Scripting the Witch. Voice, Gender and Power in The Witch of Edmonton (Rowley, Dekker and Ford 1621) and Witchcraft (Baillie 1836)

Abstract

The current thesis compares two plays based on historical witchcraft trials of the seventeenth century in England and Scotland, respectively: The Witch of Edmonton (1621) by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, and Witchcraft (1836) by Joanna Baillie. The plays are examined in order to establish why these two plays stage the witch; how the witch is staged; and what the staging of the witch communicates regarding power and gender. The theoretical perspective is provided by the theories of Michel Foucault and Simone de Beauvoir. The study finds that both plays not only actively employ historical witchcraft narratives but also expose the social mechanisms behind them. By staging witch characters and giving them individual voices, the plays direct their criticism at all levels of society. Thus the witch characters become more than disempowered victims. Although they are forced by a social script to take on the role of the witch, the role restores a degree of power to them. These aspects find resonance in Foucault’s concept of power and performance, whereas de Beauvoir’s concept of the “Eternal Feminine” complements and illustrates how the cultural construction of gender influences the limited choice open to the witch characters. Acknowledgements