Entre castelos e fogueiras: uma análise histórica das representações das bruxas no conto maravilhoso

Abstract

The witch is a controversial character in the social imagery. Source of mystery, arousing curiosity and fear, these women are present in books of history and stories. This work aims to investigate the way in which these women had being represented in the classic fairy tales published between 17th and 19th centuries, besides make comments about the transformations of the witch representation in the current days. The period of witch-hunt was crucial for the decrease of the social status of women, from which strengthened the dichotomous perspective of understanding the female archetype, in this work represented for the opposite pair "witches and princesses". It is remarkable that the witch-hunt promoted the persecution, torture and execution of thousands of women, in addition to spread the panic through a defamatory campaign against that part of the population, which stimulated suspicion and split the subordinate class. It was important to bring to this work other literary forms which have influenced fairy tales in its form and content, and its oral tradition, before they were published by intellectuals as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. Along these lines will be investigated the compilation process of the tales, putting in perspective the political, social, historical and cultural factors which culminate in these stories as well as the way, whereby, such publications endorsed the conception of ideal woman. The analysis is aligned with the historical materialism, departing from concrete reality to understand the ways that the witch can be represented. The present work follows this way that will end with the discussion about how the witch hunt have affected the representation of these women in the fairy tales.