Reviews for Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality, and Religion in Early Modern Europe

The average rating for Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality, and Religion in Early Modern Europe based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-04-20 00:00:00 Ann Smith A fascinating collection of essays; I must admit that I am intrigued by the argument that witchcraft accusations often stemmed not from misogyny and sexual antagonism but from anxieties surrounding maternity, motherhood, and fertility (i.e. a common pattern was the post-menopausal, infertile woman accused of threatening or harming an infant or its mother). I also appreciate the argument for a true history of the body rather than a history of bodily discourse, and paying attention to individual (or as close to the individual as we can get) interior worlds in studying historical phenomena. If you're just picking and choosing essays I'd recommend 'Will and honour: sex, words and power in Augsburg', 'Blood and codpieces: masculinity in the early modern German town', and 'Witchcraft and fantasy in early modern Germany', but this is certainly a well-organized and well-written volume that is equally interesting read as a start-to-finish book. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the study of early modern witchcraft, gender relations, identity construction, and how to employ a psychoanalytic perspective in a way that's useful in writing history.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-10-12 00:00:00 Yoichi Hosoi Well organized and written, delving into gender stereotypes and sexual mentality back in the early catholic/protestant era.