T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials on + 323 more book reviews
As I think I've stated elsewhere, I've read numerous books about both the Salem Witch Trials and the "witchcraze" phenomenon which gripped western Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This is the second one I've read which features a very similar format. It's considerably less sensationalist than the last, but it's likewise a bit difficult to get through. Its strengths are the copious research it includes and the ability to weave disparate parts into a comprehensible narrative. As with other works of this type, it consists primarily of "thick description," which is quite dry at times, although no stone is left un-turned. If one were looking for meticulous detail about this shameful episode in America's past, it would be one of the go-to volumes in that regard.
What it does particularly well is to both humanize the victims, and even their accusers, which is sometimes a difficult feat. What makes this particular volume unique is that it focuses on six individuals, and weaves their stories and narratives together to highlight the way in which their lives and fates intertwined, illustrating starkly that notwithstanding the often-tragic outcome, the lives of the individuals in this small community were inextricably connected, making this event all the more devastating.
The primary players featured herein are Rebecca Nurse, an elderly grandmother and wife of a farmer, one of the most respected and pious members of the community, by all accounts; Bridget Bishop, inn-keeper and sometimes-trouble-maker, who was among the first to be accused on account of her "sharp tongue"; Mary English, a wealthy and educated woman of some property in her own right, who was also married to the wealthiest man in Salem; Ann Putnam, Sr., one of the more maligned figures of this episode, whose daughter "Annie" Jr. was one of the primary "afflicted" accusers, who, despite her tender age, sent more than a dozen people to their deaths; Mary Warren, maid of the Proctors and a woman of few prospects, another of the "afflicted," who turned on her employers and sent her master to his death; and Tituba, the scapegoat, the slave of Salem's Reverend, Parris, of mixed ancestry by way of Barbados, who was the first to be accused.
The book describes in some times excruciating detail the intricacies and intrigues, more often than not, the rivalries, of the major players involved, and how the hysteria spread like an infectious disease to other neighboring communities. It highlights the perhaps most-often-cited criticism of small towns, specifically that there is no real sense of privacy, where rumors fly constantly and close proximity and intimate connections between members of these small communities turn toxic, leading to rivalries, and sometimes overt violence, with neighbors turning against each other, despite close ties of blood or marriage. I often wonder how much of this is hype, however, and how it translated to actual daily life for the individuals involved. In the end, life did have to be functional, and the strongly-held Christian beliefs of villagers did have to play a role in keeping the relative peace, even if court cases brought against neighbors and even relatives were common.
More than other books, which focus simply on recounting events, it weaves other pertinent elements into the detailed narrative. It is a deep exploration of the psychology of the individuals, taking into consideration their backgrounds, lives, experiences (in the case of more than one, traumatic events such as the deaths of multiple children, in the case of Ann Putnam, Sr., and one of the "afflicted" girls, who was present at the site of a notorious massacre). Sometimes, however, this excruciating detail does leave readers lost in the weeds, somewhat, as it's arranged in essentially a day-by-day account of what played out over the course of the nearly eighteen-month episode. It begins with an introduction of the women who take center stage, but isn't really organized that way.
We get the sense of what these individuals were like, but their humanity is lost in the procession of facts, drawn directly from primary source documents and surviving records. I would have appreciated more of a description of the daily lives of the persons involved, rather than simply a recounting of facts, which made this capable book less interesting than it perhaps could have been.
What it does particularly well is to both humanize the victims, and even their accusers, which is sometimes a difficult feat. What makes this particular volume unique is that it focuses on six individuals, and weaves their stories and narratives together to highlight the way in which their lives and fates intertwined, illustrating starkly that notwithstanding the often-tragic outcome, the lives of the individuals in this small community were inextricably connected, making this event all the more devastating.
The primary players featured herein are Rebecca Nurse, an elderly grandmother and wife of a farmer, one of the most respected and pious members of the community, by all accounts; Bridget Bishop, inn-keeper and sometimes-trouble-maker, who was among the first to be accused on account of her "sharp tongue"; Mary English, a wealthy and educated woman of some property in her own right, who was also married to the wealthiest man in Salem; Ann Putnam, Sr., one of the more maligned figures of this episode, whose daughter "Annie" Jr. was one of the primary "afflicted" accusers, who, despite her tender age, sent more than a dozen people to their deaths; Mary Warren, maid of the Proctors and a woman of few prospects, another of the "afflicted," who turned on her employers and sent her master to his death; and Tituba, the scapegoat, the slave of Salem's Reverend, Parris, of mixed ancestry by way of Barbados, who was the first to be accused.
The book describes in some times excruciating detail the intricacies and intrigues, more often than not, the rivalries, of the major players involved, and how the hysteria spread like an infectious disease to other neighboring communities. It highlights the perhaps most-often-cited criticism of small towns, specifically that there is no real sense of privacy, where rumors fly constantly and close proximity and intimate connections between members of these small communities turn toxic, leading to rivalries, and sometimes overt violence, with neighbors turning against each other, despite close ties of blood or marriage. I often wonder how much of this is hype, however, and how it translated to actual daily life for the individuals involved. In the end, life did have to be functional, and the strongly-held Christian beliefs of villagers did have to play a role in keeping the relative peace, even if court cases brought against neighbors and even relatives were common.
More than other books, which focus simply on recounting events, it weaves other pertinent elements into the detailed narrative. It is a deep exploration of the psychology of the individuals, taking into consideration their backgrounds, lives, experiences (in the case of more than one, traumatic events such as the deaths of multiple children, in the case of Ann Putnam, Sr., and one of the "afflicted" girls, who was present at the site of a notorious massacre). Sometimes, however, this excruciating detail does leave readers lost in the weeds, somewhat, as it's arranged in essentially a day-by-day account of what played out over the course of the nearly eighteen-month episode. It begins with an introduction of the women who take center stage, but isn't really organized that way.
We get the sense of what these individuals were like, but their humanity is lost in the procession of facts, drawn directly from primary source documents and surviving records. I would have appreciated more of a description of the daily lives of the persons involved, rather than simply a recounting of facts, which made this capable book less interesting than it perhaps could have been.
