aggressive, and sexual, rather than chaste, pious, silent, obedient, and married. (Weisner 276) The first set of characteristics are those that people presently admire in women, and that women strive to have so that they can become successful. To correlate these characteristics with being a witch shows how men and society wanted to keep the traditional ideals of a woman alive, and if this didn’t happen, society got creative and called her a witch.From the fifteenth century witch hunts to the present day corporations, women are still struggling to grasp a significant foothold in the world in an attempt to become recognized as equal to men. The witch-hunts were just another way to ensure the success and growth of the male race and to keep women under a stereotype of a weak and feeble character. Women were seen as being a threat, society realized the power that they could have, and its norms would not accept it, therefore any successful, self-reliant, assertive, or “uppity” woman was accused of practicing witchcraft (Clark). This was an easy, and legal “disposal” of a potential problem to the traditions that had been established in society. Gender equity has come a long way since the witch craze about 450 years ago, and it is good to know that just because a woman has an opinion, and stands up for herself does not mean that she will have the same fate as many of those women who were accused of witchcraft had. ...
