The Devil in the Shape of A Woman by Carol F. Karlsen studies witchcraft in colonial New England. The thesis of the book is to examine the different factors contributing to the witchcraft hysteria for early settlers and why most witches were women. The principal factors of determining who would be accused of witchcraft were: sex, marital status, community standing, wealth, inheritance, and relationships with others in the community. Proving her thesis, Karlsen used court documents, journal entries, and secondary sources to examine the role of women in Puritan society.
Focusing on Hartford, Salem, and Fairfield, Karlsen argues that witchcraft accusations covered a broad period of time from 1620 – 1725. Karlsen defines a witch as a human being with supernatural powers using her ability to cause maleficium, harm to others through supernatural powers (6). Over the period of a hundred years, Karlsen provides evidence of suspected witchcraft activity citing examples of why there was a sudden death of livestock, how women caused men to suddenly become “bewildered when walking past the house of an accused witch,” and how women were “drawn away from God and possessed by the devil” (6, 33) Central to Karlsen’s study, most witches were women aligned with Satan causing maleficium.
Karlsen argues, “most witchcraft suspicions in colonial New England originated in conflicts among people who knew one another” (46). Accusations of witchcraft were most common from close neighbors or people who personally knew the alleged witch. Witchcraft suspicions typically originated around property disputes where financial gain was only explained through the assistance of the Devil. Once accused, it was almost impossible for women to peruse ownership of property against their adversaries. Karlsen argues that the stigma of witchcraft accusation propagated down from mother to daughter and granddaughter. Karlsen uses this as evidence as why certain families had a higher number of accused witches. For example, in the case of Martha Carrier, “Martha Carrier’s sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Roger Toothaker, their daughter, and four of Martha’s children were all named as witches during the Salem outbreak” (101).
Karlsen argues that inheritance was a factor in witchcraft accusations, and women who benefited the most economically from the rules of inheritance were “prime targets for witchcraft accusations” (84). Karlsen’s study shows that not all women accused of witchcraft were single, old women; rather women from a variety of ages, social status, and broad economic backgrounds were accused of witchcraft. A common thread of most witchcraft accusations was the exchange of property from men to women. Karlsen argues, “most accused witches were women who symbolized the obstacles to property and prosperity … and they did not accept their assigned place within the [new economic order] (217). The male dominated Puritan society repressed the ability for women to gain financial stability through witchcraft accusations. In other words, men held the position as head of household and any challenge made against the authority of man was a challenge against God (164). These were central beliefs to Puritan society and any challenges against the authority of society, mostly women, were suppressed through accusations of witchcraft.
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