colonization.
Another aspect worth noting is that witch trials in colonial North America tended to turn on questions of economics and family life. At the center of every pound of butter that would not churn or barrel of beer gone bad was the omnipresent question of scarcity. Many historians have pointed to the gender politics inherent in witch trials, which posed a greater threat to women than they did to men. But connected to the gendered form of the witch’s body, which is reinforced by the oftentimes sexual content of the accusations levied against her, was the question of gendered labor. Witchcraft was perceived as harming families and household goods, the two primary engines under women’s control for their economic security.
JANE JAMES, MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS 1646
Jane James was repeatedly in court in Marblehead, though in slander cases as opposed to witchcraft trials, and so she serves as one example of the sometimes subtle ways in which witches whisper around the edges of the historical record. In her slander trials James was defending herself against rumors that she was a witch, a reputation which could be devastating in a tightly knit fishing community like Marblehead. Oftentimes a suspected witch would attempt to reclaim her tarnished reputation by going on the offensive, bringing those gossiping about her to court. However, to do so was a risky maneuver. If the defendants in a slander suit were found to be speaking the truth, rather than spreading rumors, the plaintiff could very quickly find herself on trial for witchcraft. 1
Jane James illustrates both the central role of gossip and reputation in the small colonial community, and the fact that suspected witches were widespread, even if they did not always make it to the deadly end of the judicial process. This early account of Goody James shows her in a violent altercation with a neighbor over a shoulder of mutton; though brief, it provides a tantalizing portrait of behavior that was frowned upon in women, sometimes with dire consequences for their reputations.
THE CASE OF JANE JAMES
Salem, 10th month 2 1646
Thomas Bo[torn] about 24 years testif[torn] that William [torn] in the said deponent[torn] house, that the [torn] lying scandalous whores in M [torn] in any place in New England. W[? torn] James said, Goodman Barber you [torn] whereupon the said William Barber said [torn] Jane, look at you for one of them, get you out of doors you filthy old bawd or else I will cuttle your hide, you old filthy baggage and took up a firebrand but did not throw it at her. This deponent also testifieth that he saw William Barber carry away a shoulder of mutton that Jane James should have had, giving her a push on the breast and said he could eat a shoulder of mutton as well as she. This is the sum of what I can say as also witness my hand this 26th of 10th month, 1646.
The mark of
Thomas [his mark] Bowen
Elizabeth the wife of Thomas Bowen doth testify the same thing, being also present at the same time. aprd [?] thereunto also doth put to her hand this 26th of 10th month, 1646.
The mark of
Elizabeth [her mark] Bowen
SALEM
Explanations for and interpretations of the Salem witch crisis vary so widely that they can in many respects be seen as more reflective of the times in which the historians are writing
about
Salem than of Salem itself in 1692. Whether explained away as a delusion of Satan, in the first decades of the eighteenth century,
1
when North American intellectual and religious life was beginning to morph in response to the Scientific Revolution; in the nineteenth century, as an embarrassing relic of medieval thought,
2
when history as a field was in the grips of professionalization; or as a shocking aftereffect of eating moldy rye bread, in the 1970s,
3
when Freudian psychoanalysis began to influence the practice of the humanities and drugs played an increased role in popular culture, Salem has always been a screen on which to project
Another aspect worth noting is that witch trials in colonial North America tended to turn on questions of economics and family life. At the center of every pound of butter that would not churn or barrel of beer gone bad was the omnipresent question of scarcity. Many historians have pointed to the gender politics inherent in witch trials, which posed a greater threat to women than they did to men. But connected to the gendered form of the witch’s body, which is reinforced by the oftentimes sexual content of the accusations levied against her, was the question of gendered labor. Witchcraft was perceived as harming families and household goods, the two primary engines under women’s control for their economic security.
JANE JAMES, MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS 1646
Jane James was repeatedly in court in Marblehead, though in slander cases as opposed to witchcraft trials, and so she serves as one example of the sometimes subtle ways in which witches whisper around the edges of the historical record. In her slander trials James was defending herself against rumors that she was a witch, a reputation which could be devastating in a tightly knit fishing community like Marblehead. Oftentimes a suspected witch would attempt to reclaim her tarnished reputation by going on the offensive, bringing those gossiping about her to court. However, to do so was a risky maneuver. If the defendants in a slander suit were found to be speaking the truth, rather than spreading rumors, the plaintiff could very quickly find herself on trial for witchcraft. 1
Jane James illustrates both the central role of gossip and reputation in the small colonial community, and the fact that suspected witches were widespread, even if they did not always make it to the deadly end of the judicial process. This early account of Goody James shows her in a violent altercation with a neighbor over a shoulder of mutton; though brief, it provides a tantalizing portrait of behavior that was frowned upon in women, sometimes with dire consequences for their reputations.
THE CASE OF JANE JAMES
Salem, 10th month 2 1646
Thomas Bo[torn] about 24 years testif[torn] that William [torn] in the said deponent[torn] house, that the [torn] lying scandalous whores in M [torn] in any place in New England. W[? torn] James said, Goodman Barber you [torn] whereupon the said William Barber said [torn] Jane, look at you for one of them, get you out of doors you filthy old bawd or else I will cuttle your hide, you old filthy baggage and took up a firebrand but did not throw it at her. This deponent also testifieth that he saw William Barber carry away a shoulder of mutton that Jane James should have had, giving her a push on the breast and said he could eat a shoulder of mutton as well as she. This is the sum of what I can say as also witness my hand this 26th of 10th month, 1646.
The mark of
Thomas [his mark] Bowen
Elizabeth the wife of Thomas Bowen doth testify the same thing, being also present at the same time. aprd [?] thereunto also doth put to her hand this 26th of 10th month, 1646.
The mark of
Elizabeth [her mark] Bowen
SALEM
Explanations for and interpretations of the Salem witch crisis vary so widely that they can in many respects be seen as more reflective of the times in which the historians are writing
about
Salem than of Salem itself in 1692. Whether explained away as a delusion of Satan, in the first decades of the eighteenth century,
1
when North American intellectual and religious life was beginning to morph in response to the Scientific Revolution; in the nineteenth century, as an embarrassing relic of medieval thought,
2
when history as a field was in the grips of professionalization; or as a shocking aftereffect of eating moldy rye bread, in the 1970s,
3
when Freudian psychoanalysis began to influence the practice of the humanities and drugs played an increased role in popular culture, Salem has always been a screen on which to project
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