Salem Witch Trials - Research Paper Example

? Salem witch trials Gender oppression has been an alarming problem from the very beginning of civilization. On its way to modernization, itmight have changed its course of action, yet remained as prominent as ever. Physical supremacy of a male turned him into the lord of our society and the females became their subordinate. In an effort to continuously inflict that idea amongst their female counterparts, the males had resorted to several mal practices such as abusive language and physical oppression. At its most extreme point, a woman was often stigmatized as a witch and a mockery of justice served in almost all the cases that convicted her to be guilty. The outcome was sure but not short. The female convict often with her baby, were put to hellish inferno till their last breath. The following paper highlights those torments that the women had endured in the background of Salem Witch Trials. Witchcraft and black magic had always cast deep horror and doubt among human beings, belonging to different strata and countries of the world. Anything that apparently unexplainable through common sense or substantial investigation had either been termed as divine or evil. In this battle of two extremities the later often gained much weight out of the fear of the common people. Like other countries of the world United States of America (USA) was no exception regarding its attitude towards witchcraft and subsequent steps and trials that had been taken against the same. Among them Salem Witch Trial might be considered as the most significant that had paved a new angle to that atrocity. Marilynne K. Roach describes Salem witch trials as “one of the American history’s favorite stereotypes of intolerance and superstition, a tragedy with popular associations of magical evil and Halloween jokes” (Roach, 2004, p.xv). In the late 1600s, the village of Salem in Massachusetts, United States was vulnerable to a sequence of stern challenges, which jeopardized the social life of the common mass and imparted deep influence in their religious and moral conscience. Among the various challenges, the one, which stirred up the village with an incorporeal predicament, is the Salem Witch Trials. The trials ushered in colonial Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693, inflicting 200 people being accused of exercising witchcraft practices and 20 of them were brutally executed (Wise, 2005, p. 59). As time passed by, the colony admitted to the fact that the results of the trials were mistakenly interpreted and the convicted families were compensated accordingly. The shadow casting of the trials brings with it the essence of paranoia and injustice within the quintessence of the populace of the later times. Boiling down to a pinpoint inspection it can be inferred that the victims were women and they faced the evil consequences. Varied ideas are associated with the Salem witch trials like the outgrowth of conflicts among the merchant and trading class alone with the disposition of the Puritanical doctrine. Again this paper will drive its omnipotent focus on the role of the women and their perils in the society of that at the background the periphery of Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch trials highlighted the fact that the colonial New England was subject to subordination along with immense oppression towards women of any age and that often came behind the veil of superstition as a justification of those heinous offenses. Disintegrated into a prosperous town and a farming village the inhabitants of the Salem village were basically in a dilemma to seek either ecclesiastical or political independence from the town. In 1689, after winning the rights of establishing their own church, the villagers had chosen the monk Samuel Parris as their minister who was a merchant before adopting priestly hood. Parris’s perturbed exploitative mechanism of appropriation led to the generation of rigorous friction amongst the inhabitants and that eventually resulted in termination of salary contribution in October 1691. In 1685, King James II's government invalidated the Massachusetts charter and appointed a new governor Sir Edmund Andros set out for the purpose of uniting New England, New York, and New Jersey under the same hood of New England. To smooth out the scenario, King James II permitted the first public celebration of Christmas in Massachusetts, which was strongly opposed by the Puritans. The contemporary (Mew England) social order in New England was in doldrums with religious conflicts and increase in the number of black slaves. Superstitious beliefs were rampant in the Puritanical colonies of New England. Tremendous exaggeration of witch craft was taking the role of perilous element (Mather, 1862, p.V).In 1692, In the meantime, Samuel Parris’s daughter Betty Parris and her friends Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam were diagnosed with symptoms of frequent fits and hallucination. Doctor Griggs who diagnosed these girls opined that the girls may have been bewitched. Many of the other girls like Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Mary Warren also claimed of executing same type of behaviors. The girls blamed for their mental state, their tormentors Sarah Good who was a poor woman, Sarah Osbourn, , an elderly woman and Titubaa slave. According to them the Voodoo stories that these mentioned women used to utter to them, had left a permanent stigma on their heart and adversely affected their present and future life (Lambert, n.d,). These women were tried for witchcraft. Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourn claimed their innocence; however Tituba confessed of practicing witchcraft. Tituba was found to have evidences of Devils wounding her in her body (Hale, 1697). However, it was later known that Tituba confessed in order to save her children (Vaughan, 1999, p. 162). This led to a witch hunting rampage with 19 men and women hanged and more than 150 people were imprisoned. However in 1692, Governor Phipps denied spectral evidences in witchcraft trials and alleged witches were released and pardoned (Guiley, 2010, p.302). The women in colonial America were absolutely dominated by their male counterpart. But it was also found that the women were given more prominence in the New England Puritan societies than in the respective Catholic and Anglican surroundings. The reason was, the pillars of the Puritan marriage were based on the notion of reproduction and companionship. Scholars have voted in favor of this argument but on the other hand have traced out evidences, which reflects the idea that women of New England were considered to be more sinful in nature than men. The souls of the women in Puritan theology were believed to be more inclined and affected by the workings of Satan (The Devil). The women of New England internalized this view of natural dissoluteness evolution and constantly got adversely affected spiritually and psychologically in their daily life. One reason for the events in the Salem can be attributed to the transformed or forced role of women in such activities (Kocic, 2010, pp. 2-3). During that time in New England, the witches and witchcraft was a very common feature in the fundamental beliefs of the common people. Death penalties for witchcraft rapidly spread during the fifteenth century (Daly, 1979, p. 208). Accusation of witchcraft was mainly directed towards the women who were strong and independent (Gagnon, 1997, p.82). The accuser did not have to prove any proof against his/her accusation. This portrays in case of Ann Hibbens, a sister of a governor and the widow of a prominent New England merchant William Hibbens who was tried and executed of being a witch (Games, 2010, p.40). Carpenters demanded too much money from Ann and Ann refused to pay and in return sued them and won a law suit. But later on in 1655 she was convicted as a witch and was executed. Firstly, she was told to apologize but she refused to do so. Ann was supported by Joshua Scottow who had to apologize later for her support. A second supporter of Ann was John Norton, a minister whose statement reflects a pronounced evidence of the theme of the paper. The statement goes like this- “she was hanged for a witch only for having more wit than her neighbors” (Drake, 2004, p.33). Karlsen's demographic analysis of the available data reveals that the women who were convicted of witchcraft were mostly over the age of forty. Again women of age group around 60 or higher years were exposed to higher risks of both accusation as well as conviction. A strong correlation between poverty and accused as well as convicted women had also been found (Kocic, 2010, p.4). The same era witnessed that Elizabeth Knappa patient of hysteria was accused of being under the influence of the devil (Green, 1883). Another noteworthy victim of witchcraft was Martha Schuler an innocent mother and a wife who was tortured in a disgusting manner and was burnt alive in a watchtower (The Lindheim Witchtrial, n.d.). Now coming to Sarah Goodit was known that she was born into a wealthy family but unfortunately lost her right of inheritance after the sadly demise of her father. She was married to a poor laborer in the Salem village and became a beggar in order to supplement the income of the family. The community viewed her as both ungracious and foul-mouthed. Soon she was arrested along with her four year old daughter (Dorcus) under the charge of witchcraft. On her finger, Dorcus was found to have a witch’s teat (through, which she was supposed to provide nourishment to the Devil and his siblings), which was probably of a normal flea bite. These wart-like teats are often found in women’s private parts. Several accused witches were examined of such teats in front of the male magistrates which was really horrible. When she was in jail Sarah was pregnant and she was left shackled in a filthy cell along with her daughter Dorcus. Dorcus remained imprisoned in a moist dark cell for seven to eight years after her mother’s execution in 1692 (Colleen, 1693). Evidence of tremendous suffering and injustice encountered by the Good family can be accounted from the letter of Sarah Good’s husband: “1. My wife, Sarah Good was in prison about four months& then Executed. 2. a suckling child dyed in prison before the Mothers Execution. 3. a child of 4 or 5 years old was in prison 7 or 8 months and being chain’din the dungeon was so hardly used and terrified that she hath ever since been very chargeable having little or no reason to govern herself. - And I leave up to the Honourable Court to Judge what damage I have sustained by such a destruction of my poor family- And so rest Your Honours humble servant William Good” (PETITIONS FOR COMPENSATION AND DECISION CONCERNING COMPENSATION, 1710 -1711). Karlsen's feminist study The Devil in the Shape of a Woman analyses the evidences of the witchcraft on a wider scale and her evidences as mentioned earlier show that the convicted women were most likely to be care-receivers than care-givers. Karlsen claims that these women did not satisfy or fell within the notion of typical Puritan framework of a good, obedient wife and they were supposed to underpin the male dominated hierarchical societal structure. The structure was spun in a framework where it was a rigid belief that God has predetermined a system where the women, children, and servants have to bow down or get suppressed under the male authority. Inspired by Salem witch trials the best known work can be said to be of Arthur Miller's “The Crucible”. A character played in “The Crucible”, Rebecca Nurse entails a significant focus. Rebecca was tried and was hanged to death. But in the play she never admitted her supposed guilt and accepted death with ultimate dignity and pride. She never succumbed to the male authority. She was considered as a saint for her brave conduct and willingness to choose death rather than surrendering to the then male autocratic society. After the Salem events the leading male priestly and political aristocrats were bound to admit their guilt and apologized to the families of the convicted and the beliefs and perception of the women in New England witnessed a substantial change (Kocic, 2010, pp.4-6). Thus, the Salem Witch Trials brought with it a devastating impact on the feminist society in New England during the sixteenth century. Although it may be a result of complex interplay of several factors but the societal structure was such that male chauvinism was at its summit, which would never allow the uprising of the female sect. Whenever the women imparted instances of more rationality and judiciousness than the men, they were thoroughly suppressed and exploited to the utmost, which has been elucidated in this paper. Even children were not spared. Female subordination is highlighted in the paper as the prime issue which should never be neglected and it also provides a challenging arena for further research in diverse fields like history, sociology as well as cultural and gender studies. Last but not the least, oppression and superstition are two faces of the same coin, addressing either one might hold the key to eradicate the other one. References Colleen, B, (1693) “Salem Times Every Time”, The Salem Times 1693, Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://people.ucls.uchicago.edu/~snekros/The%20Salem%20Times/The_Salem_Times_of_1693/People.html Daly, M (1979), Gynecology: the metaethics of radical feminism, The Women's Press Drake, S.A (2004), A Book Of New England Legends And Folk Lore In Prose And Poetry, Kessinger Publishing Gagnon. H. E, (1997), Scandalous Beginnings: Witch Trials to Witch City, Retrieved on May 16, 2012 from: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/public/etd-204516459731541/ETD.PDF Games, A. (2010), Witchcraft in Early North America, Rowman & Littlefield Green, S.A, (1883), Samuel Willard, A brief account of a strange &unusuall Providence of God befallen to Elizabeth Knap of Groton, Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from, http://history.hanover.edu/texts/groton/grointro.html Guiley, R. (2010), The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca, Infobase Publishing Kocic, A., (2010), SALEM WITCHCRAFT TRIALS: THE PERCEPTION OF WOMEN IN HISTORY, LITERATURE AND CULTURE, Retrieved on May 16, 2012 from: http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal201001/lal201001-01.pdf Lambert, T (2006), THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS, Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://www.localhistories.org/salem.html Mather, C. (1862), Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches, J.R. Smith. PETITIONS FOR COMPENSATION AND DECISION CONCERNING COMPENSATION, 1710 -1711, retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_PET.HTM Roach, M. K (2004), The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege, Taylor Trade Publications The Lindheim Witchtrial, (n.d.), Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://www.phmarketing.se/Lindheim.htm Vaughan, A.T, (1999), New England Encounters: Indians and Euroamericans Ca. 1600-1850: Essays Drawn from the New England Quarterly, UPNE Wise, P.M, Cotton Mathers's Wonders of the Invisible World: An Authoritative Edition, Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=english_diss Hale, J (1697), A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft, Retrieved on May 17, 2012 from: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/ModestEnquiry/images.02/source/1.html Read More