The Malevolent Witch
Terror and Fantasy in Literary Witchcraft
Sep 9, 2009 Christopher Mansour
The witch has been variously described as Satan's disciple, a keeper of forbidden knowledge, a malevolent mother, and even a cunning woman gone bad. It is the corruption of the Dark Age/ Medieval Church, in addition to people's instinctive fear of the supernatural, that demonizes witches. A terrifying figure in any age, she embodies a paradox of responses. On one hand, she is the darkly Satanic figure, like Disney's Maleficient; on the other hand, she encodes a fantasy of empowerment which some find overwhelmingly appealing.
Folkloric Profile of the Witch
The witch flourishes in many oral traditions throughout Europe between 1500-1800 (Hufton 340). In Ireland, for example, witches have a Satanic affiliation. They are "the devil's dark legions"(Haining 119) who have ever been "under his command"(119) since ancient times. Their dark powers are numerous; the witch can "turn into animals such as cats or hares"(119) for the purpose of working "[her] mischief unobserved"(119). The Irish witches can weave "pishogues", or spells, and can even "communicate with evil spirits who will do their bidding"(Haining 119).
In this age, people openly believe that the Devil is in their midst and that his associates, namely fairies, demons, and ghosts, conspire against the human race (Hufton 340). Amongst such a notorious family, the witch becomes yet another diabolical offspring. The idea of a dark, Satanic witch, participant apostate in a grotesque church featuring cannibalism and human sacrifice, provides a model for later popular culture renditions. Such examples include Maleficient, the White Witch, and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Witches in Popular Culture
Jadis, the White Witch in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series, most resembes the classical witch of ancient times; one who uses her formidable sorcery for large-scale ambitions—a magic beyond that of the doll in "Vasilisa" or the cunning woman’s folk magic. Jadis transforms Narnia into a tundra, her opponents into stone statutes, and sacrifices her nemesis, Aslan, to the spirits of the deep magic. There is Maleficient's unforgettable vow “to unleash all the powers of hell” against Prince Charming in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Her black dragon form, symbolizing Satan, is indicative of gothic (Satanic) witchcraft formulated by the Church.
In literary contexts, as with Vasilisa, a spiteful and unloving woman is often attributed with witchcraft. The Wicked Witch of the West wants to kill Dorothy for her own spiteful reasons than for any loyalty to her dead sister. As Marvin Kaye suggests, the appeal of witchcraft to such individuals is the gaining of "esoteric knowledge" to manipulate the "destinies" of others (xi). Vasilisa's evil stepmother may not be able to use sorcery, but she can trick Baba Yaga into killing Vasilisa; this alone implies a desire to indirectly manipulate the sorceress.
In Narnia, Sleeping Beauty, and Oz, there is a "terrible price [for] slaking one's thirst for power"(Kaye xii). Jadis is slain twice by Aslan and then Edmond; the prince stabs Maleficient; the Wicked Witch is defeated. In "Vasilisa", Baba Yaga remains unchanged and promptly slays the stepfamily. The appeal of ultimate power is balanced with consequence: one might lose "vital energy", make "allegiance to Hell"(Kaye xii), or be destroyed. Evildoers usually do not survive the story's denouement.
The Witch's Power
A witch allegedly gets her power by tending "demonic imps" (Willis ix) whom she feeds in return for magical power (Willis 52). She is said to cause sickness, accidents, storms, and murders (Willis 55). Baba Yaga's three horsemen are extensions of her power. The pale rider signifies dawn and the supernatural--death incarnate. The scarlet rider, the sunset; when life is brought to a savage end, or the end of time. The black rider, sorrow and evil. They also signify Baba’s god-like ability to control time as it affects the human being—from birth to death.
The witch's most notorious power is her ability to curse. The curse arouses supernatural forces and harms or kills its victim. Deborah Willis explains that English villagers misinterpret a woman's angry words and assume that such 'unfeminine' behaviour is a manifestation of witchcraft (37, 52), especially if misfortune soon follows. Many believe that the curse is carried to the victim by the witch's imp or familiar (Willis 52). In "Vasilisa", Baba Yaga's curse destroys the stepfamily. The curse, as the folktale illustrates, contrasts with the bless—where one protects the other destroys.
To some, the witch is a source of perverse inspiration--or true desperation. Some women profit from the witch scare because they can use it to blackmail neighbours into granting their demands for food and assistance (Hufton 352). A few perverse minds form a small criminal element (Willis 63-64); they use black magic or folk knowledge to "harm or kill their neighbours and their children by magical means"(63-64). Such cases indicate that not all those executed for witchcraft die with 'clean hands'.
The witch arouses the most intense fear and fascination. Both Judeo-Christianity and the human mind lend the witch an undeniable influence over human history and popular literature. With her grandiose designs and rebellious spirit, one may agree with Conrad's sentiment that she arouses "the fascination of the abomination". One may even agree with Isaac Bashevis Singer that she is "a monster that the rising sun transform[s] into a beauty"(Kaye 24).
Works Cited
Haining, Peter. The Irish Leprechaun's Kingdom. London: Granada Publishing Ltd, 1981.
Hufton, Olwen. The Prospect Before Her: A History of Women in Western Europe 1500-1800. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.
Kaye, Marvin. Witches & Warlocks: Tales of Black Magic, Old & New. Garden City: Guild America Books, 1989.
Willis, Deborah. Malevolent Nurture: Witch-Hunting and Maternal Power in Early Modern England. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1995.
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