Witches are an integral part of American lore. Stories about witches date back centuries. This week the class read Aunt Mariah by Diana Wynne Jones. In this story, witches are portrayed as older women who work their magic through talking. This is a very archetypal view of witches.
Historically, witches are portrayed as someone who influenced another's mind, will, or body against their will. This can be completed in any number of ways. Witches can use words and rituals to carry out their "spells". In Aunt Mariah, the witches used words to influence how people saw and interacted with the world.
However, Aunt Mariah did use some stereotypical emotions surrounding witchcraft. Society as a whole, fears witches. And it was very apparent in the material we read this week, that the community that the book was set in were terrified of their witchy "queens". The witches were shown as evil, manipulative, and desperate to get what they wanted. The commercialism of Halloween has allowed modern culture to portray witches as the warty, green-skinned woman who brews potions and casts curses. And this was a direct comment on how our society views women in power.
Our society has a stigma on women in power. We often view women at the top as ugly, usually alone, and bitter about her life. Women in power is, unfortunately, inherently negative. Culture will often tell littlle boys to be strong. We commend men as leaders, but condemn women. And the way witches are portrayed can often be a cautionary tale to young girls. In stories about women we're often telling girls, "Dont' be strong or expressive because this is what you will turn into."
The witches in Aunt Mariah were not good witches, but at least they were handled in a way that didn't overtly depict them as standing over bubbling cauldrons speaking in verse. As older ladies speaking at a tea party, they at least had a little bit more depth than some witches in stories today.
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