In Defense of Witches

The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial

By: Mona Chollet, Sophie R. Lewis - translator

Narrated by: Carmen Maria Machado, Alix Dunmore

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is a “brilliant, well-documented” celebration (Le Monde) by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution.

Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed?

Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harassed and oppressed. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct heirs to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions.

With fiery prose and arguments that range from the scholarly to the cultural, In Defense of Witches seeks to unite the mythic image of the witch with modern women who seek to live their lives on their own terms.

©2022 Mona Chollet and Sophie R. Lewis (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2022, NPR Best Book of the Year, Long-listed

Interesting read

Very interesting account of the history of the witch hunts and the impact it has had on women even to this day.

So much to unpack in the history of women

Enjoyed learning all the underlying reasons for something we learn as if it was almost part of a fairy tale and not the consistent oppression women have endured for centuries. A book to keep for consultation and take notes.

Relevant and Revelationary

Chollet traces the influence of the ideologies that enabled the witch-hunts and Burning Times across disciplines and through the centuries up to today. She manages to make the academic scholarship accessible and engaging, not to mention enraging.

While many gems of knowledge were divined throughout her exploration of how medical practices, law, gender dynamics, and environmental studies, to name a few, were affected by the distrust and persecution of the feminine—my favorite overall takeaway, that unsettled me in the best of ways, was this (slightly paraphrased):

“We are all products of the world that hunted the witches, and we remain locked inside the frame of reference that the witch hunts created.”

I call this work revelationary because its revelations could be the seeds of desperately needed revolutions in our thoughts and actions, individually and as a society. We must question where our interpretation of stories and events and traditions hails in order to move forward in wisdom and truth.

Good.

Really good book - but difficult as an audiobook. I wanted to make notes and reference other writings which is difficult if you listen while driving, etc.

An important and fundamental read

Just the book we’ve needed in 2022. Artfully and concisely summarizing all that attributes to being a woman in total control of herself, aka w.i.t.c.h.

Excellent book

This should be required reading in school! I loved it and will reread it over and over!

Intriguing and powerful

It blew my mind in a lot of ways.
A remarkable collection of information and stories.

200 yrs = difference betw existing or burning!

Enjoyed this book so much. Chapter 2, Wanting Sterility especially spoke to me as I am child-free by choice and for all the reasons explored in the chapter - somehow having understood this in my teens 40 years ago - before it being so widely discussed now. That chapter so cleanly summarized the vague, unformulated ideas I had as a 15 year old who hated babysitting; and trying, but failing to explain to people why I was in my 30's and had no kids. Not having an adequate response to the people who called me Selfish. In my 40's and 50's it's now a happy toned "nope!" to those who ask if I have kids. That chapter validated my intuitive knowledge about my life and choices deeply. Had I been born in 1868, instead of 1968, I wouldn't be here to write this review!

The other chapters also cleanly summarized the struggle to be an independent, strong, complete person as a female and the forces against us. There are a lot of facts/figures/studies mentioned in the book for further research, but it's written well so it doesn't get boring - lots of various insight from many researchers add to the whole story.

A Bit Academic

Never having read anything by this author, I didn't really know what to expect. I agreed with the points she made and believe she did an excellent job expressing her thoughts and supporting her I opinions. At times, it went on a bit too long with quotes and felt more like a textbook or a thesis.

The woman who read the translation was very good.

relatable and well told

Overall this was an amazingly written and narrated book. Ir certainly shows both how far and how little we have come from women being on trial. I have recommended this book to many and everytime they say they've enjoyed it and also recommended it to others.