The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England

While many accused of witchcraft in 17th-century New England fit the demographic patterns outlined in Chapters 1-3, there were also outliers. In Chapter 4, Karlsen sets out to define larger patterns of social relations in the system of Puritan society to gain a further understanding of what led to accusations. Specifically, Karlsen homes in on character traits of the witches that caused their communities to marginalize and target them.

Describing the witches’ relations to their communities, Karlsen states:

The social process that transformed women into witches in New England required a convergence of belief on the part of both the townspeople and the religious and secular authorities that these women posed serious threats to society. (119)

This, in turn, means that any act that strayed from acceptable social behavior attracted witchcraft accusations. Two of the most dangerous transgressions that Puritan women could make were challenges to God and challenges to gender norms. Those labeled as witches often did both. Indeed, transgressions against God and gender norms were often intertwined in Puritan society. Karlsen identifies three ranges of sins that led to witchcraft accusations: religious sins against God, social and religious sins against neighbors, and sexual sins against nature.

A sin against God was witchcraft in its most basic and essential form.