Rebecca Hutchinson

Professor Barbour

ENGL 226

April 25, 2020

Witch or Woman?: How Societal Abuse Turned The Witch of Edmonton Into a Witch

During the 16th and 17th century, the condemnation of witchcraft was a common

occurrence. While leaders imposed capital punishments for those that were found to be witches,

playwrights included them in their work, writing about their spells, spirits, and executions. The

Witch of Edmonton1 written by John Ford, William Rowley and Thomas Dekker in 1621 not only

offers a domestic tragedy, but the tragedy of a woman accused of witchcraft as well. The play

shows the journey of Mother Sawyer turning to witchcraft to get revenge on Old Banks, and ends

in her death, but the way Mother Sawyer is presented as a witch is not that simple. The Witch of

Edmonton sheds light on the fear surrounding witches while also showing how one group of

people is more commonly accused of witchcraft. While Mother Sawyer fits some of the

characteristics people believed witches had, she also seems to be forced into taking on the label

in order to escape the horrible abuse she was experiencing as an older woman.

Before understanding how Mother Sawyer was affected by the label of “witch”, it is

important to note the commonly understood characteristics of witches. Witches were usually

described as old, barren, and likely widowed women. The older women often lived by

themselves, and like Mother Sawyer, were usually poor. All of these things made older women

the easiest target for accusations of witchcraft. However, many believed that no matter their age,

1
All quotations of The Witch of Edmonton refer to Ford, John, et al. The Witch of Edmonton. United
Kingdom, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
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witches were commonly female. In King James’s Daemonologie he says, “What can be the cause

that there are twentie women giuen to that craft, where ther is one man?... The reson is easie, for

as that sexe is frailer then man is, so is it easier to be intrapped in these grosse snares of the

Deuill” (James I 43). Women who were wronged or often abused were considered more likely to

be witches, as revenge was considered one of the most common reasons for working with the

Devil.

King James I was a large proponent for the existence of witches and magic. He believed

“their whole practices are either to hurte men and their gudes, or what they possesse” (James I

35). He thought that witches would be granted power from the Devil in order to exact their

revenge on men, which could come in the form of death, plague, or madness. These claims were

extremely popular, and many did believe that witches who could cause such disasters that were

present at the time. While much of the popular opinion did lean towards the belief in witches,

Reginald Scot provided a differing opinion. Scot thought that witches were not magical beings at

all, and that the belief in witches was actually anti-Christian. In Scot’s The Discoverie of

Witchcraft, he points out the use of witches for scapegoats. He wrote, “for if any adversitie,

greefe, sickness, losse of children, corne, cattell, or libertie happen unto them [men]; by & by

they exclaime upon witches” (Scot 1). His thoughts on witches take on not only the logistics and

lack of evidence of witchcraft, but also the accusers’ frequency to name older women as witches.

Scot believed that witchcraft was more of an illusion, or a “cousening art” (Scot 274).

According to Scot, those “vulgar people” who believed in witchcraft as a means to get revenge

thought it was “a supernatturall work, contrived between a corporall old woman and a spiritual

divell” (Scot 274). But one important argument that Scot makes it that no one had witnessed the

actual performance of witchcraft, so it could not be real. While Scot’s claims on how witchcraft
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is more of an illusion than a reality lend an important counterargument to those in the majority

during the time, the most intriguing statement he makes about witchcraft is that it is used to

abuse people, specifically older women. He states, “the words, characters, images, and such

other trinkets, which are thought so necessarie instruments for witchcraft (as without which no

such thing can be accomplished) are but bables, devised by couseners, to abuse the people

withal” (Scot 274). Scot’s idea that witches are but people who have been abused and

scapegoated for the wrongs of nature or other humans provide an important background for the

development of Mother Sawyer throughout The Witch of Edmonton. By taking Scot’s opinions

into account, we can see that Mother Sawyer’s turn to revenge, and therefore witchcraft, is more

of a product of society’s abuse on older women than actual witchcraft.

When we first meet Mother Sawyer in Act 2 Scene 1, she is gathering sticks in the fields

outside of Edmonton. She matches the common image of witches at the time, as she is poor and

living on the outskirts of Edmonton away from society. While she is collecting the sticks, she

questions why the people of Edmonton hate her, and why they believe she is a witch:

And why on me? why should the envious world

Throw all their scandalous malice upon me?

'Cause I am poor, deformed, and ignorant,

And like a bow buckled and bent together

By some more strong in mischiefs than myself,

Must I for that be made a common sink

For all the filth and rubbish of men's tongues

To fall and run into? Some call me witch,

And being ignorant of myself, they go

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About to teach me how to be one; urging

(The Witch of Edmonton 2.1 1-10).

Mother Sawyer speaks of how the world, specifically the citizens of Edmonton, places all of the

blame on her because of her looks and lifestyle. She points out how that these people do not

know her, yet they call her a witch and claim she is the reason their livestock and crops are

“bewitched”. Her argument is that because of the accusations that people make against her, they

teach her how to be a witch. As King James I believed, witches often used their connection with

the Devil to get revenge on those who wronged or abused them, and Mother Sawyer lists out

those abuses in her opening speech before she ever decides to get revenge. This soliloquy forces

the reader to consider that Mother Sawyer may not actually be the witch everyone accuses her of

being in the beginning of the play.

After Mother Sawyer is beaten by Old Banks, she continues to question where the

evidence that she is a witch comes from. She exclaims, “Abuse me! Beat me! Call me a hag and

witch! / What is the name, where and by what art learned, / What spells, what charms, or

invocations,” (The Witch of Edmonton 2.1 30-33). Mother Sawyer does not know anything about

witchcraft, she does not have the knowledge of the spells or rituals that witches were assumed to

have. She continues to mention the abuse that she receives, which sets up her turn to revenge and

witchcraft. These moments where Mother Sayer questions her abuse and the accusations from

society do fit the idea that witches want revenge, however, they do not discount the unjust

suffering that Mother Sawyer endures. Although she ends up creating pain and destruction in the

later parts of the play, these first lines from her show that she was pushed into this decision by

society and the horrible physical abuse she experienced from those who did not even know her.
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Eventually, Mother Sawyer becomes tired of people calling her a witch and calls upon a

power to help her get revenge. She calls out to “some power, good or bad” and says she will,

“study curses, imprecations, / Blasphemous speeches, oaths, detested oaths, / Or anything that’s

ill: so I might work / Revenge upon this miser, this black cur,” (The Witch of Edmonton 2.1 112-

15). It seems that Mother Sawyer has moved on to accept the role of a witch, but it is important

to note that she calls out for any kind of power, not specifically an evil one, to help her. She goes

on to say that she will learn the curses of a witch if that is what it takes to get her revenge, but

she is not directly invoking the Devil. This shows that even while she is looking for some higher

power’s help to get revenge, she is still not directly using the Devil or demonic spirits to help

her, which provides more evidence that Mother Sawyer was not a witch in the beginning.

Once the Dog, whom she names Tom, appears and says he will help Mother Sawyer get

revenge on Old Banks, she starts to show more signs of being a “witch”. She gives a blood oath

to Tom and asks him to kill Old Banks, however he tells her that he cannot kill him outright, so

she settles for having Tom destroy his crops. The dog then teaches her a spell to repeat that will

kill his crops:

DOG. I'll tell thee: when thou wishest ill,

Corn, man, or beast wouldst spoil or kill,

Turn thy back against the sun,

And mumble this short orison:

"If thou to death or shame pursue 'em,

Sanctibicetur nomen tuum."

M. SAWYER. "If thou to death or shame pursue 'em,

Sanctibicetur nomen tuum." (The Witch of Edmonton 2.1 171-79).

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Tom not only uses Latin in the spell, which was thought to be used in witch’s spell work and the

invocation of the Devil, but he also speaks in rhyming verse. This rhyme scheme lends a very

ritualistic tone to the passage, which creates even more evidence for Mother Sawyer’s transition

into witchcraft and working with Tom. Once Tom leaves, Cuddy Banks approaches Mother

Sawyer and she curses him, but her attempt to drown him ultimately fails. However, Old Banks

claims Mother Sawyer is at fault when his horse becomes ill, so one curse she has uttered has

done its job.

In Act 4 Scene 1 Old Banks convinces other countrymen in Edmonton that Mother

Sawyer is responsible for the problems happening in the community. One countryman says, “Our

cattle fall, our wives fall, our daughters fall, and maid-servants fall; and we ourselves shall not be

able to stand, if this beast be suffered to graze amongst us.” (The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 10-12).

The men decide that Mother Sawyer must be executed, as she is most certainly a witch. Old

Banks thinks they should set her house on fire to see if she comes running out, as this is a sign of

being a witch. However, the Justice puts a stop to the accusations and even criticizes Old Banks

for starting the “mischief”, “Alas, neighbour Banks, are you a ringleader in mischief? Fie! To

abuse an aged woman.” (The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 33-34). The Justice seems to be a voice of

reason, as he wants to speak to Mother Sawyer before any solid accusations are made. He even

calls the countrymen fools for creating such a disturbance without any evidence, “firing her

thatch? Ridiculous! / Take heed sirs, what you do. / Unless your proofs come better armed, /

Instead of turning her into a witch, / You’ll prove stark fools.” (The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 40-

44). The Justice seems to believe the notion that society is falsely claiming these older women to

be witches just to have someone to blame. He wants evidence that she is a witch, which will only

come from questioning her and not making assumptions just based on her appearance.
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The Justice asks Mother Sawyer directly if she is a witch, and at first she angrily denies

it, but then changes her tone when she explains why she is not, “I’m none. / Or would I were! If

every poor old woman / Be trod on thus by slaves, reviled, kicked, beaten, / As I am daily, she to

be revenged / Had need turn witch” (The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 81-85). She speaks of how old

women have no other choice when seeking revenge but to ask for help from the Devil, even if

that is not what they want. The Justice and Sir Arthur start to believe that she is a witch, and she

counters with the idea that there are people who do much worse than she has, yet they are not

called witches in the eye of the law. She says:

Why, then, on me,

Or any lean old beldam? Reverence once

Had wont to wait on age; now an old woman,

Ill-favoured grown with years, if she be poor,

Must be called bawd or witch. Such so abused

Are the coarse witches; t'other are the fine,

Spun for the devil's own wearing. (The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 128-134).

Mother Sawyer’s argument that there are people who commit evil acts akin to those of witches

are not tried as witches shows how society uses these older women just because of their status.

She mentions how these older women are abused and called witches just because of the way they

look or how they live.

The people that commit these crimes of witchcraft but are not older women are

considered fine to society and not blamed. She even points to Sir Arthur for committing lechery

and not being punished as a “man-witch.” She looks at Sir Arthur as she says, “Dare any swear I

tempted a maiden / With golden hooks flung at her chastity, / To come and lose her honour?”
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(The Witch of Edmonton 4.1 148-150). Sir Arthur immediately says he knows she is a witch, and

the conference is over. The argument that Mother Sawyer makes about men being able to

commit such acts of deceit and sin without punishment once more shows the overall

misogynistic undertone of these accusations of witchcraft. Although Mother Sawyer has been

working with Tom, it is hard not to justify her actions as she provides strong evidence that the

society she lives in has pushed her into evil just because she is an older woman.

After Mother Sawyer tells Tom to touch Anne Ratcliffe, causing her to go mad and beat

her brains in, the countrymen decide that it is time to take Mother Sawyer in, as they are certain

that she is the cause of Anne’s death. When they try to take Tom as well, Cuddy Banks argues

that he is just a dog and saves him from being executed. This seems unfair to Mother Sawyer, as

Tom is the one who actually carried out all of the evil acts, but because of Cuddy Banks he is

spared. At the beginning of Act 5 Scene 1, Mother Sawyer sits in her cottage wondering where

Tom is so that he may return and help her out of the execution. She says, “Still wronged by every

slave? / And not a dog Bark in his dame’s defence? I am called witch, / Yet am myself bewitched

from doing harm.” (The Witch of Edmonton 5.1 1-3). Mother Sawyer says herself that she cannot

do any harm without the help of Tom, meaning that she is not even a witch without him. This

once again shows how Mother Sawyer was most likely a normal woman before Tom came to

her, and not the witch everyone claimed she was. While working with the Devil was considered

witchcraft, which Mother Sawyer technically did, the play makes it hard not to sympathize with

Mother Sawyer.

Mother Sawyer’s final lines come as she is being dragged away to her execution. She

denies having a hand in the murder of Susan, saying that there are likely others who use the

Devil to do as they wish, hinting at Frank. Old Carter tells her that she should confess her sins,
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but she tells him she will not do it again, rather she would say her prayers, “Have I scarce breath

enough to say my prayers? / And would you force me to spend that in bawling? / Bear witness, I

repent all former evil; / There is no damned conjuror like the Devil.” (The Witch of Edmonton

5.3 48-51). Mother Sawyer repents the evil she has caused, but her cries are not heard by the

crowd and she is lead away to the execution. This contrasts with Frank’s final words, which

seem to be more accepted by the people, even though there was solid evidence that he actually

murdered his second wife. The different reactions of the show how society viewed witches and

older women. Even though there was no definitive evidence of Mother Sawyer’s crimes, they

still hated her more than the man who killed his own wife.

Mother Sawyer’s journey throughout The Witch of Edmonton is a tragic story that

represented the reality of many women in the 16th and 17th centuries. The accusation and

execution of women for witchcraft was widespread, and witch-mongering was a common

occurrence. Although Mother Sawyer sought revenge, and even death on Old Banks, it is

difficult to not consider the societal fear that caused many older women to feel so ostracized

from society that they turned to evil. While The Witch of Edmonton may end without the

presence of a witch, it certainly does not conclude without the presence of evil.
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Works Cited

Ford, John, et al. The Witch of Edmonton. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

James I, King of England,. Daemonologie in Forme of a Dialogue, Diuided into Three Bookes

1566-1625.,. Edinburgh, Printed by Robert Walde-graue printer to the Kings Majestie,

1597. ProQuest, http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/docview/2240857109?accountid=14244.

Scot, Reginald. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. United States, Dover Publications, 1989.