The Responsibility Of The Witches In A Brave New World

In the book Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer the town of Salem starting going into a panic of the theory of witches from the fits of two girls. Everyone accusing each other, family is accusing family. Brothers are accusing brothers. Accused witches are taken to trial, but are the trials that fair? The trials were unfair because of the use of spectral evidence, the inability to testify for oneself, and the surprisingly unbiased judges.

The Salem Witch Trials were a dark part of American History that we learn about today. The question always remains as to why this hysteria of witchcraft outbreak happened. How the outbreak of accusations started is something that is speculated to be from jealousy, a disease caused by a rye poisoning, or from a psychogenic disease. We should also be asked what were the roles of men and women in these trials, why was it mainly women accused, why was it only men holding the trials? The gender roles in these trials were based upon the belief that women were somehow still incapable to handle such things and were not made to do such things. Yet when young girls accused grown women of acts of witchcraft, unless a man defended that woman, they could do nothing but let the men prosecute them for something they never did. Men ran everything in towns, because that was the norm for this time period. So, what could women do to defend themselves? They had no power to fend against the men who ran everything in their society.

Salem Witch Trials was a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in the Salem Village of the 17th century New England. The trials caused executions of many people, mostly women. Salem Witch Trials exposed the different gender roles during the seventeenth century. Women were supposed to take on “wifely duties” such as, be mothers and housewives. Women were taught to follow the men. There were strict religious norms during the seventeenth century. There was rigid moral code believed that God would punish sinful behavior. Those who were under the covenant by the church of the Salem Village believed that Satan would select those to fulfill his work and those who followed Satan were considered witches. Witchcraft was considered a punishable crime. Salem Witch Trials revealed that gender played a role for the accused and accusers. The trials also revealed that one’s relationship with God will set deliverance from Satan’s attacks. Salem Witch Trials demonstrated how rumors, jealousy, and the idea of male dominance affected people of the Salem Village.

The persecution of witches started in the fourteen hundreds and carried on into the seventeen hundreds. This persecution happened only in the Catholic and Protestant Countries. They were not just endorsed by the churches, but the entire craze was caused by the churches; which gave its full support behind the cause. While the persecution of witches effected every type of person the most effected people where older women, poor, and usually considered outsiders by their society.

History shows the remarkable things that society has done over the years, it also shows where society failed and mistakes were made. This is the case of the Salem Witch Trials. The people of Salem experienced an event that would change them and the course of this country forever. The mass hysteria and rampant paranoia that swept New England in 1692, is what turned neighbor against neighbor. The Salem villagers would accuse one another of casting spells, consorting with the devil, and being witches, all of which was a punishable crime in the 17th century. ("Search")

Puritan Societal gender biases against women prompted what was called the "Witch Trials". Some trials took place in Europe around the same time, but my focus is about the trials that took place in Early America in New England. History notes these areas to be mostly in Hartford, Fairfield, and Salem. The latter being the most infamous and the most published. Although the question has been asked many times, there has not been a definite answer on Why did the trials take place? What happened to cause this phenomenon? There were several factors involving bias such as socioeconomic, historical, psychological and religious factors, but most notable were the gender biases that was evident. With all of these underlying influences, it was apparent that the one common link was women and the varying roles that they played during this time. Documented research states that approximately 78% of those accused were women (Karlsen, 1987) and similarly those who were executed were a high percentage of women.

In the 17th century church was the foundation of the people of New England. The main religion of the time was Puritanism which carried over when most of the colonist moved to Massachusetts. The main reason that the colonist moved was to find religious tolerance away from the strict Puritan lifestyle. Puritans believed that the smallest sin could result in a huge misfortune. They were also frowned upon for expressing their feelings and opinions, and were expected to have no individual differences. They believed in the devil just as much as they believed in God. The Puritan people constantly struggled between good and evil, which often led to giving into the temptation of Satan. Those who gave into the temptations and followed Satan were considered witches.

Witches in Salem Massachusetts! In 1692 10 young girls got sick and no one knew what was going on including doctors. The main individuals involved were the girls that got sick and called witchcraft upon three other girls, The three individuals that were called out were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborn, and a Caribbean slave named Tituba. Let’s not forget Sir William Phipps the governor of Massachusetts.

Witch hunting was the persecution and possible execution of individuals considered to be ‘witches’ loyal to the devil. It was an all too common occurrence from 1603-1712 all over Europe. However in order to understand why this happened the context must be taken into account. It was a time of change, the Renaissance - the rebirth of culture, ideas and attitudes to living. The Reformation had also only been implemented in England in the last 80 years back from 1603, when it had previously been catholic for centuries. The English civil war from 1642 to 1651 is argued to have played a part in the intensification of the witch hunts in England due to the peak in executions whilst it was on going. Some historians have taken the view that in time of crisis certain groups can be victimised like in wars, famine, disease outbreaks and changes in society structure.

(1)The Malleus Maleficarum is a treatise on the prosecution of witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman. The book was first published in Speyer, Germany, in

Robert Eggers’s The Witch follows a New England family after they were forced out of their Puritan plantation and went to live deep in the woods. Shortly after moving, Katherine gives birth to her last child, Samuel, who disappears while Thomasin, the eldest daughter, is playing with him. The family is then plagued by the presence of witchcraft. The portrayal of women in The Witch is negative and they are viewed as evil throughout the movie. Similarly, women in Greek and Roman myths are depicted as manipulative and evil, such as the sirens luring men with their songs in Homers The Odyssey.

"I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" The Wicked Witch of the West...

The theme of “The Witch” is that children judge people by their actions while adults judge people by their appearance . In this story a young boy is on a train with his mother and sister. The boy is looking the window telling all of the thing that he is seeing. “I saw a witch” the boy said. The mother would let the words go in one ear and out the other and say,“Fine.”

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth features the strange characters known as “the witches.” These figures are substantial characters who Shakespeare carefully crafts throughout the play as mysterious and deceptive beings. Thus, the reader does not make the same mistake as Macbeth of trusting them blindly. The witches are arguably the most important characters in the play because of their large and influential effects. Their role in Shakespeare's Macbeth is to establish the mood for the rest of the play, influence Macbeth's decisions, and direct the plot of the play.

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