THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WITCHCRAFT AND FEMININITY: WITCHCRAFT AS A SEX-SPECIFIC CRIME WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA

ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WITCHCRAFT AND FEMININITY:WITCHCRAFT AS A SEX SPECIFIC CRIME WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA Yilmaz, Turkan M.A., Department of Literature Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Laura TOSI February, 2015 The present thesis is an attempt to understand the close relationship between femininity and witchcraft in early modern English society, and to analyze the religious, sociohistorical, and cultural reasons for that association. Then, I aim to present how witchcraft material is approached by the contemporary English dramatists. With this aim, the first chapter consists of four subchapters each of which includes the explanation of four different reasons for the strong association of witchcraft with femininity. The second chapter includes comparative analysis of three plays; namely The Witch by Thomas Middleton, The Witch of Edmonton by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Accordingly, how witchcraft theme is interpreted and incorporated in the corpora of those plays and the function of witch scenes constitute the main concern of the second chapter. Through analyzing the possible reasons for the clear link between femininity and witchcraft, and discussing the interpretation of witchcraft theme in the plays from early modern English drama, this research highlights how witchcraft and witch-beliefs serve as a material for playwrights to criticize idealization of femininity.