A review by furbae
Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women by Silvia Federici

4.0

Perhaps I should have read Caliban and the Witch alongside this, which, I feel, would have given more depth to the arguments that Federici presents here. Don’t get me wrong — as a fan of Federici, I loved how she linked the vilification of (old) women to globalizing forces and how fear of women’s power and autonomy led to there alienation. Still, however, I would have liked if she had given more(?). Further, I would have also liked how she might have linked the arguments to contemporary examples witch hunts to give it a bit more salience. That said, I love the points that she did present and how throughout history, there just seems to be a thorough line of controlling women. Her last point about communalism touched on the idea about how cooperative societies might reduce incidences of witch-hunting in society, which was also great!

There’s a lot more to say but I’m on my phone so I can’t brain.

A side-note, the “we are the daughters of the witches,” etc etc just got really corny. I’m reading this in 2021 and it feels tired at this point.