In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial

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l'indépendance des femmes, et comment notre refus de se sacrifier attire immédiatement des réprobations What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries?Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing. This is also an aspect of homophobia, as queer or trans women do not fit into the patriarchial mold. For instance, for that for all the browbeating to become a mother for straight women, queer women are often denied access to adoption in many countries or by certain adoption agencies. I was thrilled to find Chollet quoted Jeanette Winterson, an absolute favorite, on how being queer and not tied down by children or traditional marriage was freedom that helped her career. In the book Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult, the authors point out that witchcraft is often used in media as a queer metaphor. The show Bewitched for example, about which actress Elizabeth Montgomery says she was proud of the queer undertones, admitting it was present and alway ' about repression in general.' Montgomery would go on to be a prominent voice advocating for the queer community. le désir de ne pas avoir d'enfant, en réfutant ces idées qui disent que la femme a un désir inconscient d'enfanter et les différences de traitements hommes/femmes sur ce sujet

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet review — ‘The louder we

This is not to say Chollet’s book is of no interest. It starts off well, with a look at early artistic representations of witches, and goes on to link the witch-hunts with antisemitism. Chollet suggests both persecutions were a product of society’s need to find a scapegoat for its ills, pointing out that terms such as “sabbath” and “synagogue” were also used in reference to witches, while both groups were depicted with hooked noses. Chollet’s discussion about the “childless woman” falls perfectly into this category of female power and is unfortunately just as relevant as it was 500 years ago. Women who disrupted the patriarchal structure by forgoing married life or children were viewed with contempt, labelled as witches, and excluded from society. The vehement condemnation of the childless woman seems to be more about the women who dared to take control of their own lives than anything else. In this context, independent women arouse skepticism in all fields. Sociologist Érika Flahault shows how this skepticism has been expressed in France since the appearance, in the early twentieth century, of single women living alone—where they would once have been “taken in by relations, by their extended family or local community in almost every case.”25 She disinters journalist Maurice de Waleffe’s observation from 1927: Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct descendants to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions. The Witch is arguably the only female archtupe that has power on its own terms. She is not defined by anyone else.'Dans le chapitre sur la maternité, elle évoque des femmes qui regrettent d'être mère mais qui aiment leurs enfants, de mémoire ça dit quelque chose comme "j'aimerais pas que mes enfants disparaissent, juste je ne supporte pas le rôle de mère attribué par la société", et en lisant ça je me suis dit "ah chouette, un chapitre genre la parentalité sans la maternité" mais non, elle change de sujet et c'est plus abordé!

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet - Pan Macmillan

A journalist who, in the early 1970s, became an ardent defender of women’s rights, Gloria Steinem has always offered her critics a good run for their money. First, her beauty and her many lovers give the lie to the old chestnut that feminist protest only masks the bitterness and frustration of plain Janes whom no man has done the honor of rescuing from the shelf. What’s more, the full and dynamic life Steinem has led and leads today, a whirlwind of travels and new vistas, of activism and writing, of love and friendship, seriously complicates the picture for those who believe a woman’s life means nothing without partnership and motherhood. To a journalist who asked why she wasn’t married, Steinem gave the justly celebrated reply: “I can’t mate in captivity.” Allows us to understand... the witch hunts of the past influenced the representation of women today.” — Le Monde (France) Unlike her namesake Mona Eltahawy, the Egyptian-American feminist whose recent publication Seven Necessary Sins was full of commendable rage against the sins of the patriarchy, Chollet takes a more considered view. Snippets of her personal life show a measured, methodical approach to her writing, both as editor of the French broadsheet Le Monde Diplomatique, and in her previous feminist non-fiction efforts. A source of terror, a misogynistic image of woman inherited from the trials and the pyres of the great early modern witch hunts – in In Defence of Witches the witch is recast as a powerful role model to women today: an emblem of power, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women. Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed?Here are a few of the “villainous” things women are doing: “loving myself”, “existing unapologetically”, ”self-dates”, “drinking water and exercising”, and “treating others how they treat me”. Whilst it’s great to see women reclaim the villains of old, should we consider it radical for women to simply exist? Should we consider it radical for women to take care of their physical and mental health? Women have been so far removed from both rights and respect that to speak out and exist as individuals, they must first don the guise of a witch. This false renaissance of witches and villains may seem empowering, but it hides a deeper message - that women who put themselves first are villains in today's society, just as they were in the 1500s. The self-label of “villain” shows how deeply ingrained in society and women this notion truly is. It is not just having abortions which makes a woman a witch-like figure - simply existing can sometimes be enough to be labelled a villain. Some of the women labelled witches or villains