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The Image of Witch in the Documents of the Salem Witch-Trial

Research Article
EDN: RONOUL DOI: 10.31483/r-97978
Open Access
International academic journal «Ethnic Culture». Volume 3
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Published in:
International academic journal «Ethnic Culture». Volume 3
Author:
Leionis A. Van Khaaske 1
Work direction:
Ethnography, Anthropology and Folkloristics
Pages:
30-36
Received: 8 March 2021 / Accepted: 16 March 2021 / Published: 17 March 2021

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Article accesses:
6684
Published in:
doaj РИНЦ
1 ANO of HE "International University in Moscow"
For citation:
Van Khaaske L. A. (2021). The Image of Witch in the Documents of the Salem Witch-Trial. Ethnic Culture, 3(1), 30-36. EDN: RONOUL. https://doi.org/10.31483/r-97978
UDC 398.47

Abstract

The article attempts to reconstruct the image of a witch based on the interrogation records of those accused of witchcraft during the Salem trial (Massachusetts, North America, 1692) and related materials. The subject of research is the phenomenon of prosecution on those accused of witchcraft. The source base are the records of the Salem process, transcribed and published in 1977, as well as a number of documentary testimonies of witnesses, speaking from a puritanical viewpoint. The article examines the features of the mythological worldview of traditional society, dictated by the belief in supernatural influence (witchcraft). After analyzing the interrogation records of the first accused during this trial and considering a number of their biographical data, the author comes to the conclusion that the situation demonstrated by this trial is paradoxical: in fact, arbitrary people are subjected to persecution, and the reconstruction of the image of a witch that could underlie such accusations, does not seem possible. The author's conclusions are essential for the study of both the phenomenon of witch-trials and the mentality of traditional society. This article was conducted from an imagological perspective relevant to modern social studies.

References

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  2. 2. Van Haaske L. A. Accusatory Discourse of the Salem Witch Trial: experiment of imagological analysis // Genesis: historical research. 2021. №2. С. 34–46. DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2021.2.35055 (In Russ.)
  3. 3. Van Haaske L. A. Images of fear of the supernatural in the mythological traditions of the high middle ages // Locus: people, society, cultures, meanings. 2014. №3. Pp. 54–62. (In Russ.)
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