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The Evil Witch In Greek Mythology

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The evil witches on these series and even on Harry Potter like Bellatrix Lestrange, the Wicked Queen of Snow White etc. adheres to certain norms of beauty, including the use of make-up and high heels, on the other hand she deviates from the most important rule for women: she refuses to be contained within the roles assigned to her within patriarchy. She refuses the role of the mother and refuses the male power over herself. Magic becomes a transgressive power, a protective magic which will disrupt patriarchal norms and free the women from societal expectations, which works on both the good and bad witch. Diane Purkiss explains witchcraft today, “its insistence on an identity grounded in the maternal body” (34). Contemporary popular witchcraft series and movies often essentialize witches as mothers. Just as the films and television shows which present positive witch figures nevertheless reinforce patriarchal ideology, the post feministic discourse accepts the bond of …show more content…

The witches do not actively seek their power for personal gain and if they do they must pay for their transgression. The good witch uses her power to protect others and for good. However the evil witches and demons do not have any qualms against using their powers for their personal needs or for power, as witnessed in Charmed and Buffy. However, in the case of Harry Potter, there is a shift as we find magic used for both good and bad every day. The contemporary relevance of these witches as enduring feminist icons occurs because even though their series and movies are over, the legacy that these characters have left is far from over. The series Charmed, Buffy and Sabrina have resurfaced in different media like comics, novels and cartoons. They integrate the series and pick up where the series left off. In the case of Hermione, ‘Pottermore’ is filled with fanfiction and even J.K Rowling’s own suggestions about her

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What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? What caused the Salem Witch Trial hysteria of 1692? The three reasons that caused this were revenge, jealousy, and feeling empowered. Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, 20 people got put to death in Salem for witchcraft.

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After reading “Devil in the Shape of a Woman: The Economic Basis of Witchcraft “by Carol Karlsen I was intrigued by Karlsen’s interpretation, and upset about the ways women were treated. During these witch hunts women and men alike were accused of the crime, but the majority were women. I found it interesting that she related the commonly known Puritan beliefs, which lead to accusations of witchcraft, with gender roles. She ultimately says that Puritans feared these accused women because they symbolized female independence. I found it shocking that women, often the wealthier, had a greater chance of being let go of their accusations if they had a husband to spoke on their behalf.

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The book by Rosalyn Schanzers Witches! The absolutely true tale of disaster in salem gives information about the salem witch trials. The surroundings of the trials(such as weather)changed from winter all the way through spring 1692.They also were very paranoid of a lot of things. Such as witches and the devil. The main theories i will state are Reasons for the witch hunts.

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Dwight Lyman Moody once said, "Character is what you are in the dark." In other words, a person's true nature sometimes is not revealed until they are put through dark and very hard times. This quotation is true because characters are often put to the test and become very vulnerable and exposed during these hard times. In the book series, "The Witch & The Wizard" by James Patterson, Whit and Wisty Allgood are teen-witch/wizard siblings that put to the test when the New World (N.O.) leader, The One Who Is The One, is out to kill them and take their powers, within these lines, the characters true identities are unveiled during the dark times of their lives, become vulnerable by sharing their true thoughts and emotions, and putting down

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Gender roles played a heavy role in colonial society, and the women who did not conform to these roles were easy targets for witchcraft accusations. Women who were post-menopausal, widowed, unmarried were not fulling their “duty” to society of bearing children and thus could come under fire (Lecture.) Those who were aggressive, out spoken, or did not do as another wished could also bring cries of “witch!” (Lecture.) This is highlighted in Cotton Mather’s Accounts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, one of these accused women Susana Martin stands trial with many of the testifiers being men who had been wronged by Martin in some way or another.

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In 1692, people were accused of casting spells, which meant they were siding with the devil in Salem, New England. Many people who lived in the countryside of Salem believed that the Holy Bible were God’s direct words and should be followed precisely. Women were more likely to be accused of casting spells because they were expected to be at home, listen to their husband, and weren’t aloud to be ministers so there were more likely to preach the devil. People believe that women aren’t good enough and men are superior to women, even now in this century. There is still a pay in inequality between the average men and women.

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In Amal El-Mohtar’s “Seasons of Glass and Iron,” two women are trapped in magical situations: Tabitha is forced to wear down seven pairs of iron shoes by her abusive bear husband as punishment for trying to prevent his violence, while Amira is placed on a glass hill by her father to prevent the advances of suitors and keep her father’s kingdom united under his control. Magic here acts a metaphor for patriarchal power, and is used to impose restrictions upon women, just as the patriarchal system does. Through this metaphor, El-Mohtar asserts that the socially constructed patriarchal system is not intrinsic to society but, like magic, is an unnatural force, and advocates for a return to the natural base in order to reconstruct society. Throughout the story, magic works in the same way that power dynamics in a patriarchal society work, in that it works against the female characters, imposing restrictions on them, while it works in favour of men.

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For centuries , witches have been stoned to death and burned alive simply for being able to create magic . The notion of witches have been a taboo subject that most people would try to avoid but William Shakespeare did not make their reputation any better by depicting them as malicious and demonic in his famous play ‘ Macbeth’ which a lot of people tried making movies of . Despite bearing some similarities between the three videos in which the witches were in , the differences are profound . To start with , there are quite some similarities between the witches in the three movies . In George Wright’s , Rupert Goold’s , and Kurzel’s movies , all of the witches seemed to say the same lines , despite them being from different timelines .

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Karlsen leaps to the present with two short paragraphs concerning the connection of early America belief in witchcraft influencing modern thinking and fascination with historical witchcraft. She asserts, "the continuing power of woman-as-witch in our collective imagination"; she addresses the issue of the power that continues to mold and shape the perception of witches and witchcraft in modern America. Why is this relevant to the book and her original story? Why would she throw this in? Pondering these questions led to the conclusion that the reference to current thought links the "woman-as-witch" ideology to the current emphasis on female empowerment prevalent in feminist writing today.

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824 Words | 4 Pages

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West possesses feminist ideals represented through the characterization of female characters. Iconic characters such as Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose), and Good Witch of the South (Glinda) portray feminist characters that have developed and showed their strong personality, influencing women in today’s society. This leads to the question – To what extent is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked empowering women through the presentation of women? The Wonderful Wizard of Oz paved the way for the increase in number of feminist novels.

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823 Words | 4 Pages

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West possesses feminist ideals represented through the characterization of female characters. Iconic characters such as Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose), and Good Witch of the South (Glinda) portray feminist characters that have developed and showed their strong personality, influencing women in today’s society. This leads to the question – To what extent is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked empowering women through the presentation of women? The Wonderful Wizard of Oz paved the way for the increase in number of feminist novels.

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During times of crisis, women have been marginalized continuously, and although many would like to think so, conditions for women have not changed much over time. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak both reflect that. Women in literature and in real life who deserve lead roles are often forced into supporting roles. Most people understand this but few acknowledge it. Strong female characters such as Liesel in The Book Thief, Penelope in The Odyssey, and Antigone in Antigone need to be honored the same way strong male characters are.

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In its society, there is the assumption that the male gender is superior, therefore holds more influence over others and gather more power. It is also assumed that females have slight power over men to manipulate them into doing things or believing things by using their femininity and innocence. These powers are displayed quite evidently in The Crucible which is set in a patriarchal society. In The Crucible, women were nothing without a husband or a father, no rights to own property, no rights to have a job and make a living, no rights. Yet when Abigail Williams convinced her friends to lie and falsely accuse others of being witches, the male judges had no qualms about believing them.

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In Miller’s play many women in Salem are taken in by the devil (as the town sees it) or are forced to join him in evil. As the so called evil moves through the town, it’s citizens accept the idea all too easily. When the church minister’s black slave, Tituba, confesses to being a witch she claims the devil drew he to his side by promising her a “pretty dress to wear” (47), a story which readily believed by Parris. This illustrates the pervasive sexism because people accept that a women was swayed to the devil’s side by a pretty dress. That is all it takes.

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Women’s life was divided between family, marriage and religion. The women’s main concern and responsibility was the procreation. In those times, family was very big so the typical role of the woman was that to be a good wife and a good mother. Some of them tried emancipation but they were blamed by society for this. These were the witches,

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