The Witches

“In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks, and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES.”

The narrator establishes his upfront tone by telling readers his story is about real witches. He creates a juxtaposition between real witches and fairytale witches, and emphasizes the power and danger of real witches by putting the term in all capital letters. By telling the reader that he’s discussing “REAL WITCHES,” he creates a sense of verisimilitude, that this is a real story.

“A witch is always a woman. I do not wish to speak badly about women. Most women are lovely. But the fact remains that all witches are women. There is no such thing as a male witch.”

The narrative uses repetition to link witches with women, and to create a sense of rhythm. The boy repeats “women” three times to highlight the fact that witches are a specific gender. The claim is a red herring. Later, the grandma says witches aren’t women but demons.

“My grandmother was the only grandmother I ever met who smoked cigars. She lit one now, a long black cigar that smelt of burning rubber.”

The cigar suggests Grandmamma’s unique, gender-bending identity. She smokes cigars, which, in Western culture, is often linked to men. Dahl uses imagery to paint a visual of the smoking grandma, describing the cigar and smell.