witches in the Renaissance

I have always been fascinated by the monsters of all times. Though I sometimes get overexcited when talking about how far some of different times took stories and accusations, I can still appreciate the fear they must of felt towards change of any kind.

I know I can sound like a broken record, as most of the women in our class have come to point out about ourselves, but I feel as though many of these monsters were created to keep the women of the period timid, silent, and virtually powerless. The concept of witches, for instance, is an excellent example of these oppressors using the one thing the women had power over during that time against them. The home and household was the birthplace of the witch. Cooking utensils, tools like brooms, and even pets were completely demonized and thought to be used for evil. Anything that was available to a woman while she was cooped up in her house was something she could arm herself with. Again, we return to the power struggle of the society of the time, as well as an abuse of the lack of privacy and protection.

I think it is scary to think that literally anyone during the time could point their finger and cry "witch". After being accused one was pretty much a "dead man walking"--even confessing to fictional crimes or just being a witch wasn't even enough to save oneself sometimes.

I find it terrifying to imagine myself in the shoes of one of those convicted. The frenzy carried the focus from the real issue, which tends to happen throughout history, and instilled more fear into the desperate hearts of the poor people, ever afraid of change, throughout the Renaissance.