Witches: The First Feminists. Women and Witchcraft in Early Modern English Drama.

The present thesis explores the representation of witches in early modern England, focusing on the gender dynamics surrounding witchcraft beliefs and their portrayal in contemporary drama. While historians agree that the majority of those accused of witchcraft were women, it is noteworthy that approximately 20-25% of the accused were men. Male witches have often been overlooked as marginal figures, either accused solely due to their association with female witches or as mere victims of mass hysteria. This work attempts to challenge such assumptions, arguing that male witches could be independent and valid targets of witchcraft accusations, and that early modern demonological texts and beliefs did not exclude this possibility. This thesis integrates historical and literary analysis to examine how early modern drama reflects these complexities. Through a comparative analysis of six plays – three featuring female witches (Macbeth, The Witch, and The Witch of Edmonton) and three featuring male witches (Doctor Faustus, The Tempest, and Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay) –, this study reveals how female witches were often depicted as chaotic, malevolent figures tied to traditional fears of female power, while male witches were frequently portrayed with a degree of intellectualism, rationality, and authority. By contextualising these depictions within the broader socio-cultural framework of early modern England, this thesis aims to deepen our understanding of how witchcraft narratives were shaped by contemporary anxieties surrounding power, gender, and morality, revealing that witchcraft was a multifaceted construct, influenced not only by fears of female deviance, but also by broader concerns about the boundaries of knowledge, authority, and transgression.