Research Blog

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 13:08:48 GMT

The Wickedness of Women: Gender and the Witch Trials

(reupload notes)

Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
"Gillian, a witch, casts a spell on Henderson, a handsome man, only to make him fall in love with her. To her surprise, her infatuation for Henderson turns into love. Will Gillian tell him the truth?"
This film is a good example of the mysterious and sexualised witch. Gillian, played by Kim Novak, is portrayed in a very sensual way. Even through her wardrobe and makeup, with long and tight fitted dresses, and smokey eyeshadows, to the way her character poses when sat on furniture, all create an image of a mysterious and sensual witch.

(Scope for analysis of both movie posters too? semiotics)

I Married a Witch (1942)
"Just as she is about to be burned at the stake for witchcraft, 17th century witch Jennifer (Veronica Lake) casts a curse on the family of her accuser, dooming all the men of future generations to marry the wrong women. Freed from her ethereal prison some 250 years later, Jennifer decides to make the most recent descendant of her accuser (Fredric March) even more miserable by using a love potion on him that makes him fall in love with her, a plan that has unexpected results."
Even within 30 seconds of the trailer, Jennifer is described as "no ordinary witch, she was beautiful", along with various shots of the actress laying in bed, comments about her appearance and her being "a good girl", and "Watch her match her Hex-Appeal!" flashes across the screen. This clearly linking 'hex appeal' to sex appeal, and tying in to my topic.

(Reupload notes for Bedlam and Broomsticks, Macbeth, Malleus Maleficarum,Grimms Fairy Tales)

Planned research upcoming: Women and Witches: Patterns of Analysis&Lewd Women and Wicked Witches

Will continue to update with more notes/research

Research to support my dissertation topic:
Bell,Book and Candle. 1958. [film] Directed by R. Quine. USA: Phoenix Productions.
Bruton, S., 2006. Bedlam And Broomsticks: Representations Of The Witch In Nineteenth- And Twentieth-Century Women’s Writing. University of Cardiff.
Garrett, C., 1977. Women and Witches: Patterns of Analysis. Signs, 3(2).
Hendershot, G., 2008. The Wickedness Of Women: Gender And The Witch Trials. [video] Available at:
Hester, M., 1992. Lewd Women And Wicked Witches. A Study Of The Dynamics Of Male Domination. Routledge.
I Married A Witch. 1942. [film] Directed by R. Clair. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Kramer, H., 1971. Malleus Maleficarum. 1st ed. London: Arrow Books.
Shakespeare, W., 2011. Macbeth. 9th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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