The Devil in the Shape of a Woman. New York: Vintage Books, 1987.Carol Karlsen was born in 1940. She is currently a professor in the history department a the University of Michigan. A graduate of Yale University (Ph.D, 1980), she has taught history and womens study courses at Union College and Bard College.In this book Carol Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in 17th century New England, and brings forth the portrait of gender in the New England Society.The books thesis is based on why a person was accused of being a witch and the relative circumstances thereof. Marital status, sex, community standing, wealth, and relationships with others all play an important part of a person chances of being accused of being a witch. Karlsens words make for a richly detailed portrait of the women who were prosecuted as witches. The witch hunting hysteria seized New England in the late seventeenth century. Why were those and other women likely witches? Why were certain people vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft and possession? These are the questions answered in this book.The book focuses mainly on the time period between 1620-1725, give or take a few years. Colonial New England is the setting. The author puts great emphasis on towns where witch trials were predominate. In these towns religion, social status and wealth seemed to be important to most people. The courts in these towns relied on religion as much as the law to run their trials. Colonial New England in the early 1600s was in a state of decision. A lot of the beliefs about witchcraft came from the policys of England, the mother country. During the early years of settlement, puritans in Massachusetts Bay were uncertain about how to translate their sexual beliefs into public policy. As early as 1651, Massachusetts passed their first adultery law. In the ensuing years ahead the Massachusetts magistrates articulate more precisely the form of punishment appropr...
