Hysteria In The Salem Witch

Throughout the course of the seventeenth century, at least 342 New England women were accused of practicing witchcraft. Although the majority of these cases were dismissed by authorities, the most notorious case took place in the Puritan dominated Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The entire community was thrown into chaos as a result of a group of girls claiming they had been bewitched by several old women. This very infamous case of hysteria not only showed that there was underlying blatant sexism and twisted misconceptions of women in New England, but it also exposed the dark side of Puritan beliefs. Therefore, the Salem witchcraft hysteria was indeed caused by a fear of women. Through evidence found in cave paintings throughout Europe, it …show more content…
A woman could do something that would be considered “suspicious”, but if a man did the same, no individual would question it. In addition, according to Carol F. Karlsen, “No colonist ever explicitly said why he or she saw witches as women, or particularly as older women. No one explained why some older women were suspect while others were not, why certain sins were signs of witchcraft when committed by women but not when committed by men, or why specific behaviors associated with women aroused witchcraft fears while specific behaviors associated with men did not” (Taking Sides 68). To even further demonstrate the point, European beliefs that women were naturally more evil than men created conflict within the new Puritan society, as these ideas did not fit in with what their goals were in the new world. However, the idea that women are innately more evil than men was ultimately implied throughout Salem and Puritan communities. These examples of underlying sexism and misogynistic ways of thinking can be traced back to the morals established by Puritan religion. Men were thought to be the head of household, with no exceptions, and a challenge to a male was seen as a challenge to God’s authority. As women were acquiring more independence, this was seen as a challenge to male power. In response, women who acted outside of their gender roles were seen as threats to the …show more content…
With the majority of the victims being female, this hysteria revealed the hidden and negative ideas of women in Puritan society. Most of the accused were women because they were a threat to male power and superiority, and were thus considered outsiders. There is absolutely no proper reason as to why women were seen as witches substantially more often than men, other than the fact that they did not fit into their gender roles and were a threat to the Puritan hierarchy. Therefore, the Salem witchcraft hysteria was caused by a fear of