The salem witch trials. The Feminine Mystique and The crucible.
The Salem Witch Trials are a series of legal proceedings which took place in colonial Massachusetts, in the 17th century. In the early modern period, witchcraft was a crime in Europe and European colonies. In North American New England communities, between 1692 and 1693, approximately 200 people were accused of witchcraft. In the trials that led to guilty verdicts of thirty people, fourteen of the thirty defendants were women.
The punishment for witchcraft included imprisonment, pillorying or execution. It is estimated that 90,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft during the early modern period. Half of these prosecutions resulted in executions. In England, 90 percent of women were accused of witchcraft. Across western Europe and its colonies, women were more likely to be accused of witchcraft than men.
A trial of a witch at Salem Village in 1962, Posterazzi
Experts have linked the rise of witch hunting with the development of domestic labour; with the rise of witchcraft and the creation of a peasant class in post feudal Europe. Witchcraft could have been used as a campaign to insight fear into women and ensure reproduction. As Capitalism expanded into Europe around the 1500s, women were at risk of losing their social standing and property. Witchcraft created a suspicion around women, with superstitions that could have been used to victimise and control them.
Exiled nonconformists landing in America (1864)
There are different superstitions that enabled witch hunting. For example, the devil’s pact, which suggested that witches were thought to have supernatural powers, because they made a pact with the devil. In exchange for their souls, it was believed that witches had powers, that could be used against others for evil. In Massachusetts, this superstition was prominent, the colony was dominated by puritanism. Puritans emphasised the belief that Satan was a literal force, working in the world and witches were a conduit.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Published by Penguin Modern Classics
The Crucible written by Arthur Miller, premiered in January 1953 at Martin Beck Theatre in New York City. The Play is set in Salem Massachusetts and is described as a secluded theocracy. The narrative demonstrates how suspicions of witchcraft resulted in accusations and trial of witchcraft. It also gives insight into how religion can be weaponised for evil, instead of good.
It is possible that the suspicion of witchcraft was surrounded by the elusiveness of femininity. For example, Reverend Parris discovers his daughter Betty, with other girls who were dancing naked in the forest. This act alone, doesn’t particularly lead to the suspicion of witchcraft. However, due to heightened fear of demon possessions in Salem, it does. The young girls dancing in the forest led to rumours of witchcraft spreading around Salem. Shortly after this event, the wealthy Putnam’s arrive and reverend John Hale, an expert in witchcraft and demonology, is invited to investigate the incident.
Betty Friedan in 1960
The Feminine Mystique published by Betty Friedan in 1963, is a book that challenges the domestication of American women. The term feminine mystique describes the idea that women would be fulfilled by all aspects of domestic labour, including marriage, children and housework. While Friedan’s work is published centuries after the Salem Witch Trials, The feminine mystique critiqued the establishment of domestic labour, that was entrenched in the 16th and 17th century. The Salem Witch Trials is an example of the imposition of fear, at the intersection of religion and femininity.
Please see the reference list below, for articles and books on this topic.
References
The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe by Brian Levack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials#cite_note-2
https://stories.uq.edu.au/shorthand-uq/small-change/women-as-witches/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-surprising-backstory-behind-witch-hunts-and-reproductive-labor/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/15/heretics-daughter-kathleen-kent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucible
