Lessons for the Ladies

Throughout these texts I do notice a theme of female instruction. The author's are trying to tell women how to behave and how smart they should be.

In Alphonzo's "An ADDRESS to the LADIES" he instructs the women to not be too extreme either way in education and behavior. He expresses his idea for the "ideal" woman, but it isn't that simple. Having to strive to be perfect is not easy, and that is exactly what Alphonzo is proposing that women should do.

For example, he instructs women not to be too prude or too slutty. He says that when dating a woman should be careful because "prudery and coquetry are extremes equally to be shunned." This creates a problem though because what is considered too much and too little? There is so much pressure on women to figure it out and it is basically impossible.

He also emphasizes education, but instructs women to be careful about getting too smart. He says that becoming educated is a good thing for a job, but if you want a relationship then you must be careful. He explains that men are proud and want to feel smarter than women. He says it is a turn off for a woman to be too smart. He also discusses what a woman should read. He says women should only be reading good literature. Once again he is showing the extreme bad and good going on. These poor woman are being encouraged to be smart but not too smart, and flirty but not too slutty. 

Also, many of the texts talk about the females being the seducers and bringing things upon themselves. In "For the GENTLEMEN and LADIES", Mr. Orlander talks about the "alluring smiles of those seducers of thy female excellence." He talks about how women draw men in and bring it upon themselves.

In addition, in "COPY of a LETTER from Miss--- to Mr.---" "Eliza" talks about how a woman's reputation is their most valuable attribution. Now I don't think a woman really wrote this, but I think it is a good example of instructing women's behavior and showing the "ideal" woman. The text talks about how women should beware of ruining their reputation and watch every move they make. Unfortunately it isn't fair for women because the text says that is doesn't matter if you really lose your virtue because if people think you do then you are in just as much trouble.

I think throughout these texts it is unfortunate for women because there is such a double standard and the "ideal" woman is impossible to achieve. Women are encouraged to be educated, but not too educated. As far as behavior you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Times They are A-Changin'

There has definitely been changes developing throughout these texts. I have enjoyed reading the more recent texts because of this change. In the earlier texts women were seen as powerless and the women who were easy targets or on the outskirts of society were easy to blame and call a "witch". Later in the infanticide texts the women were seen as "fallen" and evil so they deserved to die. However, recently in the texts, such as The Panther Narrative, women are shown as independent and strong. They stand up for what they believe in and don't take no for an answer.

The agenda of the author has seemed to change too. In the infanticide narratives the main goal was to teach young people, mainly women, not to act like these "fallen" women or they would be killed too. The text says it was the words of the "fallen" women, but reading it I think it is clear that a minister wrote it. On the other hand, in The Panther Narrative the author seems to write for entertainment and for the growing change of the idea of women throughout society.

I think women are represented differently now because of the continued rise of feminism. Not all women are the same and they are all beautiful. I think women are represented as powerful, independent, and strong now. They stand up for what they believe in.

We Are All The Same

First of all, I definitely thought it was interesting that the women are portrayed as representative figures in order to warn young people not to disobey their parents, rather than focusing primarily on the alleged infanticides. Which makes me further believe that the women didn't write the texts.

I think that there are similarities and dissimilarities between these women and women in our contemporary America. As far as dissimilarities go the main one that immediately comes to my mind is that we don't execute someone for infanticide.

However, some similarities are that abortion is definitely an issue facing contemporary America, and getting pregnant without being married is looked down upon. I also think that TCU students are watched even closer when it comes to these issues. TCU is a small school and some people can be pretty judgmental.

Obviously women today have means to control their reproductive systems, like contraceptives to help prevent pregnancy, but I definitely think that women are still stigmatized. I mean as far as pregnancy goes, when a woman gets pregnant usually there is a lot more shame placed on the woman. After all, she is the one who is actually going to show the physical signs of being pregnant. But I do want to say that I don't think that the guy has it all easy either. Also, when a guy hooks up with a bunch of girls no one really says anything, but if a girl does the same she is called a slut. So, I think that like these women the women in contemporary America also feel pressure from society and are viewed differently than men.

Although we've outlawed hanging for such "crimes" I think we have developed other ways to punish women for these activities. It's not necessarily a physical punishment as much as an emotional one. The emotional pain associated with abortion/infanticide is very powerful and the shame society can place upon the women is a pretty intense punishment.

The New Witch of the West

After reading this essay I started thinking about how I perceive witches and goddesses. Just as Rountree said about witches being typically the object of childhood terror, I noticed that most stories, movies, or TV shows I watched when I was younger did portray witches as ugly, old lonely, evil women who casted spells on people and were isolated from society. After all, in "The Wizard of Oz" the Wicked Witch of the West sure was ugly and evil. As for goddesses I always pictured them as being beautiful and supernatural. Movies like 300 and even Hercules portray goddesses as having unattainable beauty. From just thinking about witches and goddesses in that way it is hard to believe they can be related to each other and are similar. Also, I was taken aback when Rountree explained that European witch-hunters of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries claim that the witches had sexual intercourse with the Devil and stole and ate penises. Maybe I was just too grossed out by that, but also I don't really see having sex with the Devil physically possible.

When thinking about the movement itself I agreed with what Rountree said about wondering why any woman would want to call herself a witch. I mean after the history and witch-labeling done during the Salem Witch Trials and all the suffering and bad name associated with being a witch, I would think that people wouldn't want to associate themselves with that. I think that if they want people to take the movement seriously, then that is going to make it difficult. I was kind of confused on how by remembering the witch and goddess they are re-membering themselves. I wasn't sure I would agree with witches and goddesses being able to merge but I see now that, like Rountree said, they are both images of independent female power. Although a goddess is seen more as an unattainable and beautiful thing, both witches and goddesses are different from the rest of society. They are both seen as supernatural and powerful.

I think it is very common for women to want to take a stand and feel empowered, so I don't think that many of the goals of this movement are all that new. I understand that the movement is trying to force a re-evaluation of the historical term "witches", but I just don't think it can be that easy. There is so much history associated with witches that I think a movement will only scare people again. It may even be dangerous.

Wonders of the Invisible World

I haven't really had any encounters with witches, witchcraft, or the supernatural other than one time when I visited my cousin in Washington and we played with an Ouija board. We weren't really sure what we were doing but a friend had told me about it and my cousin had one so we decided to try it out. It seemed to move a little but I'm not completely sure it wasn't my cousin just playing a trick on me. I guess I have heard stories from friends about them seeing ghosts or spirits and that scares me so I have never really tried to. I also dressed as a witch for Halloween one year after watching the movie "Hocus Pocus". Other than that I guess I've only watched movies, TV shows, or read books like Harry Potter. I think our society is very interested and fascinated with witches so making movies or TV shows that deal with witchcraft or the supernatural are very common. Some movies I like watching are The Craft, Practical Magic, Sleepy Hollow, and Harry Potter.

The only "witch-hunts" I have heard of or observed have been in movies or TV shows. However, when I think of a "witch-hunt" one thing that comes to mind is Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare.

I think understanding the existence of evil in our contemporary world can be very confusing. I mean it's hard to call someone "evil" or to label what an evil act is. Obviously I consider murder and rape evil and I think most everyone would. However, I don't think many people associate evil with the devil as much as just making bad decisions. I guess you could say that people label someone with "insanity" when an evil act is committed and consider the person sick so that's why they commit evil acts. I don't think people are born evil but I think what happens in a person's life can cause them to make bad choices. I find it hard to consider anyone just purely evil so maybe that's why it's hard for me to explain it. I think people do bad things but I don't necessarily think they are pure evil.