Witch-Hunt: The Assignment of Blame

There has always been the counterpoint of Fear that plays against religion’s visions of peace, morality, and a glorious hereafter. Wilcox concentrates on that Fear and it is a wise choice, as it gets the reader past the Puritans’ black-and-white costuming and all those scenes of pacified banquet-sharing replayed each Thanksgiving. Of course, the irony (one would call it a superb irony, were superb in any way applicable to this monstrous behavior) is that the Puritans having set sail from England in order to avoid prejudice and repression in the Old Country proceeded to do the exact same thing in the New World. The only difference is that they circled ranks and fired inwards.

The cycle of attack, followed by fearful cooperation that was at the heart of Miller’s play, is also here. An example: ‘Tituba admitted to being a witch and begged for the congregations’ forgiveness. She then, in turn, accused two other community members of witchcraft.’ The trail of mental and physical torture leading to victim acquiescence did not begin with the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s; not with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. The line that leads to waterboarding starts in February in the Salem colony in present-day Massachusetts.