In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial

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Boys are encouraged to map out their adult trajectory in the most adventurous manner possible. Conquering the world all alone is the most romantic path possible for a guy, and he can only pray that some lady doesn’t slow him down along the way, thereby ruining everything. But for women, the romance of forging out into the world is painted as pathetic and dreary if there’s no dude there. […] And Jesus, does it take hard work to reinvent the world outside those narrow conventions!22 And then the book ended—this further confused me, because my electronic version showed me at 66%, and I was expecting more of a conclusion, but the remainder was footnotes. Today, news media and people in trouble still use phrases like "witch hunt" to describe what they find an unfair assault on the character of a person. Writer Mona Chollet presents a highly researched look at witches as feminist icons. The three types of women that she looks closest at are those who were most often accused of witchcraft. These include the independent women, the childless woman, and elderly women. In Defense of Witches goes through the history of terrorism against women, censorship, and repression. This is definitely not an easy or happy read, so put that out of your mind at the start. The ultimate conclusion, if you will, is that these witch hunts from the past continue in the present and are far from some romanticized period in our history. Indeed, they deserve to not be romanticized but to be permanently placed in the past along with all the other cultural and institutionalized forms of misogyny. Women have always been hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions, though the methods have changed and the justifications varied. 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 persecution

It always amazed me how many people in America were only aware of the Salem Witch Trials, not the reign of terror that swept Europe for centuries, that claimed the lives of thousands of women. Not only that, they don’t know that witch-hunts still occur today. In Northern Ghana, there are at least six witch camps. In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet analyzes the treatment of women since the witch-hunts and how they contributed to the shaping of our society today. She looks at 3 main aspects: independent women, childless women, and elderly women. Women are not alone in being persecuted as witches. Men have also fallen victim to accusations but they make up a considerably smaller percentage and most men that were accused were more likely to receive a trial. It shows that the witch trials were deeply rooted in sexism and misogyny. This is also an aspect of homophobia, as queer or trans women do not fit into the patriarchial mold. For instance, for that for all the browbeating to become a mother for straight women, queer women are often denied access to adoption in many countries or by certain adoption agencies. I was thrilled to find Chollet quoted Jeanette Winterson, an absolute favorite, on how being queer and not tied down by children or traditional marriage was freedom that helped her career. In the book Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult, the authors point outThis book utilizes media, pop culture, historical figures, court cases and global practices to demonstrate how women are treated from motherhood to being child free, from how women aren't taken seriously by medical professionals and the invisibility as we age. From Gloria Steinem and the discourse (and fear of) independent single women to Broad City and women's experience with greying hair, Chlollet takes on a journey of all the ways in which women are still targeted and persecuted for straying from the "norm". Mona Chollet is a Franco-Swiss writer and journalist. She is the chief editor for Le Monde diplomatique and has also written for Charlie Hebdo. She lives in Paris, France.

Years of propaganda and terror sowed among men the seeds of a deep psychological alienation from women.’ Susan Stryker Discusses Trans Studies, Trans Feminism, and a More Trans Future with V Varun Chaudhry This is not a book to be taken lightly. The subject matter and the way it is so thoroughly examined can be exhausting to read. I took it in small doses, as I needed frequent breaks to think about what I’d just read. I suspect this well-researched (there’s 562 footnotes!) book will end up in many Women’s Studies classes. Chollet, a Swiss journalist and author living and working in France, first published this book as Sorcières in French in 2018. This is its first English translation and is important for U.S. audiences' understanding of the European historical references vs. contextualized vis a vis Salem or the like.

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The fact is, while this book has a lot of fantastic information, it tries to do too much, with chapters on aging, healthcare, relationships, motherhood, and environmentalism. And the common thread of witchcraft is not as interwoven throughout the text as it could have been. A smart feminist treatise reclaiming the witch and her radical way of life as a path forward for women…. Chollet’s informed and passionate treatment will appeal to readers looking for more substance amid the witch trend that’s otherwise been largely commodified and often scrubbed of its feminist origins.”—Jenna Jay, Booklist While to those familiar with core feminist principles, the recitation of the value of bodily autonomy and independence might seem tedious, recent history has shown that reemphasizing these principles, especially to younger generations, is extremely important. This is something In Defense of Witches does quite well. Mona Chollet makes the case that many of the oppressive systems women face today can be seen reflected in witches, both as pop cultural figures and as historic ones. And, in a widely read book from 1967, André Soubiran, a doctor, reflected: “One wonders whether feminine psychology can accommodate freedom and the absence of men’s domination as well as we imagine.”27

A dense read, but that is primarily because of the academic nature of the writing. There is a lot of very interesting information spread over a wide variety of chapter subjects. And it was fascinating to get more on the witch trials outside of the United States. Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is a celebration by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution. I found this book quite interesting. As someone with a degree in psychology, who learned all about how witchcraft was diagnosed as a mental illness, and as a feminist, this non-fiction narrative hit many of the right notes for me. It is important to remember that men have always used methods to have control over women and their agency, and witches/witch hunts are a prime example of this. In 1400s it was the Malleus Maleficarum, and in our present date it's... well you can figure it out. Through time, almost as old as history itself, women have been targeted, ostracized, blamed, and pointed at in times of uncertainty, instability, and change. Women whom have pushed the boundaries, not followed the lines, been slightly “different”, refused to follow societal constraints, or just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Some were easier to blame then others based on many situations and personalities, but nevertheless it seems to be a similar occurrence despite the culture, the time period, or the place…and the author did a great job bringing forth all of these concepts, patterns, and presenting them in a well-researched book that was fascinating, terrifying, and yet incredibly interesting read.

This book is heavier on the feminism aspect than the witchcraft aspect so if you’re coming into this looking more for the history of witchcraft, there are other books that will do this better. While it does discuss it, it is predominantly in the introduction. However, as someone who is two of these three archetypes, and with each year growing closer to the third, this book was interesting, but at times not exactly eye opening. I’ve experienced some of the passive-aggressive commentary myself, thankfully not from my family. This lead to the author having a positive connotation for witches rather than the negative one that society has formed. Up to the end of the 1960s, as Traister reminds us, American feminism was dominated by Betty Friedan’s approach. The author of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and an outspoken critic of the ideal of the housewife, Friedan spoke up for “women who wanted equality, but who also wanted to keep on loving their husbands and children.”4 Critiques of marriage itself only surfaced in the feminist movement later on, with the birth of the fight for gay rights and with lesbians’ increased visibility. But, even then, it seemed unthinkable for many activists that a woman could be heterosexual and not wish to marry; “at least until Gloria came along.”5 Thanks to Steinem and a few others, in 1973, Newsweek observed that it was “finally becoming possible to be both single and whole.”7 By the end of the decade, the divorce rate had exploded, reaching almost 50 percent. While some would like a Readers Digest version of the book and have it stop after the introduction, it is in the details where the commonalities between witch hunts and current patriarchal restraints, both subtle and blatant, become evident. Just saying it is so does little to convince anyone, but showing instance after instance, interspersed with feminist theory, pulls the rug out from under any doubters.

What kinds of women are persecuted? It was an eye-opener to realize that I fit all three categories the author chose to examine: The Independent Woman, The Childless Woman, and I’ve recently started edging my way into the Elderly Woman. It’s no wonder I’ve felt the need to defend my lifestyle and beliefs ever since I first moved out on my own. The witch hunts have never ended, and we need to recognize that. The women who were murdered in Salem in 1692 were not performing witchcraft. They were not brewing potions in cauldrons, or if they were, they were not doing so because they were calling upon the Devil to manifest ill for their neighbors. They were just doing laundry. While some of them had some manner of outsider status or may have be seen as rebels, many were simply going about the work of everyday life, like Rebecca Nurse, a 71-year-old woman who was particularly known for her piety and good nature yet was executed as a witch. The most likely thing that was going to get you accused of witchcraft was simply being a woman; you didn’t even have to be a rebel, intentionally or accidentally. Rehabilitates the figure of the witch, this dangerously independent, educated and strong woman.” — Slate The first two chapters focus heavily on when women choose not to have children and how society treats this choice. The third looks at the differences between how men and women age, or how society treats them differently as they age. These sections were clear, organized, focused on the topics. I was occasionally reminded that the book was written and published in Europe, as it would refer to resources in French, and mention how things were in America.In Defense of Witches has an interesting thesis, noted in its subtitle “The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial”. The them is essentially that the witch hunts were all about society’s (men’s) efforts to control women, and misogyny that continues today exists as remnants of those efforts. The book examines this on several levels, in different areas—historically, socially, in the workplace, in specific fields—making many valid, well-documented points. For me, the history of witchcraft could equally be called the history of independence…the most troubled territories are always those that want to be independent.’ Not nearly as provocative as its title might suggest, Mona Chollet's "In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial" explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is 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 persecution. Celebrated 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. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. 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 descendants to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions.