Overview

What remains of the witch hunts? A stubborn misogyny, which still tints the way our societies look at single women, childless women, aging women, or quite simply, free women . . . Today more than ever, witches tell us about our world and lead the way.' - Télérama A source of terror, a misogynistic image of woman inherited from the trials and the pyres of the great early modern witch hunts - in In Defence of Witches the witch is recast as a powerful role model to women today: an emblem of power, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women. Whether selling grimoires on Etsy, posting photos of their crystal-adorned altar on Instagram, or gathering to cast spells on Donald Trump, witches are everywhere. But who exactly were the forebears of these modern witches? Who was historically accused of witchcraft, often meeting violent ends? What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries? Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing. Finally, Chollet argues that by considering the lives of those who dared to live differently, we can learn more about the richness of roles available, just how many different things a woman can choose to be.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mona Chollet ,  Sophie R Lewis
Publisher:   Pan Macmillan
Imprint:   Picador
Dimensions:   Width: 13.00cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.220kg
ISBN:  

9781529034066

ISBN 10:   152903406
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   12 January 2023
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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Reviews

Mona Chollet reminds us how an infamous label has become a symbol of women's resistance to male domination. * Le Monde * [Mona Chollet] rehabilitates the figure of the witch, this dangerously independent, educated and strong woman. * Slate * [Mona Chollet] dissects this figure from our history - and our imagination - and demonstrates how women today, those who free themselves from certain social norms, are in fact the direct heirs of those who were pursued, hunted, censored, eliminated during the Renaissance. * Huffington Post * The term witches is still used today to caricature women of power, aging women or quite simply free women . . . Mona Chollet wonders about what remains today of the great witch hunts, that is to say the massacre of tens of thousands of women in Europe between the 16th and 17th centuries . . . [She] ends up convincing: the witch is a figure more fascinating and empowering than repulsive. * Liberation * What remains of the witch hunts? A stubborn misogyny, which still tints the way our societies look at single women, childless women, aging women, or quite simply, free women . . . Today more than ever, witches tell us about our world and lead the way. * Telerama *

Author Information

Mona Chollet is a journalist for le Monde Diplomatique and speaks fluent English. In 2017 she appeared at the Festival Albertine in New York (curated by Gloria Steinem), on a panel with Roxane Gay (to talk about women's bodies and their treatment as public property). She has written on women's bodies, the domestic sphere and dismantling right-wing political imagery.

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