Witchcraft Chapter 1 Summary

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Through each of these texts, readers gain a deeper understanding of the ideas of witchcraft that formed in Europe over time. While all these readings help gain a deeper understanding, they all also have their own specific dynamics that emphasize the readings. These dynamics range from women and the power they had or lack at the time, as well as more unique approaches to witchcraft. Similarly, many of these dynamics have to do with where a family fits into the trials. For some, this involves the social standing of families and how that affects them, for others, it is a matter of fertility and children. While all these readings are different from one another, they all share the basis of witchcraft and offer generous insight for readers on how …show more content…
Roper also mentions the power of a married, fertile woman later on. She explains that these married women often accused unmarried women of infanticide, and due to their status as matriarchs with living children, their words were often respected more than that of the accused. Levack touches on these aspects in Chapter 5, titled The Social Context. Levack mentions that marital status was a factor in the trials, but varied from place to place. He explains that the rate of the people that were accused and unmarried was drastically higher than those that were accused and married. One potential reason for this is the idea of the patriarchal society and fear of women with no father or husband figure. This was a common theme at the time and could also explain the accusation of infanticide due to people in the community not believing that an unmarried woman would be able to support a child herself. Writer Joel Harrington expands on thoughts on the social hierarchy and the poor in Europe at the time of the trials in Chapter 2 of Unwanted Child: The Fate of Foundlings, Orphans, and Juvenile Criminals in Early Modern