Children
The mayhem that was to become the Salem Witch Trials started when three young girls, Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam, Jr. began to act out in a strange, unexplainable way. These behaviors thought to be caused by the supernatural were just a way for teenagers to act out for attention and rebel against the suppression of their Puritan society.
Puritans hold strict beliefs that cause children to grow up and be responsible at a young age (Kizer). As children reached the ages 6 to 8, they had to begin going to school, and once this happened their childhood ended. Their parents wanted them to become good, respectable members of society: knowledgeable in the ways of housework, school work (primarily when it came to reading), and religion. The parents and authoritative figures in the colonies wanted the children to be aware of the dangers the world had to offer so that the next generation could “‘purify’ the church and perfect social living” (Kizer). In order to show these children the terrible things they needed to be wary of in the world, they were told stories of the devil, demons, and witchcraft from the time they were very little.
This strict upbringing took away any chance for children to have any sort of outlet (girls in particular). Young boys at least had the opportunity to work outdoors, whereas girls were forced to stay inside doing chores. Abigail and Betty were no exception to this aspect of Puritan living. However, their guardian, Reverend Samuel Parris, also owned a slave from West India who was said to have told the girls of voodoo, magic, fortunetelling and the like. It was thought that Tituba would play with Abigail, Betty and the other young girls of Salem in secret, telling them their fortunes and who they would marry. Since these girls were technically taking part in magic, they could’ve been accused of witchcraft.
However, they turned it around and made themselves look like the victims in the situation, and even became somewhat of celebrities in the process. They began acting out and exhibiting bizarre behavior. When no natural cause could be determined, it was decided the girls were under the influence of the supernatural. This ended up being the perfect answer because the girls “were judged to be possessed—[meaning they thought to have] suffered innocently and against their will—[and their] behavior remained unpunished and [caused the situation to escalate] into even greater hysteria… (Sebald 70).
This behavior was actually very similar to what the Goodwin children had been through a few years prior in Boston. And since the Parris family had moved to Salem from Boston, it would be no wonder that the girls had grown up knowing the details of—or later learn from a book— what happened there. They could easily learn to replicate the symptoms of these so called afflictions (Sebald 69). They often shared these outbursts at court hearings as a demonstration for their afflictions and the more attention they received, the worse their fits became. However, if the girls didn’t get the attention they wanted from their audience, the fits just seemed to lose intensity and eventually end (Sebald 72). However, the colonists of Salem didn’t really notice this fact and continued to fuel the fire these girls had started.
Compared to the repression of young girls that Puritan life usually offered, this attention was a welcome change of pace. Everyone knew who these girls were. Instead of being the invisible and powerless, they became the center of attention and all the excitement. They were even a big part of the trial process where they often came face to face with the accused in court (an example of one of these court cases can be seen in a copy of a manuscript at the bottom of the page). These girls went from having almost no say in anything to having a say over what happened to someone’s life (Purdy).
Abigail Williams alone “made 41 legal complaints and gave formal testimony in seven cases… [and it was estimated that] she was involved in at least 17 capital cases” (Yost). As the girls saw the power that came from this situation, the number of the afflicted began to grow as did the number of those accused of witchcraft. And with that, a pattern began to emerge with all those involved. It seemed that all the girls who were being targeted by the so-called witches were around the ages of 10 to 20 years old, and the so-called witches were usually older women around their 40s (Purdy). This makes it appear as if the girls who were doing the accusing were not only doing it for the attention, but also as a way to lash out. These girls felt their lives were being suppressed by the women in their colony, so they began to direct accusations their way as a sort of payback for all the suffocation over the years (Purdy).
In total these “afflicted” girls made 150 accusation of people in their colony being witches, and those accusations resulted in 22 deaths. These young girls cost innocent people their lives and will act as a constant reminder of the what can happen when things get out of hand due to fear, hysteria, or even boredom.
Bibliography:
“Examination of Mary Warren”. 19 April 1692. MS. The University of Virginia. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project.
Web. 26 March 2014. <http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/BoySalCombined?div_id=n135>.
Kizer, Kay. "Puritans." University of Notre Dame. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html>.
Purdy, Sean. "Conjuring History: The Many Interpretations of the Salem Witchcraft Trials." Rivier University. N.p., 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
<https://www.rivier.edu/journal/RCOAJ-Spring-2007/J90-Purdy-Salem-Trials.pdf>.
Rapley, Robert. "The Salem Witches." Witch Hunts: From Salem to Guantanamo Bay. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2007. 66-74. Print.
Reis, Elizabeth. "Gender and the Meanings of Confession in New England." Spellbound: Women and Witchcraft in America. Wilmington, DE:
Scholarly Resources, 1998. 53-68. Print.
Sebald, Hans. "America: The Devil in Salem." Witch-children: From Salem Witch-hunts to Modern Courtrooms. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 1995.
67-76. Print.
Yost, Melissa. "Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons." Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
<http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num=all&mbio.num=mb33>.
Zabel, Gary. "Salem Witch Trials as Fact and Symbol." University of Massachusetts Boston. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Witchcraft%20and%20Grimoires/salem.htm>.
Puritans hold strict beliefs that cause children to grow up and be responsible at a young age (Kizer). As children reached the ages 6 to 8, they had to begin going to school, and once this happened their childhood ended. Their parents wanted them to become good, respectable members of society: knowledgeable in the ways of housework, school work (primarily when it came to reading), and religion. The parents and authoritative figures in the colonies wanted the children to be aware of the dangers the world had to offer so that the next generation could “‘purify’ the church and perfect social living” (Kizer). In order to show these children the terrible things they needed to be wary of in the world, they were told stories of the devil, demons, and witchcraft from the time they were very little.
This strict upbringing took away any chance for children to have any sort of outlet (girls in particular). Young boys at least had the opportunity to work outdoors, whereas girls were forced to stay inside doing chores. Abigail and Betty were no exception to this aspect of Puritan living. However, their guardian, Reverend Samuel Parris, also owned a slave from West India who was said to have told the girls of voodoo, magic, fortunetelling and the like. It was thought that Tituba would play with Abigail, Betty and the other young girls of Salem in secret, telling them their fortunes and who they would marry. Since these girls were technically taking part in magic, they could’ve been accused of witchcraft.
However, they turned it around and made themselves look like the victims in the situation, and even became somewhat of celebrities in the process. They began acting out and exhibiting bizarre behavior. When no natural cause could be determined, it was decided the girls were under the influence of the supernatural. This ended up being the perfect answer because the girls “were judged to be possessed—[meaning they thought to have] suffered innocently and against their will—[and their] behavior remained unpunished and [caused the situation to escalate] into even greater hysteria… (Sebald 70).
This behavior was actually very similar to what the Goodwin children had been through a few years prior in Boston. And since the Parris family had moved to Salem from Boston, it would be no wonder that the girls had grown up knowing the details of—or later learn from a book— what happened there. They could easily learn to replicate the symptoms of these so called afflictions (Sebald 69). They often shared these outbursts at court hearings as a demonstration for their afflictions and the more attention they received, the worse their fits became. However, if the girls didn’t get the attention they wanted from their audience, the fits just seemed to lose intensity and eventually end (Sebald 72). However, the colonists of Salem didn’t really notice this fact and continued to fuel the fire these girls had started.
Compared to the repression of young girls that Puritan life usually offered, this attention was a welcome change of pace. Everyone knew who these girls were. Instead of being the invisible and powerless, they became the center of attention and all the excitement. They were even a big part of the trial process where they often came face to face with the accused in court (an example of one of these court cases can be seen in a copy of a manuscript at the bottom of the page). These girls went from having almost no say in anything to having a say over what happened to someone’s life (Purdy).
Abigail Williams alone “made 41 legal complaints and gave formal testimony in seven cases… [and it was estimated that] she was involved in at least 17 capital cases” (Yost). As the girls saw the power that came from this situation, the number of the afflicted began to grow as did the number of those accused of witchcraft. And with that, a pattern began to emerge with all those involved. It seemed that all the girls who were being targeted by the so-called witches were around the ages of 10 to 20 years old, and the so-called witches were usually older women around their 40s (Purdy). This makes it appear as if the girls who were doing the accusing were not only doing it for the attention, but also as a way to lash out. These girls felt their lives were being suppressed by the women in their colony, so they began to direct accusations their way as a sort of payback for all the suffocation over the years (Purdy).
In total these “afflicted” girls made 150 accusation of people in their colony being witches, and those accusations resulted in 22 deaths. These young girls cost innocent people their lives and will act as a constant reminder of the what can happen when things get out of hand due to fear, hysteria, or even boredom.
Bibliography:
“Examination of Mary Warren”. 19 April 1692. MS. The University of Virginia. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project.
Web. 26 March 2014. <http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/BoySalCombined?div_id=n135>.
Kizer, Kay. "Puritans." University of Notre Dame. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html>.
Purdy, Sean. "Conjuring History: The Many Interpretations of the Salem Witchcraft Trials." Rivier University. N.p., 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
<https://www.rivier.edu/journal/RCOAJ-Spring-2007/J90-Purdy-Salem-Trials.pdf>.
Rapley, Robert. "The Salem Witches." Witch Hunts: From Salem to Guantanamo Bay. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2007. 66-74. Print.
Reis, Elizabeth. "Gender and the Meanings of Confession in New England." Spellbound: Women and Witchcraft in America. Wilmington, DE:
Scholarly Resources, 1998. 53-68. Print.
Sebald, Hans. "America: The Devil in Salem." Witch-children: From Salem Witch-hunts to Modern Courtrooms. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 1995.
67-76. Print.
Yost, Melissa. "Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons." Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
<http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num=all&mbio.num=mb33>.
Zabel, Gary. "Salem Witch Trials as Fact and Symbol." University of Massachusetts Boston. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Witchcraft%20and%20Grimoires/salem.htm>.
“Examination of Mary Warren”.
This is the manuscript from Mary Warren's trial,
it shows how the girls who were supposedly under the
influence of Warren's witchcraft were in the
courtroom during her trial and how they fell into fits
during the case. A transcribed version of the
manuscript is available at this link: http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/BoySalCombined?div_id=n135