July 11, 2019 Thursday
Bedtime Story
Salem Witch Trials of
Once married both the partners were
expected to fall in line fulfill their sexual marital roles to the hilt failing
which the other partner could seek divorce on this ground only.
The laws concerning divorce treated both
the sexes equally in this front as is evident from the fact that one out of
every six divorce sought was based on the issue of male impotence.
The Puritans of England and the Thirteen
Colonies were thus not a total Taliban (which makes them a partial one).
In many ways the Protestantism of the
United States was far more accommodating towards women and African slaves than
Islam is today.
Yet it was not enough to tackle the issue
of slavery effectively enough or to endow women with leadership rules in
society for various reasons.
One must also not forget the notorious and
infamous incidence of hunting down of the so-called witches in the Salem
Village, which is now the town of Danvers, town of Ipswich and town of Andover all
situated in the County of Essex in Massachusetts.
This episode of mass hysteria and witch trials
would not come as a surprise to those who know about the political background
of these times.
The settles of New England were deeply religious
refugees who had sought to build from the grass roots a Bible-based society
that inevitably came with strong beliefs in the supernatural.
Most religions at their peak ferventness are
accompanied with an inherent view (modern Islam would provide a suitable reference
point) that women are either inherently sinful or easily prone to damnation (I
have never really understood what such religious words mean).
In those dark ages it was also not
surprising for epileptic fits or seizures of other medical origins in young
women to be taken as “strong evidence” of “possession” and “demonic forces”.
Even that was not necessary for a young
woman to be made an outcast or to be labeled as a “witch”; she merely had to be
different from the ordinary or the average either in her interests, intellect or
sexuality (again refer to the Talibanic Islam of modern times).
In spite of all the negativity that
surrounds these Salem witch hunts and trials historically it has had a great
impact on American culture.
As George Lincoln Burr, the American
Professor of History and Librarian at Cornell University had put, “the Salem
witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered.”
This dark and macabre event of New England
history has received disproportionate cultural depictions in various art forms –
movies, drama, radio, television, comic books, music and even video games.
I for one encountered it through the 1995 fictional
medical thriller “Acceptable Risk” that was written by the American physician
and ophthalmologist Robin Cook who did his post graduation medical training
from Harvard.
This book begins with one incident from
such a witch trial with the prosecution and execution of one Elizabeth Stewart.
Stay tuned to the voice of an
average story storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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