In Defense of Witches by Sophie R. Lewis

Based on the title and cover, I definitely had a different idea for what In Defense of Witches would be focusing on, but I was happy for the read nonetheless. I did think there would be more about witchcraft and witch trials in Chollet’s book.

Looking particularly at independent women, childless women, elderly women and the different way society villainizes and attempts to control these women. More precisely, it is a self-sacrifice that operates by way of abandoning one’s own creative potential rather than it’s realization,” (Chollet 83).įeminist writer Mona Chollet explores which type of women were accused of witchcraft in history and how that has adapted to the modern world. With fiery prose and arguments that range from the scholarly to the cultural, In Defense of Witches seeks to unite the mythic image of the witch with modern women who seek to live their lives on their own terms.“Self-sacrifice remains the only fate imaginable for women. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct heirs to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed?Ĭelebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. A “brilliant, well-documented” celebration ( Le Monde) by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecutionĬenturies after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons.

In Defense of Witches by Sophie R. Lewis