The Emergence of Witches’ Stereotypes
Posted: March 27th, 2020
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The Emergence of Witches’ Stereotypes
- Introduction
- The mentioning of the word witch draws up a
bleak image that includes an old, worn-down, ugly, and, most frequently,
female individual.
- It is imperative to find out where these
negative perceptions of witches originated from as this will inform future
attitudes of the public. General misperceptions
of witchcraft and the perpetrators are typically
shaped by a poor understanding of these phenomena that significantly
alter the reality of their emergence.
- At the heart of these common misconceptions is
the assumption that the largest number of people who practiced
witchcraft were aged, poor women. Another popular
mistake was that witches were inherently
wicked and iniquitous.
- It is already
clear that most of the features that are used to describe a typical
witch cannot be found in any ordinary
human being (Bailey 400). Far from it, the concept of the witch is an imaginary
one that has been reinforced over the
years. However, this did not stop people from believing in them and their
associated powers.
- Between the 15th and 17th
century, the more significant part of
Europe was rife with numerous hunts and executions targeting witches. Approximately
45,000 people were punished for this
crime, women being the most substantial
number.
- Negative Image of Witches
- The accusations leveled against witches were
fundamental in painting a picture of an evil group of people within the
community (Guiley 161).
- Witches naturally
had a close relationship with the Devil who empowered them with magical power that
facilitated their evil deeds. These misconceptions not only stopped at
associating with Satan but went as far as
proposing that witches had sexual relations with demons in night-time trysts.
- It is imperative to note the introduction of
a religious perspective that was fuelled mainly by the rise of the Roman
Catholic Church. Witches have also been accused
of causing impotence among men by stealing
their organs.
- The role
played by society in reinforcing witchcraft stereotypes
- The problem with the society at that particular period was their lack of understanding
concerning scientific and natural phenomena. For this reason, rather than
seeking an explanation, most people opted to find an appropriate scapegoat that
could carry the accusations and blame.
- While some societies perceived a witch as possessing
supernatural powers, in other organizations,
their abilities were reduced (Guiley 158). Instead,
they represented an average person but having
the free will to learn and use magic. In reality, witches did not exist.
- The people hunted over the years were
ordinary people boxed into a category because of their unusual approach towards life. The very act of using alternative
medicine in itself was considered an act of witchcraft.
- Most doctors and healers that could use advanced science to cure people were
immediately labeled as witches and persecuted. Regardless of the origin of
their power and the method of execution, witches were blamed for causing all manner of disease and problems in the
community (Bailey 397).
- Logic behind witchcraft
- Witchcraft emerges as the best possible
explanation when logic fails. It is easy to blame inexplicable diseases and
other mysteries on witchcraft, a phenomenon that in itself is mystical. Witchcraft
has also been used to explain the rapid and overwhelming success of people
across different fields.
- Since
witchcraft is not clearly defined, the witch is
then classified as a selfish person who desires more than they deserve.
In the same vein, they are seen as having
excessive and illegitimate ambitions.
- Placing witches in such a category would
automatically expose them as a common enemy of the community. By painting them
as vicious, evil, and villainous individuals, it would be easy to justify their
persecution.
- The role
played by pop culture and media
- Pop culture also contributed towards introducing
and reinforcing the negative stereotypes surrounding witches. Television and
film have contributed towards vilification of people whose occupation typically
bordered on witchcraft.
- Movies showing witches as planning and
orchestrating evil deeds worsened the case for people having a different
approach towards life, medicine, and science (Guiley 160).
- Special holidays such as Halloween also
contributed towards painting witches as evildoers
even though many other characters also
engaged in the malevolent behavior.
- The problem with the attitude against witches is
that they were considered enemies of the state, enemies of development as well
the source of other setbacks. The phenomenon of witchcraft in the early civilizations was cause for real
concern (Bailey 390).
- It was an indicator that the society was yet to
develop to a level that it could embrace advancements in science and medicine.
- Conclusion
- Apart from the resistance to science and
development, witchcraft was also an indicator that popular culture is an active agent of change. Art, media, theatre,
and other conventional methods of
enlightening the society had already embraced the fact that witches were real and that they were to blame for the problems
being experienced.
- Painters depicted witches engaging in heinous
acts while plays and musicals reenacted these scenes with a gory accuracy that
left little to the imagination. The
outcome was a society that was convinced that witches were evil and that it was
necessary to eliminate them.
- The combination of these different factors
contributed to the perpetuated persecution and negative perception of witches
across most civilizations.
Works Cited
Bailey,
Michael D. “The Disenchantment of Magic: Spells, Charms, and Superstition
in Early European Witchcraft Literature.” The American Historical
Review, vol. 111, no. 2, 2006, pp. 383-404.
Guiley,
Rosemary. The Encyclopedia of Demons
and Demonology. Infobase Publishing, 2009.