Psychological Depictions of Witches

The gendering of male and female witches and wizards has been discussed in previous tours. As the physical depictions of wizards and witches have been discussed, the psychological depiction of how they are seen has been researched as well. It seems the differentiation between a witch and a wizard is not only based on gender but also on their depictions in the past, which can be dated back as far as the Greek and Roman times (Greek Legends and Myths, n.d.).

Depiction of Morgan le Fay
Note. Depiction of Morgan le Fay (Medieval
Chronicles, 2023)

A myth where a display of misogyny can be seen is in the Greco-Roman myth of Medea, where Medea falls in love with Jason and stands by his side through better or worse and in the end, he leaves her for a princess. Medea takes her revenge by poisoning Jason’s intended (Greek Legends and Myths, n.d.). Another depiction of such a tale is Morgan Le Fay or Morgana who has been portrayed as the antagonist who seeks to harm King Arthur and his knights (Medieval Chronicles, 2023). These characters have been written in a world dominated by men and where females are seen as the weaker sex. This vicious circle is no different than it was a thousand years ago or currently. These portray the wizard as being wise, powerful and good, while witches have been depicted as conflicted characters who seek to deceive or bewitch their counterparts such as males or children. In these stories, the witch her “conniving and treacherous” attributes are needed to gain the ultimate power and influence for their gain.

Note. Depiction of Medea and Jason (Greek Legends and Myths, n.d.)

Today we can still find these depictions in modern-day presentations such as The Wizard of Oz, Narnia, The Little Mermaid, Macbeth or Maleficent. If there are no more diverse opportunities being created for a positive depiction of witches without the misogynistic past, they have had and the stereotypes that have survived for centuries, then there is no hope that these negative depictions of witches will prevail for the next centuries. The effect of this is that this privilege that these male wizards have had and their accompanied depictions up until now will continue to persist for centuries onwards and therefore the stereotype set on how witches and wizards are seen will remain unchanged. 

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