Patriarchal trials: Salem witch trials

In this study, it will be examined that how the sexist and misogynistic views of the patriarchal powers who determine the witch's gender as woman are reflected in the witch trials in general and the Salem witch trials in particular. The questions of how the witch figure is changed and transformed from Ancient Greece to Rome, to the Early Christianity, to the Middle Ages and to the Early Modern Period and of how the status of women was affected during these transformations are very important for this thesis to be grounded. Especially Christianity was a breaking point that changed the thought of witchcraft. With Christianity, witchcraft began to be associated with sin and the devil, and the story of Adam and Eve began to be used for identifying women as sinful, weak, and thus prone to be deceived easily. These changes led patriarchal powers to define women as more open to the influence of the devil and therefore more prone to become witches. This is the most important reason why most people who accused, convicted, and killed in witch hunts in both Europe and Salem, were women. Another important breaking point is that the witch becomes the object of law when witchcraft is considered as a crime. At this point, it is inevitable that the misogynistic ideas of patriarchal powers, which have increased with the influence of religion, will be reflected in the witch trials. In this study, the Salem witch hunt and witch trials, which differ from the witch hunts and witch trials in Europe with some unique features, will be examined. The aim of this study is to analyze the interrogation and trial processes of people (mostly women) who were accused of witchcraft in Salem, in line with the misogynistic discourses of patriarchal powers from a feminist perspective.