The First Witch of Boston

by Andrea Catalano

The men in power could not abide by a woman speaking her mind and gaining the admiration of others. And so she had been charged with blasphemy and banished to the wilds. Thomas thought to himself that the sentence handed down by these men spoke volumes of how precarious their control of this little City Upon a Hill might be, that they so feared the words of one woman.

When a woman caused too much trouble or spoke too plainly, it seemed, there were those who would take umbrage and use piety as excuse and reason to take her in hand.

I grow weary of everything being so pious, everything reverting back to God. I am as God-fearing as most men, but when I take a piss I don’t thank God for it. Enough is enough, do you not agree?”

Seems that when a woman has too much knowledge or skill, or speaks her mind freely, these Puritans take great offense.”

Men are governed by their whims and passions far more than us women, yet they ascribe such traits to us. It is the purest form of hypocrisy there is. It has existed since the dawn of our time. Think of Adam and Eve. Oh aye, the Devil tempted Eve with knowledge, and she thought to better herself. And so she took the bait, and then Adam grew curious and envious and wanted a piece of it all. Just like a selfish child. But go ahead and tell me again how man is governed by his mind and woman by her heart. They have lied to us from the beginning.

“When a man watches his brethren be slaughtered by his fellow countrymen, it changes the way a man sees his country.”