Roper, Witch Craze, 125-78
Chapter 6
The title alone of Chapter 6 indicates that this is obviously a key chapter in the book. At the beginning of the chapter, Roper states: "The terrors, anxieties and dependence that childbed brought lat at the heart of the witch craze" (127). Towards the end she writes: "It was the fears surrounding procreation, motherhood, fecundity and age that formed the potent brew from which stories about witches were made" (178).
1. How well does Roper prove her argument in this chapter? Does she do so better here than in other chapters?
2. What is the function of the illustrations in the chapter? Do they contribute successfully to Roper's argument?
3. Who sought to control fertility? Why?
4. Why was fertility "mysterious" (134)?
5. How was devotion to Mary related to the witch hunt? 6. Did mysoginy contribute significantly to the witch hunt? 7. What effect did religious difference have on the witch hunt? Were Catholics, for example, more likely than Protestants to participate in what Roper would call the witch craze fantasy?
Chapter 7
8. Why were many women accused of witchcraft old?
9. Why did old women capture the imagination of painters, poets, and witch hunters?
10. Why are the case of Ursula Grön and trials of mothers and daughters significant?
11. How well does Roper's argument fare in this chapter?
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