Looking at the transciprts of the witch trials, it might be fair to say they have somewhat predictable narrative arcs, a ritual pattern of unfolding. How would you describe that pattern? What are the variations on it? Since Cotton Mather was neither stupid nor ignorant, do these examinations, when coupled with Wonders of the Invsible World, why he believed in witches?
10 thoughts on “Witches, Criminals and Deviance in New England”
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The trials reflect woman’s status in society, or lack thereof. Any testimony they give that conflicts with this rabid witchcraft narrative is ignored. They are easily (falsely) accused, given their near non-agency within patriarchal puritan society, and are encouraged to accuse other women through legal incentives; i.e., saving one’s self from imminent execution, as these women are presumed guilty, by naming other “witches”. The women of Salem are requisite fodder for the propagation of its witch-hunt.
Cotton Mather was “neither stupid nor ignorant”, but he was confronted with an extraordinary situation, which he was responsible for explaining to his laity who either rabidly believed it or had to keep up with appearances lest they risk the danger of being roped in. Mather assumes the latter and proffers his explanation for the events in Wonders of the Invisible World. However, his disclaimer of not being present at any of the trials as well as referring to the trial narratives as “entertainment” could perhaps bespeak a knowingness of the presumptive absurdity of the situation.
I am not fully convinced that the reason these trials took place was to explain the distancing of the church from the community. I agree that someone like Anne Hutchinson would help to explain this theory, but I think about the last lesson we had about captivity narratives. The Puritans always had God as a reason to explain everything; I am not convinced that they ever needed to create their own explanations.
Like many people mentioned previously, most of the trials involved a man in power accusing a woman of a crime. It is obvious that the Puritans had distinct gender imbalances but generally women are perceived as the victims, this is shown in the captivity narratives. I think it is interesting that women were spun into victimizers, and to do so they were shown as harming young girls.
I guess my biggest question is why exactly were women targeted, yes they were easy targets but they were also in many ways seen as weak and needing to be saved, only specific outspoken women, like Anne Hutchinson, were threatening.
In all of the trials, it appears that those accused are guilty until proven innocent rather than the other way around. Accusers work from the assumption of guilt and really don’t seem to try to give the accused any chance to prove their innocence. The wording of the questions and the line of questioning imply the accused’s guilt and basically force the women to either make a simple denial of guilt at every turn or to admit to their misdeeds, but claim that they were forced by another woman.
It is true that these trials involved specific interrogations of women believed to be witches, conducted by men. What I found to be most interesting, however, was the fact that the women on trial consistently blame the other supposed witches. Tituba accuses Osburn and Sarah Good, and Sarah Good accuses Osburn. I wonder if they were quick to cast the blame because they honestly believed Osburn was a witch or if she just seemed a natural scapegoat for their own predicaments? It’s also interesting that there seems to be no camaraderie between the women of the Puritan settlements, particularly since they are so quick to throw one another under the bus (rather than accusing a man for being a warlock) and also because the majority of victims are women and children. I think Mathers was convinced of witchcraft because these accused women seem to be acting in complete defiance of nature. Women, especially at that time, were meant to be maternal and take care of their families and children, and these women are defiant as well as neglectful and harmful towards children, all of which would have indicated a deeply unsettling moral decay. Mathers would have rather ascribed their behaviors to the devil testing him and the other Puritans than to believe that moral corruption has befallen one of the most compassionate figures of all, a mother.
The overarching theme that becomes readily apparent when viewing these documents in conjunction is the extreme desire of older male Puritans to preserve the status quo. In Mather’s case, this means recording the ways in which the supposed ills of Puritan society (i.e. mass movement away from pillars of standard beliefs) were blamed on certain women. By condemning these women as “witches,” the Puritan establishment was able to expel a sort of Devil-in-the-flesh from their society, hoping to prevent their people from straying farther away from the religious and social norms understood by the elders. In the case of the trial transcriptions, a different sort of preservation of current circumstances is evident. By lending no credence to the protests and professions of innocence by the “witches,” the elder Puritan males attempt to tighten their grasp on society through the continued subordination of women. Puritans, it seems, will go to great and profoundly immoral lengths to avoid change.
One interesting aspect that is repeated in many of these narratives is the “bewitching” of witnesses in the courtroom. As 21st century students, we are unlikely to believe that there was real “witchcraft” at work. With our knowledge of the Puritans, it makes sense that the conviction of “witches” resulted from a need to find and excise a physical manifestation of evil. And yet these courtroom dramatics on the part of the “bewitched” seem fairly rehearsed and coordinated. The women often seem coordinate their hysterics, and then stop when the accused is bound. Why? Was it jealousy? Spite? Self-preservation (through demonstrating that they themselves were not witches)? Exaggerated piety?
I definitely noticed a pattern in the narratives of the witch trials. Most trials involved a male in a position of power in society accusing a women of witchcraft and therefore seizing power that was not rightfully theirs and threatening the balance of power in the Puritan society. This reminded me of the trail of Anne Hutchinson. And when it comes to Mather’s beliefs, I think his motive for writing does not come from his belief in witches, but instead comes from his need to record what he believed to be critical events in his community.
Similar to Chelsea’s opinions, I think that Mather believed in witches because these witch trials were during a time in which puritan ideals were fading away and he needed to identify someone tangible to blame for the anti-puritan practices that were encroaching on their puritan culture.
In the case of Martha Carrier, those who claimed to be bewitched by her appeared at her examination and claimed that she was torturing them even during the testimony. Despite her declaration that she neither inflicted pain upon these people nor had any involvement with the devil, the court decided to bound her hands and feet and remove her from the presence of those proclaimed tortured individuals.
With the exception of the Tituba trial, the pattern consisted of the woman accused of witchcraft denying any type of involvement with the devil. The interrogator never acknowledged the voiced innocence of the woman on trial and throughout the trial continued to ask her questions pertaining to her involvement in witchcraft.
In these witch trials, a woman is always the villain. The interrogations appear to be a mere formality as the accused are not allowed to prove their innocence. The women are deemed guilty before their trials even begin. Any credibility the women may have is diminished by the spectacle produced by the “victims.” For instance, during Rebecca Nurse’s trial, Betty Hubbards, one of her “victims,” seems to be controlled by Nurse’s movements. If anyone believed Nurse’s innocence, it is likely that the incident provided enough proof for them to change their minds.
As Bailey stated, Mather believed in witchcraft because he needed a reason to explain the decrease in Puritan followers. Identifying the source of the problem meant that a solution could be created.
Each of the witch trials portray a high-intensity interrogation of a woman accused of witchcraft. (It is noteworthy that the accused are, especially in our readings, women.) A leader of the community, a minister or a judge, questions the woman about her suspected crimes in witchcraft. A normal question might take the appearance of: “On the night of ___, did you not pinch/bite/cut the child of ___, and force him/her to participate in your devilish witchcraft?” Accusations that the “witch” has harmed a child (most often a young girl) either physically or spiritually are frequent, as are livestock mutilations. The interrogator rarely seems to care or even hear the response of the woman, who, in all cases but Tituba, denies fraternizing with the devil. Tituba’s trial is the wildest of them all, as she admits to working for the devil against her will and explains using, what we call now, flying broomsticks. In any case, the interrogators are hellbent on indicting the “witches,” which relates wholly to a theme we have seen before, especially with Bradford: there must be an embodiment for evil so that it may be removed.
Cotton Mathers’ recounting of James Morgan’s trial shows the minister placing blame on the man for relenting to sin, tarnishing his soul, and corrupting his body. Mathers’ willingness to believe in witchcraft seems to lie in Bradford’s approach, as well: blame the devil, so that the source of evil is known and extricable/executable.