Even in the heretical divisions of the demon loving women
across Europe, there still was a further divide in how demons viewed classes and
beauty. It was not enough to give your
heart and soul to the Devil, but to be further judged in how much you as a
woman brought to the table in looks and loot was a factor revealed under interrogation. The humiliation and how far it went under the
circumstances of feast and sexual debauchery was dependent on demon’s favor based
on the aforementioned. As Roper
describes regarding women and their confessions of roles within the evil
banquets, there was an obvious disparity in old and young hearts sought out by
the demons. While the young beauties are
sought from all classes, the less affluent or older women suffered sideline
rejection and even more humiliating acts that substantiated their cast within
the feast, “…forced to act as human candle holders, lighting the dancing of the
younger with a candle stuck in their anus” (Roper 122). While this is a graphic representation of
anal rape and humiliation, the cultural parody is derived from German custom in
which young women coming of age place a lit pot outside their door as a signal
of sexual maturation (Roper 123).
Using the brief example above, how much of women’s
confessions were maybe a conduit for grievances by way of fantasy/parody of
cultural customs/age discrimination/societal cast.
Roper, Lyndal. Witch Craze. Yale University Press, 2004. Print
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