It examines the portrayal of interracial relations, stereotypes, and conflicts between Puritans and Native Americans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The thesis discusses the traditional elements of the frontier novel and compares the author with the more famous writer, James Fenimore Cooper. It also examines the depiction of women and their defiance of patriarchal authority. The aim is to ascertain whether Sedgwick abandoned the stereotypes connected to the mentioned cultures.