Witchcraft in Colonial New England: A Women's History

Karlsen explores the history of witchcraft in colonial New England as a history of women because she argues that it is only through this kind of study that we can “confront the deeply embedded feelings about women (of colonial New England) and the intricate patterns of interest underlying those feelings (81 of 6500).” She does this by dividing her text into chapters and allowing each chapter to serve as an exploration of an aspect of life for witchcraft during this era: “New England Witchcraft Beliefs,” “Economic Basis of Witchcraft,” and “The Demographic Basis of Witchcraft,” for example. Through this type of exploration, she analyzes and presents women as the victim of this era because women, especially those such as single women and widows

with no male protection, were systematically set-up as to personify the typical witch because of the beliefs of the era. Karlsen’s text is very repetitive not only within itself, where chapters three and four could easily be combined because of the repetitive information presented in chapter four, but also repetitive of other texts about women in Colonial America. She presents a text that challenges no other scholarly thought and just too easily presents the woman as a victim of the era, rather than providing an in-depth exploration of women as witches during this era and what this could mean for a woman. Her most compelling arguments are in chapter three and the epilogue. In chapter three, she states that women who stood to economically benefit because of a privileged position where prime targets for witchcraft accusations because they threatened the status quo (83 of 370). While this is another statement victimizing women, it does demonstrate that there could be women in positions of power, rather than those who simply listened to men. In her epilogue, she argues for the power of the possessed that could hide behind their position and have power to accuse those typically oppressing them (253 of 370). This argument strays from the rest of the text because possessed are not solely presented as victims, but rather “usurpers” of power.

Karlsen ends the text with an afterward because it had been ten years since the paperback edition was originally published. She states in her afterward that were she to redo the book, “more substantial changes are called for (260).” This is quite commendable for an author to admit, rather than to just sit back and rest of the laurels of the original positive praise for the book. She admits the need for more study on the connections of 17th century religious beliefs, the relationship between the English and Native Americans, and the links between witchcraft, race formation, and colonialism (260). What Karlsen’s text does add to the scholarship of women and witchcraft in colonial America is a deeper understanding of the idea of “women-as-witches,” and the interpersonal relationships, feelings, and ideas of the era that helped to put women in such a dangerous and vulnerable position. Karlsen, a Professor Emerita, retired from her teaching position at University of Michigan in 2011, where she taught History and Women’s Studies from 1985 to 2011. She contributed to several journals as a co-editor and held several distinguished

fellowships.