What Is The Role Of Being Accused During The Salem Witch Trials

For decades, we have talked about the Salem Witch Trials and their unfortunate events in hanging woman for being witches. Most of the people that were accused of witchcraft were women. The amounts of men to women were diverse in different parts of Europe. They were usually older women over the age of fifty and were in lower classes. Woman during this time play a huge role in the trial, because more women are accused of being witches and selling their souls to the devil than men would. So why are woman targeted more than men are for being a witch? Why are woman more likely to be prone to join the devil’s forces? Perhaps the reason is deeper than what people may think. This paper will explore how young girls accused innocent people for being witches because of their selfish reasons. This paper will focus on how woman plays a big role of being accused during the witch trials. On the surface, the Salem witch trials were a divesting time in that era,
especially for women who were susceptible to being easily accused as being a witch. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 where twenty people were hanged for being accused of being witches.
Witchcraft is considered an act of treason and a capital offense and their punishment is to be hanged. The devil easily influences women to cross over to his side because women are more vulnerable to be influence by him. Puritan’s had and ideal for their women and they were to worship God and not the devil. In the video, “In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials” Puritan women were to be silent at all time and be wives and mothers to their husbands and children. A woman is supposed to be submissive to her husband. Since, woman did not have a voice it was thought that they were more likely than men to enlist into the devil’s services. Women were not allowed to be minsters so the devil has an open door to come in and target a woman easier. This reasoning behind that was because men did not think women should become preachers they wanted them to be housewives. Some women would rebel and cross over to the devils
side.
Young girls were the main accusers; they testify against people of several offences of actually practicing witchcraft. This was the start of all the accusation of people being a witch and worshiping the devil began. The reason is because people would believe what an innocent child has to say over an adult. The first two girls were involved in the first complaints of witchcraft as well as the first accusations. After those two were afflicted with the condition of being possessed by the devil a few more girls were saying the devil was taking over there body. According to Linder, the girls were not really possessed by the devil but were poisoned by the infected rye that they all ingested at one point. This caused them to act as if they were being possessed by the devil when they really were not. “According to Linder, nothing about this tragedy was inevitable only and unfortunate combination of economic condition, teenage boredom, and personal jealousies can account for the spiraling accusations.” Tituba gave the young girls the idea that they were talking to the devil. This made the girls go crazy and start hallucinations and thinking they can see the evil spirits of other people just because the people of the village would believe them. In the video, “In search of History: Salem Witch Trials”, some women during this time were curious and wanted to pursue a certain kind of knowledge such as Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Women were viewed as weaker than men and more vulnerable to the Devil's influence ever since Eve caused the fall. The devil tempted Eve to sin, however she seduces Adam. This gave woman the knowledge that they were not supposed to know. This made women have a closer encounter with the devil.
Women sexuality women was the most significant matter involved during the witch trials. Woman during this time were consider lustful and was having sexual encounter with the devil and that is why they would join the devil’s forces. During those times, in a time when sex was looked upon as sinful, women could not hide their obviously sexual natures. They became pregnant, they gave birth, and they menstruated. A negative outlook about sex was interpreted into the negative attitudes about women, and reflected themselves strongly in witch trials. This made women more likely to have the label of being a witch and selling their soul to the devil more than a man would. This was an easy way of get hanged during that time.
Women during this time were not capable of doing anything, so most of them did relied on the devil for comfort and attention. Even though they knew they would get hung if someone found out that they were associated with the devil. Some confessed of worshiping the devil just to get out of all the torture and humiliation they were getting from being accused of being a witch. The young girls would stir up trouble and say that people were devil worshiper just because they were jealous of that person and they wanted to see them dead. Woman during this time had a lot to deal with because people in the village did not have a better outlook on life.