The Rules of Magic

Witches are a key motif in The Rules of Magic and the Practical Magic series as a whole. Not the broomstick-flying, warty crones of popular folklore, Hoffman’s witches echo the standout, eccentric women who might have been tried during the 17th-century Salem trials for flourishing on independent means, being close to nature and animals, and getting involved in healing practices. While the Owens women wear black and sometimes have an unkempt appearance, especially in old age, they are generally strikingly beautiful in their youth. This is important, as it allows them to seduce men with very little effort and therefore adds to the numbers of their victims. Interestingly, Vincent, the only male Owens offspring, is never referred to as a wizard but as a “male witch” (185). This prohibits the traditional, sexist distinction between witches as malign and wizards as benign—an view that reflects a patriarchal society’s suspicion of women in positions of power. Indeed, Hoffman reverses these expectations, as The Magus, which is named after the Latin word for wizard, is full of dark magic, whereas the women’s plant-based spells are geared toward cures.

Hoffman also works against the stereotype that there is a generalized kind of witch with uniform powers and gifts.