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Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'
In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton
1 review
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I have had this book on my physical TBR for years, and I finally made the time to read it.
“In the Devil’s Snare” outlines the timeline for the Salem witch trials. The author is thorough in recounting every instance that someone was accused of being a witch, and the outcome of their subsequent trial. The author also does a great job of citing some historical events that were occurring in Salem during this same time period, and may have contributed to the overwhelming accusations of witchcraft.
I picked this book up when I first visited Salem, Massachusetts years ago. I have always found the history of Salem to be so interesting, and I think it is a great study into human nature and behavior. I think humans are very easily persuaded to believe something, especially once an idea has been planted into their head.
It is easy for us to look back now at these events, and judge them as entirely ludicrous, but situations like this happen all the time, and if we are honest with ourselves, we can see similar behaviors being exhibited, even presently. People tend to be easily persuaded to see what they want to see, and when someone is different from them , it is easier to cast judgment and try to put them into a box. The events of the Salem witch trials may have occurred over 300 years ago, but the lessons we can take away from this event are still very pertinent today.
I really appreciated and enjoyed how thorough the author was in her research. She outlined the entire timeline of the Salem witch trials, and we really got to see as the reader how these events unfolded. The author took care to highlight every name of every citizen that was accused, and tell their story. Some thing that I thought was rather interesting, was how the accusations came about and how people handled the accusations. This entire witchhunt began because there were people experiencing “fits“ and nobody could understand what was happening or why. Human beings crave understanding, and they just want to know what is going on. I think this idea of witches was an easy way for people to explain strange behaviors.
If you have any interest in the Salem witch trials, I think this novel is a great resource that can highlight everything you need to know about the history of Salem in 1692.
“In the Devil’s Snare” outlines the timeline for the Salem witch trials. The author is thorough in recounting every instance that someone was accused of being a witch, and the outcome of their subsequent trial. The author also does a great job of citing some historical events that were occurring in Salem during this same time period, and may have contributed to the overwhelming accusations of witchcraft.
I picked this book up when I first visited Salem, Massachusetts years ago. I have always found the history of Salem to be so interesting, and I think it is a great study into human nature and behavior. I think humans are very easily persuaded to believe something, especially once an idea has been planted into their head.
It is easy for us to look back now at these events, and judge them as entirely ludicrous, but situations like this happen all the time, and if we are honest with ourselves, we can see similar behaviors being exhibited, even presently. People tend to be easily persuaded to see what they want to see, and when someone is different from them , it is easier to cast judgment and try to put them into a box. The events of the Salem witch trials may have occurred over 300 years ago, but the lessons we can take away from this event are still very pertinent today.
I really appreciated and enjoyed how thorough the author was in her research. She outlined the entire timeline of the Salem witch trials, and we really got to see as the reader how these events unfolded. The author took care to highlight every name of every citizen that was accused, and tell their story. Some thing that I thought was rather interesting, was how the accusations came about and how people handled the accusations. This entire witchhunt began because there were people experiencing “fits“ and nobody could understand what was happening or why. Human beings crave understanding, and they just want to know what is going on. I think this idea of witches was an easy way for people to explain strange behaviors.
If you have any interest in the Salem witch trials, I think this novel is a great resource that can highlight everything you need to know about the history of Salem in 1692.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship