Societal Fears of Female Sexuality in Witchcraft

Abstract

In 1663, in Brunswick, Germany, Tempel Anneke was tried, found guilty of witchcraft, and sentenced to death. This project, supported by a literature review, theorizes that the trial and execution were the result of a 17th century fear of uncontrolled female sexuality and the inversion of prescribed societal norms. Witches represented a fear of female sexuality and the power of female sexuality threatened the basic social order. Tempel Anneke was labelled a witch because she was single (widowed) and did not adhere to the archetype of a mother. Her sexuality threatened existing gender norms and German societal norms