Abstract
This chapter examines the ubiquity of the witch in contemporary Western culture and considers the ongoing correlations between feminist rhetoric and activism and the witch. Tracing the witch’s association with various ideological, political, and rhetorical strategies and traditions, but most prominently with feminist politics, this chapter contextualizes the witch’s cultural and ideological meanings. Outlining the association between the witch and different (often contradictory) feminisms, this chapter considers how the symbol contains such political paradox and what this indicates about feminist memory and culture. Finally, this chapter interrogates what makes the witch such a useful and prominent symbol and considers why the witch repeatedly emerges in moments of crisis.
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Kosmina, B. (2023). Witch: A Feminist Memory. In: Feminist Afterlives of the Witch. Palgrave Studies in (Re)Presenting Gender. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25292-1_1
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