American Horror Story: U.S. Gothic Cultures, 1619 to Tomorrow
Choose a monster from the list below and write an essay that situates it within
American culture via a particular theoretical perspective (ie. Marxist, Feminist,
Ecocritical, Psychoanalytical):
the witch
To what extent is the witch a feminist figure in The Witch (2015)?
Robert Eggers’ folk-horror film The Witch (2015) narrativizes a 17th century puritan family’s
increasing suspicion that the eldest daughter, Thomasin, is a witch. The repressive, puritan
lifestyle of the family begins to fall apart at the same time as Thomasin’s sexual maturation.
Through this, the film explores how Thomasin’s body is policed and controlled via a
patriarchal order, resulting in her growing estrangement from the family. Eggers uses the
image of the woods as a space of escape for Thomasin, a space in which the ‘real’ witch
dwells. While The Witch complicates the idea of a wholly liberated feminist figure due to the
devil’s looming influence, Thomasin nonetheless becomes a symbol of feminist resistance
against her family’s oppressive rule. The film’s ending sees Thomasin signing the devil’s
book and joining a coven of witches in the woods, chanting incantations around a fire before
levitating euphorically. Through this alignment of female power with nature, and the
connection to Thomasin’s sexual awakening, this ending ostensibly suggests a female
empowerment in becoming the witch. The corruption of a religious patriarchy following
Thomasin’s subversive acts imply how the film presents a figure who, though enmeshed in
ambiguity, asserts her identity against the oppressive forces that seek to suppress it.
In the beginning of the film, William, head of the exiled puritan family, gazes proudly
towards their new home, arms outspread in a biblical manner before joining hands with his
wife, Katherine (4:14). The camera then cuts to the woods ominously staring back at them,
1
, the camera subtly rising above the family, drawing closer to the mysterious treeline (4:27).
This shot emphasises the family’s vulnerability to their new environment, the eerie choir of
women’s voices echoing over the scene imbuing the woods with a distinctively feminine
quality or power. This feminine power that lies within the woods is manifested in the form of
the witch that steals and kills the family’s baby, Samuel. As this happens under elder
daughter Thomasin’s watch, the family are quick to blame her for the tragedy, one of the
many times Thomasin is victim to scapegoating. For example, Katherine reprimands
Thomasin for not keeping watch of her siblings, Jonas and Mercy, angrily saying, “What is
the matter with thee?” before instructing her to “Take thy father’s rags to the brook and wash
them” (20:39-20:43). This exemplifies one way in which Thomasin is demanded (by her
stoutly puritan mother) to display typical feminine traits of submission, such as the domestic
act of washing clothes, notably her father’s. Moments before this, Thomasin is shown gazing
at the woods, somewhat entranced and mystified (19:34). This seemingly depicts her growing
interest in the woods, a stark contrast to the rest of her family who draw in on themselves,
viewing the woods as dangerous and evil after Samuel’s disappearance. Perhaps
unexpectedly, it is Thomasin’s mother who is the driving force behind her oppressive
servitude rather than her father. It is quickly established that Katherine harbours a deep
suspicion, even strong dislike, for Thomasin after Samuel goes missing under her care. This
aggrieved and disdainful behaviour emanated by Katherine towards Thomasin leads to her
estrangement from the family, and her closer entanglement with the woods. In this sense,
Thomasin’s quietly contemplative nature when glancing towards the woodland landscape
contrasts her duty-bound, argumentative life on the farm. Thus, the femininization of the
woods suggests Thomasin’s subconscious urge to be free of a patriarchal construct and
awaken the dormant desires she has been forced to repress. The family’s demonization of the
2
Choose a monster from the list below and write an essay that situates it within
American culture via a particular theoretical perspective (ie. Marxist, Feminist,
Ecocritical, Psychoanalytical):
the witch
To what extent is the witch a feminist figure in The Witch (2015)?
Robert Eggers’ folk-horror film The Witch (2015) narrativizes a 17th century puritan family’s
increasing suspicion that the eldest daughter, Thomasin, is a witch. The repressive, puritan
lifestyle of the family begins to fall apart at the same time as Thomasin’s sexual maturation.
Through this, the film explores how Thomasin’s body is policed and controlled via a
patriarchal order, resulting in her growing estrangement from the family. Eggers uses the
image of the woods as a space of escape for Thomasin, a space in which the ‘real’ witch
dwells. While The Witch complicates the idea of a wholly liberated feminist figure due to the
devil’s looming influence, Thomasin nonetheless becomes a symbol of feminist resistance
against her family’s oppressive rule. The film’s ending sees Thomasin signing the devil’s
book and joining a coven of witches in the woods, chanting incantations around a fire before
levitating euphorically. Through this alignment of female power with nature, and the
connection to Thomasin’s sexual awakening, this ending ostensibly suggests a female
empowerment in becoming the witch. The corruption of a religious patriarchy following
Thomasin’s subversive acts imply how the film presents a figure who, though enmeshed in
ambiguity, asserts her identity against the oppressive forces that seek to suppress it.
In the beginning of the film, William, head of the exiled puritan family, gazes proudly
towards their new home, arms outspread in a biblical manner before joining hands with his
wife, Katherine (4:14). The camera then cuts to the woods ominously staring back at them,
1
, the camera subtly rising above the family, drawing closer to the mysterious treeline (4:27).
This shot emphasises the family’s vulnerability to their new environment, the eerie choir of
women’s voices echoing over the scene imbuing the woods with a distinctively feminine
quality or power. This feminine power that lies within the woods is manifested in the form of
the witch that steals and kills the family’s baby, Samuel. As this happens under elder
daughter Thomasin’s watch, the family are quick to blame her for the tragedy, one of the
many times Thomasin is victim to scapegoating. For example, Katherine reprimands
Thomasin for not keeping watch of her siblings, Jonas and Mercy, angrily saying, “What is
the matter with thee?” before instructing her to “Take thy father’s rags to the brook and wash
them” (20:39-20:43). This exemplifies one way in which Thomasin is demanded (by her
stoutly puritan mother) to display typical feminine traits of submission, such as the domestic
act of washing clothes, notably her father’s. Moments before this, Thomasin is shown gazing
at the woods, somewhat entranced and mystified (19:34). This seemingly depicts her growing
interest in the woods, a stark contrast to the rest of her family who draw in on themselves,
viewing the woods as dangerous and evil after Samuel’s disappearance. Perhaps
unexpectedly, it is Thomasin’s mother who is the driving force behind her oppressive
servitude rather than her father. It is quickly established that Katherine harbours a deep
suspicion, even strong dislike, for Thomasin after Samuel goes missing under her care. This
aggrieved and disdainful behaviour emanated by Katherine towards Thomasin leads to her
estrangement from the family, and her closer entanglement with the woods. In this sense,
Thomasin’s quietly contemplative nature when glancing towards the woodland landscape
contrasts her duty-bound, argumentative life on the farm. Thus, the femininization of the
woods suggests Thomasin’s subconscious urge to be free of a patriarchal construct and
awaken the dormant desires she has been forced to repress. The family’s demonization of the
2
