-
C H A P T E R S I X
- NYU Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
C H A P T E R S I X The Reluctant Witch: Fueling Puritan Fantasies Titiba an Indian woman brought before us by Constable ] Jos Herrick of Salem upon Suspition of Witchcraft by her Commited according to the Compl't of Jos. Hutcheson & Thomas putnam etc. o f Sale m Village as appeares p Warrant granted Salem 29 febr'y 1691/ 2 . . . —In Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, eds., Salem Witchcraft Papers O n the last day of February 1692 , a leap year, Joseph Hutchinson , Edward an d Thoma s Putnam , an d Thoma s Presto n appeare d before Sale m magistrates John Hathorn e and Jonathan Corwin to mak e complaint s agains t th e thre e accuse d wome n fo r "suspitio n o f Witchcraft." They charged that Sarah Osborne, Tituba, an d Sarah Good had bee n usin g occul t mean s t o injur e fou r girl s ove r a period o f tw o months. Fou r girls—Betty Parris , Abigai l Williams , An n Putnam , an d Elizabeth Hubbard , all unde r eightee n year s o f age—adde d thei r testi mony t o suppor t th e complaints . Thu s bega n th e lega l proces s tha t focused attentio n o n Titub a an d would eventuall y lea d t o th e imprison ment of more than one hundred people over a period of nine months and the execution of twenty between June 1 9 and September 2 2. A few mor e would di e i n priso n fro m exposur e an d disease, addin g a gruesome not e to th e deat h tol l fro m thi s witc h scare. 1 Titub a woul d escap e wit h he r life, bu t sh e woul d spen d thirtee n month s i n a crowded, foul-smelling , and filthy Boston prison, unsur e of her fate. Tituba's subsequen t testimon y confirme d th e worst fear s of a diabolical presenc e an d gave the Sale m worthies reaso n t o launc h a witchhunt. She supplied th e essential lega l evidence required to begin the process o f 107 io8 • The Reluctant Witch communal exorcism , t o purge the community of its collective sin . With out her testimony th e trials could not have taken place. Thus it was only after Tituba bega n to confess that the witchhunt began in earnest. I n her fantasies o f a n evi l power , th e India n woma n confirme d tha t th e Devi l was now among them. Witchcraft wa s a crim e agains t Go d i n th e Europea n worl d and , therefore, a heresy , bu t i n Englan d i t wa s treate d a s a socia l crime . English laws of 154 2 and 160 4 made it a capital offense t o invoke an evil spirit, t o use magi c to hurt or kill people, fin d los t treasure, har m cattle, or t o "provok e unlawfu l love, " amon g othe r anti-socia l activities . Th e penalty fo r suc h act s was a year's imprisonment fo r the first offense an d death for th e second. 2 A s i n al l criminal cases in th e Englis h world, th e legal process i n identifying and prosecuting persons accused of witchcraft followed a standard sequence. I t began with a formal complaint presented by member s o f th e community , a preliminary hearing to investigat e th e charges, the presentation of an indictment against the accused, and finally trial by a jury of freeholders of that county. The somewhat vague Massachusetts law s o f 164 1 an d 1642 , whic h governe d event s i n 1692 , wer e seemingly based on a combination of the English laws and Old Testament prohibitions. The y prescribe d deat h "I f any ma n or woma n b e a witch (that i s hat h consultet h wit h a familiar spirit). " Massachusetts generally followed Englis h procedures; a jury trial was mandatory before the punishment could be inflicted. 3 Magistrates John Hathorn e an d Jonathan Corwin , afte...