Research - Witches in the literature and on the screen

Witches are always presented differently, some of them might be good - help characters make their dream true like it was in Cinderella case. Some of them might be evil - kill someone or put a course on people like it was in a Sleeping Beauty or Snow White case. There are lots of witches who do harm and these who help people who this help need.

Today I want to explore the world of various witches these bad and these good based on fairytales, cartoons and legends.

The different text explores the magic in a different way in The Odyssey, for example, were presented daughter of the Hekate - mother of the magic also known as Mother of All, Goodness of the Witches or Mother of the Witches. A spiritual leader that lights our paths even if we are unaware of them. Her power is unlimited she may   Her mother was the Stairs (Asteria - titania, the Godness of the Stairs) and her father was The Darkness (Perses is a titan - God of Destruction and Peace). 

Hekate, Hellenistic, Vatican  

Godness worshipped by Greeks, she was presented as a three-headed woman holding a key that is the epitome of light, magic, witchcraft (witchcraft was called as medicine as Hekate was Mother of All that gives healing, so it can be called that society saw witchcraft as a medicine), knowledge of the herbs, ghost and necromancy. Her daughter - Circe was known for her knowledge of potions and herbs. She lived in seclusion on the island (because she killed her husband - the prince of Colchis) 

Waterhouse (1891) Circe offering a cup to Ulysses

Romney (1782) Emma Hamilton as Circe

She was presented in The Odyssey when she enchanted Odysseus and his men with her beauty and food. She transforms them into the pigs (except Odysseus, because she falls in love with him and wants to stay together with him on the island) saying that they now resemble the outside how they did on the inside. 

A similar image was used in different ways in various stories and movies such as Harry Potter - when Harry's cousin Dudley Dursley was added pig's tail 

Dudley Dursley with piggy tail

Image turning people into pigs is also included in Spirited Away studio's Ghibli where Chichiro parent's suffered exactly that fate.

Ghibli, (2001) cadre from Spirited Away 

These combinations of mother and daughter were seen by the ancients people as one source of good in daily life and the other evil as keeping soldiers from returning home. Two sides of the same coins are magical and were used by people to suits their own personal needs.

Esmeralda from Victor Hugo's book (1831) The hunchback of Notre Dame - which has lots of film adaptation, she represents by herself everything that was a description of a witch. 

Disney (1996) The hunchback of Notre Dame - Esmeralda

But she compared to others was not afraid of being noticed and do not live edge of the town but in the very centre where she earns money, thank's to dance and fortune-telling. Gyptians were described as witches so without any proof and not knowing even their names were sentenced to death. The amount of death was that big that they did not even keep records for it. 

Disney (1996) The hunchback of Notre Dame - Claude Frollo

Claude Frollo- archdeacon of the Notre Dame along with the obsession of Esmeralda can be described as the Church trying to control women as much as possible during the "witch purges". We clearly can see that he loved her but once she "temps his vow of celibacy" he started to see her not as a person but as a demon. Claude kidnapped her and kissed her while she was unconscious, he even tried to rape her. Frollo said that "she will be his or she will burn". 

The most common description of the witches in movies and fairytales are hunchback old ladies with warty noses like it was in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Hanzel and Gretel. Evil Queen that was jealous of her stepdaughter beauty (The queen was not the prettiest in the world) decided to hire a hunter to kill her and bring her heart to the queen that she might eat it for becoming young and pretty again. When she finds out that he did not do the job she decided to kill Snow White by herself dressing as an old woman. 

Disney (1937) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

As for the witch from Hanzel and Gretel, the witch lives deep in the forest in a gingerbread house for encouraging visitors to eat and come inside the house.

Hanzel and Gretel

 I am not sure why she eats children, it is not described in the movie and neither in the book, maybe it is just her normal dinner - the tastiest or it may be that she eats them for young appearance and more powerful magic like it was a belief from Middle Ages.

Based on this research I am going to create my own images of the witches for my Set Project.

References:

Zane Whitener (2019) Witches in the literature/ history of the witches part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9gPaZYgL-U [01.05.2021]

greekmythology (2021) Asteria (Online) https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Asteria/asteria.html [07.05.2021] 

greekmythology (2021) Perses (Online) https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Perses/perses.html  [07.05.2021] 

Cyndi Brannen (2018)  Hekate; Goddess of Witches, Dark Mother and Keeper of the Keys (Online) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/keepingherkeys/2018/02/a-witchs-understanding-of-hekate/ [07.05.2021] 

Coven of the Goddess (2016) Goddess Circe (Online) https://www.covenofthegoddess.com/goddess-circe/ [07.05.2021] 

Hekate, Hellenistic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecate#/media/File:Hecate_Chiaramonti_Inv1922.jpg Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican  [07.05.2021] 

John William Waterhouse (1891) Circe offering a cup to Ulysses oil on canvas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe_Offering_the_Cup_to_Ulysses#/media/File:Circe_Offering_the_Cup_to_Odysseus.jpg Gallery Oldham, Oldham  [07.05.2021] 

Sparknotes (-) The Odyssey Book 10-11 (Online) https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/section6/ [07.05.2021] 

George Romney (1782) Emma Hamilton as Circe, oil on canvas https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/George_Romney_-_Lady_Hamilton_as_Circe.jpg illustrated lots of books such as Wuthering Heights [07.05.2021] 

Ghibli (2001) Spirited Away https://www.boredpanda.com/spirited-away-chihiro-parents-become-pigs-meaning-studio-ghibli-hayao-miyazaki/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic  [07.05.2021] 

Disney (1996) The hunchback of Notre Dame https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/b/be/Esmeralda-%28The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame%29-1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160404155510 [09.05.2021]

Disney (1937) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs https://www.sheologians.com/feminism-poison-volume-2-diapers-dust/ [09.05.2021]

Grimm (1812) Hanzel and Gretel  https://www.bitgab.com/exercise/hansel-and-gretel [09.05.2021]