discussion

1. What were some of the supposed dangers of witches (their abilities, their powers, their demonic connections, etc.), and what do those dangers reveal about the societies that accused them? Compare at least two different sources (either primary or secondary).

2. Edward Bever argues that the early modern accusations of witchcraft against women and their persecution represent attempts to disenfranchise and control those women who exercised potentially subversive power. He writes that “the early modern witch persecutions constituted a wide-ranging and multifaceted repression of individuals exhibiting certain behaviors and attitudes, basically women who exhibited strong sexual, physical, or psychological aggressiveness” (973). Do you agree or disagree, and why? You must include at least two different sources as evidence.