Salem Witch Trials

The cultural fabric of Puritan American was woven with women having a subservient role clearly where inheritance, speech and dealings with the magistrate came into play. The three authors show how the biases of the culture perpetuated the hysteria of the accusations of witch during the Salem outbreak that worked to the advantage of the deeply gendered society's biases.

In New England Puritan ideas of gender dictated acts of gender for women in terms of behavior, demeanor, and speech at home and church, in public and private. Gender roles were clearly defined and categorized women as the weaker, vulnerable sex; physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally, subordinate to men in every instance and venue. Men were the heads of the household and of the church. They ruled what were deemed the important aspects of life. Women's role in society was that of domestic; they owned no property, made no significant wage and were entirely dependent on men for their subsistence. While the primary tenants underlying the American Puritan doctrine of the 17th century stated that women were no more susceptible to sin then men, the contrary proved to be the belief actually held. There was a preoccupation with the sinful nature of a woman's soul and in different ways, Karlsen, Kamensky and Reis show how that preoccupation permeates the cultural, religious, social, political, economic and psychological aspect of witch naming in Puritan America during the Salem outbreak.

The theory that economics and a threat to the smooth transition of inheritance could be the basis for a good number of witch naming incidents is presented and supported by Karlsen. It is her contention that women who stood to inherit and lacked a male figure, husband, brother, son or father, in their life, were charged with the crime of witchcraft. A conviction would mean that authorities could seize their property. The property would revert to the court setting things right in the patriarchal social structure, preventing the women from becoming economically independent. Women with husbands or fathers of means while often accused would not usually be convicted of the crime. As the level of wealth deteriorated, so did the chances of acquittal. Looking at individual cases where women inherited property without having any male heirs to pass it on to, Karlesen makes a case of the convenience of witchcraft accusations to stop the uncharacteristic transfer. What she calls "the orderly transmission of property from one generation of males to another" was something that the Puritan society valued and worked hard to preserve. According to Karlsen, naming, trying and convicting witches was one way to ensure that the time honored tradition continued.

In the article by Kamensky, once again the role of the woman in Puritan society is put under scrutiny, this time not for disrupting the order of land transfer, but for the patterns of speech, which by virtue of being spoken by a female could indicate a demonic presence. The tone, content, order and style of speech was important in determining a witch from a devout follower of God. Certain verbal traits were ascribed to Satan's followers. Kamensky gives examples of women who spoke as if they knew too much about the Bible. The gender biases of the time led people to assume that they had to be witches since only men could have attained that level of verbal prowess. This meant that women could never defy the all male authority of the church. Another common indicator of witchcraft was speaking out against authority. To defend one's self against the charges of consorting with the devil was seen as a challenge; men were allowed to