primary target; most victims being midwives, native healers, single women who lived alone, people against whom neighbors had a grudge or practitioners of ancient pagan rituals. Although not all were women, 75 to 90% of accused witches were in fact women (Levack,. p. 124), forcing one to question the affects of the harsh portrayal of women being placed on women. Prior to the fifteenth century, rural European women were highly revered and respected pillars of rural community life; not only considered mothers and wives, but seen as community leaders, physicians, and sources of strength and wisdom. Women had a special and imperative role in rural life, and even those that lived on the fringes of society were well respected as the village healers and wise women. These old women would possess the wisdom of the ages and pass it on to others. This respect for women quickly deteriorated, however, during the witch hunts. The belief spread that women were morally weaker than men and driven by carnal lust, therefore making them more susceptible to being tempted by the Devil, and thus practicing witchcraft. (Levack p. 126) As people took this belief to heart, it is apparent that society would be affected indefinitely by such intolerance. The witch-hunts that blazed across Europe for centuries not only saw the death of millions of women but also served to set a new standard for how women would be treated by society. Women quickly became marginalized, and any respect or equality quickly deteriorated. A woman’s place was in the home of her lord and master, be that her husband or father; her function and role in life was to be the vessel for her husband’s sons. She was bound to love, honor, and obey her husband in all things until the day she died. If she were to choose not to conform to the roles of wife, mother or daughter, which society carefully set aside for women, she would be considered a harlot and branded as evil. The c...
