Salem Witch Trials: Revelations Of Gender And Religious Norms

Contreras 1

Luis Contreras

Yarisbel Rodriguez

HIST 3401

19 September 2017 Revelations of gender and religious norms through the Salem witch trials There are certain events that when they occur they can reflect and show the kind of society we live in and sheds light on some of the norms we accept in our society. The events that occurred during the Salem witch trials revealed many norms about religion and gender. It demonstrated how religion and superstition was held in higher regards and standards than science and logic. It also showed how much influence people in the church had over the people. And how women were treated as nothing but objects. Women were used scape goats for the witch craft and Satan worshiping allegations.

It can be said that because of Father Parris’s position he was able to influence the people of Salem. In the seventeenth century it was normal for these kind of people to held in this kid of high regard because religion was a big part of life and these people were seen as interpreters of god’s will. An example of this can be seen in the “Satan’s war” article, “Put on the whole Armour of god, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, Parris instructed. Christ fruniseth the believer with skill, strength, courage, weapons and all military accomplishments for victory. Thus did Parris convert the opposition to his ministry into a grand cosmic struggle the forces of good and evil between god and Satan.” We can see how Parris’s sermons begin to attract more people because he uses the explanation that the village is in a war with Satan. The village of Salem believed that they were on a divine mandate to spread Christianity and the word of god to the new world, to fail or succumb to evil would mean that they failed god himself and they wouldn’t be able to achieve salvation and to them god was the whole reason for their existence in the new world and their work. Parris used recent events and fears of the people as proof of Satan’s work against the village of Salem and with his position people began to follow him without question

It’s no secret that a gender norm for women was that they had to be completely subservient to men, or more accurately their husbands. For example the “Diversity in colonial times” article states, “Colonial cultural norms reflected European patriarchal values, which became embedded in English law. For example, a woman’s marriage automatically transferred the legal ownership of the bride’s personal property—money, land, household goods, and clothing—to her husband. If he died, the property went to the children, not her, with male heirs receiving larger inheritances than their sisters. Even children could become the wards of the father’s male relatives and not of his widow. In the rare instance of a divorce, the father indisputably retained custody of the children.” This demonstrates how the gender norms in English law prevented women from becoming truly independent once they got married they became their husband’s property, and everything became the man’s property. The general inequality between men and women was the norm and this could stem from religion because of the story of Adam and eve, and in that story eve is weak and disobeys gods will and as a result women are seen as weak and inferior to men. Since religion plays a big role in the seventeenth century life style they adopted some of those beliefs and it became a gender norm that women are perceived as