Who is Mistress Hibbins?

Answer 1

A somewhat minor character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" (I know this should be underlined). She is often said to be a witch, and is described by the narrator as having twigs in her hair from the forest returning from her nightly rides. Her biggest appearance is at the end of the story when she tells Pearl that she saw Hester and Dimmesdale in the forest, and that if Pearl wants to, Mistress Hibbins would take her on a night ride to see her "Father of the Sky" (presumably the Devil).

Hope this answers your question!

Historically accurate answer: Mistress Hibbins was an important Brookline, Massachusetts resident, hanged as a witch on Boston Common, the first innocent victim of that insane spasm of fear and ignorance that overcame Massachusetts in the mid-17th Century. What evidence was there of witchcraft? Only that she refused to pay a joiner who over-charged her. At the time, it was said that she was hanged because she had more wit than her neighbors.