Review of The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol F. Karlsen
Carol F. Karlsen's presents her dissertation on the woman accused of witchcraft primarily during the 1600's in Colonial America. Her findings are well documented with over 70 pages of notes qualifying the information presented. While the information presented was interesting, I often found myself feeling lost as to the point that was trying to be made.
What exactly was the profile of the typical woman accused of witchcraft? The first four chapters had me bouncing back and forth thinking the answer to this above question was one set of criteria, and then another, and so forth. At times I felt the data charts presented left out the full details, leaving only the parts pertinent to the view being described and I was wanting to know a few more details. Some of this can be attributed to the scant details available in some cases, records have been lost over the years. I also think that there isn't a clear cut reason answer that fits in a box. When pandemonium takes hold, all bets are off and the net starts to get cast wider and snares a wider range of people.
The final half of the book does a good job of laying out the history of the church and its role in the lives of the accused and accusers. I would have liked to see this section expanded and dealt with on a more in-depth level. What was covered leaned toward the likelihood of the religious beliefs playing a heavier role in the trials, more than if the woman was of a certain age, widowed or their inheritance potential. I had hoped to gather more from this book, I did, though come up with a list of additional books to look at as time permits.
Title: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman
Author: Carol F. Karlsen
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (1987)
Source: Public Library
Format Read: Hardcover: ISBN 0-393-02478-4
Genres/Subjects: Non-Fiction, History, 17th Century, Salem Witchcraft Trials
[Notice: Original posting 2014-03-10 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: 2014, History, Non-Fiction
Carol F. Karlsen's presents her dissertation on the woman accused of witchcraft primarily during the 1600's in Colonial America. Her findings are well documented with over 70 pages of notes qualifying the information presented. While the information presented was interesting, I often found myself feeling lost as to the point that was trying to be made.
What exactly was the profile of the typical woman accused of witchcraft? The first four chapters had me bouncing back and forth thinking the answer to this above question was one set of criteria, and then another, and so forth. At times I felt the data charts presented left out the full details, leaving only the parts pertinent to the view being described and I was wanting to know a few more details. Some of this can be attributed to the scant details available in some cases, records have been lost over the years. I also think that there isn't a clear cut reason answer that fits in a box. When pandemonium takes hold, all bets are off and the net starts to get cast wider and snares a wider range of people.
The final half of the book does a good job of laying out the history of the church and its role in the lives of the accused and accusers. I would have liked to see this section expanded and dealt with on a more in-depth level. What was covered leaned toward the likelihood of the religious beliefs playing a heavier role in the trials, more than if the woman was of a certain age, widowed or their inheritance potential. I had hoped to gather more from this book, I did, though come up with a list of additional books to look at as time permits.
Title: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman
Author: Carol F. Karlsen
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (1987)
Source: Public Library
Format Read: Hardcover: ISBN 0-393-02478-4
Genres/Subjects: Non-Fiction, History, 17th Century, Salem Witchcraft Trials
[Notice: Original posting 2014-03-10 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: 2014, History, Non-Fiction