Women In The Salem Witch Hunt By Richard Godbeer

In Puritan culture both men and women perceived woman as the weaker sex. This conviction was reinforced by Puritan ministers who continually reminded their congregation “that is was Eve who first gave way to Satan and then seduced Adam (Godbeer 11). Not only that, but as a result of Eve falling victim to the Devil temptation all women had inherited from her a sense of vulnerability and power. Therefore women overall were viewed as being more susceptible to the Devil’s influence. Theories about women, precisely their roles within society, the liability of their soul, and a failure for some to fit into a male dominated society, women were more often under attack for being a witch than men. Within Puritan culture there was a hierarchical system. This system gave all authority to men, a man was over his wife, children, and servants. Compared to men women were expected to be quiet, submissive, and under a male head of the household; women had particular roles to upkeep in Puritan culture. In his book The Salem Witch Hunt A Brief History with Documents, Richard Godbeer presents a description about Puritan women …show more content…
Cunning folk in general “performed an important social service as they told fortunes, claimed to heal the sick, and offered protection against witchcraft”(Godbeer 9). However, Puritan colonists also believed that cunning folk could use these same talents to inflict harm, or put an end to those who angered them. Although both men and women operated as cunning folk, women cunning folk were more likely to be accused of being a witch. The idea that a female exercise otherworldly, supernatural abilities contradicted Puritan culture belief that power should lie with men. As Godbeer states, the disproportionate prosecution of female cunning folks testified to the colonists’ fear of female power and a general conviction that witchcraft was for the most part a female offense