Boyer, Paul and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origin of Witchcraft. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974.
Too frequently the true happenings of the Salem Witch Trials are mythicized, distorted to the point where one can no longer separate fact from fiction. It is difficult to rely on the opinions of others for accurate depictions of what really occurred at that time for many reasons. Interest in witchcraft has escalated over the past few decades and new books are often being written. The trouble with many of these books, in the past and recently, is that many are not written from a historical perspective. The authors write about what will interest the reader, thus distorting the events and leading the reader to believe a tale of fiction, based on a grain of truth. The authors of this book, Paul Boyer and Stephan Nissenbaum are both associate professors of history at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. Both have authored several works dealing with Early American History as well as teaming up to write
Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New
England. Therefore, they are qualified in their field of writing. This is also true with primary sources, such as narrations. This is the difference between these hybrid books of truth and fiction and that of
Salem Possessed.
Salem Possessed harnesses the extensive history of Salem Village, using primary sources that were both published and unpublished to explain the reasoning for the accusations, arrests and eventually the Witch Trials. The authors’ purpose was to determine what caused this outbreak of horrific events in Salem Village and does so by examining the social life and history of Salem Village. The book is easy to understand and read, provided the reader has somewhat of a background in the Witch Trials or about witchcraft and is capable of reading at different levels ranging from the high school level to the professional.
The book is well-organized in an unexpected way. The preface explains why the authors decided to write the book. The two professors were offering a course at their college called "New Approaches to the Study of History." They had chosen the Salem Witch Trials as their topic and discovered large quantities of unpublished accounts and documents never before used in books. Thus, they decided to compose a book based on these never-before-published sources. Next, the reader is thrown right into the Witch Trial scenario in the prologue. The actual chapters of the book focus on unraveling the mystery of why the trials went on for so long and what provoked it to happen in Salem Village. Salem Possessed discusses many interesting topics, which provoke the reader to rethink his thoughts about the Salem happenings. They include the patterns of accusation focusing on status and geography, the quest for community and identity and the role of religion and ministers.
Accusations based on status referred to the person’s position in the community. The authors present findings from the records of the original documents of the Salem Witch Trials. The authors cite that the first three women, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba were seen as "deviants," or "outcasts" in their community. Good was a pauper, constantly begging for food and lodging; Osborne, though not poor, was an old bedridden woman; Tituba was a West Indian slave (31). This pattern, however, did not hold out for long. Soon thereafter, wealthy merchants, the wife of the governor and the best-known men in New England joined the list of the accused. None of these persons of "quality," however, were brought to trial, much less executed (32-33).
Another interesting finding was that the accusations and executions formed an intense pattern geographically. Twelve witches were either residents of the Village or persons who lived just outside the border. Of all the indictments which followed the initial twelve, only fifteen were directed against people of the immediate vicinity of Salem Village. The other victims came from practically every town in Essex County (33).
Even more shocking than the patterns of accusations, was the inclusion of spectral evidence. The "accusers," many of which were the "afflicted girls" to whom the book refers to throughout the work, did not even know the persons they were accusing. In fact, the afflicted girls could not even pick out the accused without whispers from other people telling them who was who (33). So, in many, if not most, of the cases the accusers and the accused were unacquainted. There were fourteen accused witches who lived within the boundaries of Salem Village. Twelve of these accused lived in the eastern side of the village. Of the thirty-two adult villagers who testified against the accused, only two lived in the eastern side of the village. In other words, the accusers and the accused lived on opposite sides of the village. There were also twenty-nine villagers who spoke out publicly in defense of the accused, twenty-four of which lived on the eastern side, the same side of the accused. Those who defended the accused were generally neighbors who interacted with them on a daily basis, while those who accused them did not.
Another factor was Salem Village’s quest for a community, or rather identity. Salem Village did not have a legal existence apart from Salem Town, yet they were still taxed and still expected to take shifts on the nightly watch in Salem Town. Salem Village was referred to as "Salem Farms" and its inhabitants merely "the Farmers." This created bickering and quarrel between Salem Town and Salem Village, often between families (39-42). The horrific events that would follow would certainly draw attention to Salem Village. In fact, in many ways, those inhumane Witch Trials of not so long ago give Salem an identity today, perhaps not the one its founders envisioned, but still an identity that draws people from all over the country.
So why Salem Village? First of all, the physical setting played a major role. Salem Village is basically isolated, almost to the point of being inbred, in the sense that practically everyone was related through blood or marriage. Isolation sets the stage for the village, trials and executions. Pair this with a lack of independence from Salem Town and political institutions: it lacked the power to solve its factional problems (81-83). It was a perfectly normal procedure for the deviants of society to be eliminated either by banishment or exile and very rarely execution. This mixture of social factors, however brewed a terrifying outcome for the accused, resulting in 19 hangings and one unfortunate man being pressed to death.
Ironically, the groups that had a significant hand in starting the trials also played a significant role in ending them. The book picks apart the reasoning of how the prayers and sermons of the church had failed to contain the outbreak of the trials and executions, yet the direct and organized intervention of the principal ministers of eastern Massachusetts succeeded (9). The opposition to the arrests, examinations and trials had been building for quite some time, and testimonies and petitions began to be introduced in defense of the accused. The ministers acted under the leadership of Increase Mather of Boston, one of the most influential men in Massachusetts. In a sermon he preached at a formal gathering of ministers in Cambridge, he said, "It were better that ten suspected witches should escape, than that one innocent person should be condemned"(10). Mather also declared that one must have sufficient proof to condemn a witch. Direct confession and empirical proof of supernatural attributes were the strongest and most acceptable forms of evidence (13). So, after letting the trials and executions drag on, the church finally put an end to the deranged acts, which it helped stir up earlier.
Salem Possessed is a well-written, historically sound book. The authors set out with the objective of uncovering the social factors that caused such horrific events to occur in Salem Village and by the end of the work proved it. The style of the book is lively and interesting. The manner in which the book is arranged is significant to fully understanding what was happening in Salem Village. I expected to be presented with background information and later come upon the trials, whereas instead the authors began with the details of the trial worked their way backward. The narrative was delightful and interesting, leaving the reader fascinated with suspense. The structure of the book was very logical, though I did not expect it to be arranged the way that it was. The authors used extensive citing throughout the work, using both published and unpublished works, useful maps and charts fill the pages in appropriate areas and I especially appreciated the timeline at the beginning of the book. The great majority of the sources used were primary and the authors’ argumentation was strong, never making statements that could not be proven or that were shady. The selection of topics brought up a new perspective of the Witch Trials and fit well with the theme of the book.
I can honestly say that I did not find any major weaknesses in the book. As I have stated, the authors are professionals in this field of research and historical content. This book is an excellent contribution to the social history behind the Salem Witch Trials. The authors did present opposing viewpoints concerning maleficia, similar to what was discussed in class.
Salem Possessed collects the most extensive primary sources to support the authors’s thesis stating that the social issues plaguing Salem Village were mostly to blame for the suffering that went on there. Patterns of accusation including status and geography, the quest for community and identity and the role of religion and ministers all contributed to the downfall of Salem Village and its acceptance of the Witch Trials for a prolonged period of time. The authors make comprehensive and valid conclusions. It was a pleasure reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone interesting in learning a new perspective about Salem Village.
Thomas, Keith. "Salem Possessed." New York Review of Books (1974): 21.
This review states that this sensitive, intelligent, and well-written book will certainly revive interest in the terrible happenings at Salem. He goes on to say that this book provides an illuminating interpretation of Salem in 1692.
Cowing, Cedric B. "Salem Possessed." American Historical Review (1974): 47.
Cowing said that this book represents "an inner-history" of Salem Village, which is known today as Danvers, MA. He also stated that book contains brilliant insights, well-organized maps, charts and footnotes.
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URL: http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/wrevnands.html Written by Lori Castiglione Last Revision: 12 November 2001 Copyright © MM Prof. Pavlac's Women's History Site  |