In the past accusations of witchcraft ran rampant causing panic wherever it went. 75%-90% of those tried and executed during this occurrence were female as opposed to the 10%-25%, which were males. It was apparent that women were linked to negative beliefs about dangerous magic and association with the devil, or judged based on systems of power in communities and courts worked against women rather than men. The concept of Gender plays an important role in shaping ideas about witches. In the musical “Wicked” by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman encompasses a variety of gender concept that contributed to the notion of witchcraft as well as the musical itself. Wicked is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz the story focuses on The Wicked Witch of
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The devil’s mark was a test, usually done to women, in order to test if a person contained impurities or sin. The devil’s mark was any natural physical abnormality such as warts, moles, spots, or discoloration of the skin that would be taken as mark of a witch. In the past it was very frequent that women would be accused of being a witch due to this test. The reason was due to poor health conditions, so it was very probable that women would have these abnormalities. These were abnormalities that the women could not control or were born with, but were labeled as a witch for something they could not control. Elphaba was born with unusual discoloration of green skin, as a result of her mother’s infidelity, and was labeled and ostracized. Elphaba’s own family was both repulsed by her and scared of her when she was born stating, “it’s atrocious, it’s obscene”. Her own family referred to her as “it” and later in life was treated inferior to her younger sister due to her discoloration. Even when Elphaba is framed by the “Wizard “and Madame Morrible for “crimes” she committed the Ozians were ready to believe them due to Elphaba’s abnormalities. The Ozians go as far as to created rumors for her supposed wickedness as stated in the song “Thank Goodness” with the lyrics “I hear her soul is so unclean pure water can melt her…” The citizens of Oz link her physical appearance with impurity as stated in the quote above in the same manner as that of the witch mark test. (Needs Transition
The devil’s mark was a test, usually done to women, in order to test if a person contained impurities or sin. The devil’s mark was any natural physical abnormality such as warts, moles, spots, or discoloration of the skin that would be taken as mark of a witch. In the past it was very frequent that women would be accused of being a witch due to this test. The reason was due to poor health conditions, so it was very probable that women would have these abnormalities. These were abnormalities that the women could not control or were born with, but were labeled as a witch for something they could not control. Elphaba was born with unusual discoloration of green skin, as a result of her mother’s infidelity, and was labeled and ostracized. Elphaba’s own family was both repulsed by her and scared of her when she was born stating, “it’s atrocious, it’s obscene”. Her own family referred to her as “it” and later in life was treated inferior to her younger sister due to her discoloration. Even when Elphaba is framed by the “Wizard “and Madame Morrible for “crimes” she committed the Ozians were ready to believe them due to Elphaba’s abnormalities. The Ozians go as far as to created rumors for her supposed wickedness as stated in the song “Thank Goodness” with the lyrics “I hear her soul is so unclean pure water can melt her…” The citizens of Oz link her physical appearance with impurity as stated in the quote above in the same manner as that of the witch mark test. (Needs Transition