Solange Cooper

Professor Riley

English 1201.513

29 June 2019

Annotated Bibliography

In my essay, I want to discuss the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Along with providing a

timeline of events during the period, I want to explore the possible cause of the trials. More

specifically, I will talk about misogyny and its connection to the trials. Also, I will write about

the longer-lasting effects misogyny has had on the idea of witches and witchcraft.

Colburn, Josephine. Gender and the Salem Witchcraft Trials.

www.wou.edu/history/files/2015/08/Colburn-Josephine1.pdf.

This article primarily focuses on the timeline of events during the Salem Witch Trials.

The author describes the trials as “ a series of events where twenty people were examined,

and then hanged for being witches. Most of these people were women, although there were a

few men. “ The author uses a novel from the 1920s, when women were facing particularly strong

opposition on the basis of their freedom and liberty. The article also explores the representation

of other women during the trials and the injustice they faced. This is written as an educational,

research-based essay and provides plenty of sources to back up Colburn’s evidence. I can use

this article to provide more detailed accounts of what happened during the trials.

Hassett-Walker, Connie. “What the Salem Witches Can Teach Us about How We Treat

Women Today.” The Washington Post, 2018. EBSCOhost,

 search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.542059937&site=

eds-live.

In this article, author Connie Hassett-Walker talks about the accused during the Salem

Witch Trials. While discussing the victims, she explains that the women who were accused were

the “most vulnerable” of the puritan community. The women were more likely to be accused

because they rebelled against a misogynistic society. IN the time, women were meant to be

“good” and take care of their home and family, all while making no disruptions. The women

accused were known for being outspoken, independent, and quick to argue. The author also takes

the time to write to women today and relate this fight for independence to today’s world by

saying, “Today, the criminal justice system continues to punish the vulnerable women in

society.” I can use this in my essay to explain why the community was so quick to accuse the

women it did and how societal norms and gender unconformity played a huge part in the trials.

“History of ‘Witch’ & Implications for Feminism.” ACPA, 2014,

www.myacpa.org/entity/standing-committee-women/blog/history-witch-implications-

feminism.

This article writes about the origin of the idea of witches and discusses the role race and

gender play in witchcraft accusations. The author describes the stereotype towards women,

saying, “ Women who respected natural forces or who acted against tradition were seen as

demonic. They were persecuted as witches…” The author also explains the effect the main

accused witch, Tituba’s, race played in the trials. The article ends in an inspired tone, with the

author claiming “a new appreciation for the feminist foundation of witches”.

This article can be used in my essay by providing bmore background into the idea of witches and

witchcraft.

MENCEJ, MIRJAM. “THE ROLE OF GENDER IN ACCUSATIONS OF

WITCHCRAFT: THE CASE OF EASTERN SLOVENIA.” Český Lid, vol. 98, no. 4,

2011, pp. 393–412. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42640635.

The culture of witches and witchcraft is certainly not singled out to America. This article

provides the research found in a study about the culture surrounding women and witchcraft in

Slovenia. The author, a teacher researching witchcraft in Slovenia with her students, mentions

that she aims to focus on the role of gender in a current witchcraft believing society.

Surprisingly, her research shows that even in 2011 when this was published, the basis that

only women are the bad kinds of witches. She mentions that there are many words for male

witches but shows that it is just as uncommon now as it was in the centuries before. From the

people she interviewed, the majority of people had never heard of or met a male witch, and many

even laughed at the idea.

This is a well written research article, the is both thorough and relevant. I can use this

article to discuss the bigger idea of misogyny in witchcraft both outside of America and in

present day.

Petherbridge, Deanna. “Witches: A History of Misogyny.” The Independent, Independent Digital

News and Media, 27 Sept. 2014, www.independent.co.uk/arts-

entertainment/art/features/witches-a-history-of-misogyny-9757605.html.
 For centuries, women have been depicted as creatures with their sights set on destruction.

Author Deanna Petherbridge wrote about Symbolist artists in the 19th century, saying they

identified “old hags and young women alike as the corrupters of masculine health, sanity and

good order, carrying disease in their hideous or desirable bodies.” She goes on to discuss other

examples of misogyny in art and the unfair standards that are represented. For example, she talks

about how men in witchcraft age well, while women are seen to become undesirable(or,

apparently, too desirable.) She explores this idea when she said, “Men are pictured as

necromancers or alchemists, serious seekers after the truth; they age with dignity and grow

beards. Old crones sometimes have beards, too, but grow snakes instead of hair on their heads,

wreaking destruction on kings and commoners alike.”

This is a feature article written to appeal to those interested in culturally-based topics.

Petherbridge, an artist and curator, seems to be prompted by the instance when “Australia's first

female prime minister, Julia Gillard, was placarded as a witch and a bitch.” The article,

published in 2014, is both relevant and credibly written.

I plan to use this in my essay by quoting specific examples of misogyny in art and

Petherbridge’s comments about the difference in witchcraft depictions.

Rosen, Maggie (2017) "A Feminist Perspective on the History of Women as Witches,"

Dissenting Voices: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at:

http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/dissentingvoices/vol6/iss1/5

This article explores the idea that women as witches is not a bad thing. The author,

Maggie Rosen, uses her platform to describe the oppression of women through witch-hunts as a

sign of a feared power. She ends her article by saying, “ Instead of being a tool for denigration, it
can be an identity for empowerment. My name is Maggie Rosen and I am a witch.” She writes

this for women and for others who are confused and feel that the witch hunts are degrading. She

writes with a clear passion for empowerment through oppression. I can use this in my essay as a

more personal perspective and use the ideas of turning oppression into a positive thing. Her ideas

will also help me to write about the oppression of women both during the witch trials and in

present day.

Woolf, Alan. “Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials.” Journal of Toxicology

-- Clinical Toxicology, vol. 38, no. 4, June 2000, pp. 457–460. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1081/CLT-100100958.

One of the leading theories for the cause of the Salem Witch Trials is ergot poisoning. As

the author writes, “the previous winter had been cold. Then a wet, warm planting season was

followed by a hot, stormy summer. A failed harvest had forced Salem villagers to turn to rye

grain to make their bread.” These crop conditions have proved to be the perfect environment for

the growth of the ergot fungus. Many believe that the afflictions of witchcraft the accusing girls

were dealing with were illness due to ergot poisoning. This leads the way to many different

scientific reasons as to what was truly causing the Salem Witch trials.

This article can be used in my essay as either a support or

counterclaim. I can use this as either side by claiming there is no proof the conditions were

correct for ergot, or by saying that it was ergot poisoning and misogyny made it easier for the

belief of witchcraft to spread rather than think logically.