Geraldine Brooks imbues Caleb's Crossing with a sense of intimacy which could only be autobiographical. Doubtless she expressed some of the same frustrations with the patriarchy as her fictional protagonist Bethia. The story is set in New England during its original founding by the Puritans. Bethia came with her family to settle in the New World. She struggles with the rigid demands of her elders upon her as a girl and chooses rebellion, going so far as striking up a friendship with a Native she meets in the forest one day. She calls him Caleb. After he gets into some hot water with his tribe, Caleb is sent by his father to take refuge with the Puritans as a student. He actually comes to live in Bethia's house to study under her father, the preacher, along with some other young men of the community. Caleb is a devout student. When the preacher tragically drowns, the boys all decide to apply to college and are accepted. Bethia goes to Cambridge to live as an indentured servant (her only means to survive as a young, single woman) for one of the boy's tutors. They all graduate, although Caleb dies not long after from illness. Bethia eventually marries Samuel Corlett, a lifelong scholar who encourages her to pursue her own academic passions openly in their home.
The New World was a trying place for the settlers, especially the women. Bethia's character is depicted as somewhat headstrong but mostly logical about her situation. She presses the envelope, but she knows that she won't change the patriarchy's mind overnight. Whatever Brooks' intentions, the book does not imbue a strong feminist vibe. Actually, it seems more concerned with the under-appreciated role of academia within society, which is still true today. As members of marginalized social groups (women and Native Americans) Bethia and Caleb strike up a beautiful lifelong friendship which is based upon intellectual curiosity. In the end, Bethia's true liberation is marriage because her husband truly respects her ideas and allows her the freedom to further develop them. Without her relationship with Caleb, however, Bethia might have not known that this was even possible.
The book is loosely written as a series of journal entries by Bethia. Since she is not the protagonist, she is able to offer a rare insight into Caleb's mindset without ever making him too personal. He's an enigma to her, a friend of course, but still an enigma. She doesn't understand is stoic predisposition, but she does share a part of his reverence for education since it was also denied to her at first. She describes Caleb in terms of social order and desire, both always at odds with one another. As a woman, her perspective serves to humanize Caleb because she sees past his skin color and cultural differences and recognizes him as a man like all the others around her yet different because he understands her and treats her with respect. Her marginalization as a woman positions her perfectly to understand his unique challenges in his desire to become educated in a white man's world.
