"The Witch of Edmonton"

The language used to discuss women was what I found interesting in The Witch of Edmonton. The women in the play are continuously referred to by their fellow male characters with degrading terms and titles, providing the reader with a strong sense of the status women had in early modern society. The use of unfavorable language towards women in the play establishes the different gender roles that were prevalent during this time period and also distinguishes the relationship between women and the maternal-and sexualized- female as evil while Frank Thorney is only punished for murdering, not for marrying two women and thus committing adultery.

http://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2007/10/witch-of-edmonton.html

One particular passage that stood out to me regarding degrading language and female gender roles occurs in Act 1 Scene 1 in the conversation between Winnifride and Sir Arthur. The two are discussing the affair they engaged in prior to Win's relationship with Frank Thorney; Sir Arthur is trying to convince Win to set up a meeting time for them to continue the affair, and she attempts to put an end to the entire relationship with him. She states, "I will change my life/ From a loose whore to a repentant wife" (191-192). This line caused a mixture of feelings in me. On the one hand, I applauded Win for putting her foot down and taking control of her own life; it is obvious that she genuinely cares for Frank Thorney and is fully content with having his child and spending the rest of her life with him, and I found myself cheering her on throughout this conversation with Sir Arthur because she refused to let him continue to take advantage of her, ultimately ruining her happiness. On the other hand, however, I struggled with the fact that Win referred to herself as a whore, making the positive opposite of a whore being "a repentant wife".  This use of language to set up a good and bad type of woman was unsettling, but it clearly exemplifies what the ideal woman is in early modern society. By negatively referring to herself as a whore, Win demonstrates that her affair with Sir Arthur was an extremely foul act; this, in turn, suggests that Winnifride as a sexual being is considered foul.

The scene continues with Sir Arthur reacting to this rejection by Winnifride. In response to the above line, he states, "Wilt though turn monster now? Art not ashamed/ After so many months to be honest at last?" (193-194). This line further troubled me because it seems to shame Win not just for being a sexual being (with the man that is shaming her) but also for taking control of her own life and not giving Arthur what he wants from her. The text does not say how long the two engaged in an affair, but it is made clear that both parties were active participants in it, with little to no complaints up until this particular conversation. Sir Arthur enjoyed her being a "loose whore" because he was being sexually satisfied by her behavior, but the moment she tells him no, he calls her a monster and suggests that she should be ashamed to try and live an honest life after the things she has done with him during their affair. Again, the language used demonstrates what her place is thought to be in this society.

This type of rude language towards women- from both male and female characters- is used throughout the play, and just as the above example demonstrates the desired roles of both men and women of this time, so do other examples throughout the play. It is important to note that evil is imposed on the women in The Witch of Edmonton by the use of language; not even Mother Elizabeth Sawyer is evil without the forced title of witch that the male characters give her. In her defense, she states, "I am none. None but base curs so bark at me. I am none. Or would I were! If every poor old woman be trod on thus by slaves...she, to be revenged, had need turn witch" (4.1.76-79).  She takes the name they give her simply because it is forced on her by those around her, again serving as another woman in the play who is kept- or put- in her place.