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Archive 08-19 GR Discussions
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The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane **POSSIBLE SPOILERS** For chicks that haven't finished the book.
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Thanks Monica! I'll be back with my answers, but I just want to say (repeat) that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!Katherine has been tweeting about it, calling it Physick Book while I've been calling it Deliverance Dane. PBDD sounds like a diagnosis of a disease or mental health condition LOL!!!
Jo wrote: "Thanks Monica! I'll be back with my answers, but I just want to say (repeat) that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!Katherine has been tweeting about it, calling it Physick Book while I've been calling..."
You're right! PBDD does sound like some kind of illness! LOL! I've found myself using just "Deliverance Dane" as well.
Wow, Brenda. I love your comment! I absolutely agree with you. The Salem witch trials and the idea of witchcraft has always fascinated me. The first book that really drew my attention to the witch trials was The Witch of Blackbird Pond.
Reading books about the witch trials does give you a sense of girl power! Free thinking or "cunning" women of the time were intelligent and strong women! Deliverance Dane is a perfect example of that!
Girl power, indeed! Don't forget that it was "girl power" that launched the whole tragedy of the Salem panic to begin with, when a small group of bored adolescent girls started hurling accusations around! And initially it wasn't the "wise" or "cunning" women in the community who were victimized, it was the powerLESS and outcast---a beggar, a non-church-attending widow, and a slave.Reading FICTION about the witch trials may give you a sense of girl power---but the truth of the matter was far different. Try The Devil in Massachusetts A Modern Inquiry into the Salem Witch Trials or Salem Possessed The Social Origins of Witchcraft
I have shelves for both Witch Trial fiction & nonfiction here on my GoodReads.I believe the panics here and in Europe were a result of fear, deeply rooted fear in the unknown and anything which wasn't easily explained or excused with religion, which then spiraled out of control and which some took advantage of & used to try & better their situations. Fear is a powerful force and from the reading I've done about this era, regardless of what academics like to call it, plain and simple it was fear.
This time period of history affects me deeply though I've yet to determine why. I've read both fictional & nonfiction accounts on different aspects of the time and regardles of genré, it pains me.
Also, just as a reminder, while only 1 man was executed in Salem (Giles Corey) for witchcraft and the majority of the accussed were women (in the New England area & in Europe) there were other men accused (and executed in Europe) for witchcraft.
I have shelves for both Witch Trial fiction & nonfiction here on my GoodReads.I believe the panics here and in Europe were a result of fear, deeply rooted fear in the unknown and anything which wasn't easily explained or excused with religion, which then spiraled out of control and which some took advantage of & used to try & better their situations. Fear is a powerful force and from the reading I've done about this era, regardless of what academics like to call it, plain and simple it was fear.
This time period of history affects me deeply though I've yet to determine why. I've read both fictional & nonfiction accounts on different aspects of the time and regardles of genré, it pains me.
Also, just as a reminder, while only 1 man was executed in Salem (Giles Corey) for witchcraft and the majority of the accussed were women (in the New England area & in Europe) there were other men accused (and executed in Europe) for witchcraft.
I have shelves for both Witch Trial fiction & nonfiction here on my GoodReads.I believe the panics here and in Europe were a result of fear, deeply rooted fear in the unknown and anything which wasn't easily explained or excused with religion, which then spiraled out of control and which some took advantage of & used to try & better their situations. Fear is a powerful force and from the reading I've done about this era, regardless of what academics like to call it, plain and simple it was fear.
This time period of history affects me deeply though I've yet to determine why. I've read both fictional & nonfiction accounts on different aspects of the time and regardles of genré, it pains me.
Also, just as a reminder, while only 1 man was executed in Salem (Giles Corey) for witchcraft and the majority of the accussed were women (in the New England area & in Europe) there were other men accused (and executed in Europe) for witchcraft.
Brenda---I apologize if I sounded like I was scolding you! Of course I realize that we are discussing a fictional account, here. I just find the whole topic so fascinating that I guess I got on my high horse a little. Sorry!I finished the book this morning with deep regret. It was an engrossing story. I especially enjoyed the "flashbacks" and I felt that the author did an excellent job of describing the conditions of the time---the fear, the helplessness, the resignation or defiance of the accused as they faced the scaffold....
Jo, isn't the account of Giles Corey heartrending? His last words were "More weight". I wonder if his persecutors felt ashamed and doubtful of their agenda in the face of his bravery.
Mary, I think such moving words may have cast doubt in the hearts of the townspeople, but not those rendering judgement on the innocents. Even though Judge Corwin wrote an apology some years later, I don't think he was actually sorry. They believed they were carrying out the Will of God and ridding their villages of evil.
Jo wrote: "I have shelves for both Witch Trial fiction & nonfiction here on my GoodReads.I believe the panics here and in Europe were a result of fear, deeply rooted fear in the unknown and anything which..."
Hi Jo!
It's easy to overlook the men that were executed during the Salem witch trials! We automatically assume that only women were accused!
Brenda wrote: "Jo wrote: "Mary, I think such moving words may have cast doubt in the hearts of the townspeople, but not those rendering judgement on the innocents. Even though Judge Corwin wrote an apology some ..."I think it was both Brenda! Their over-zealous religious beliefs along with their tremendous power trips!
From everything I've read, the girls did it to save their own hides! It seems as though Reverend Parris's daughter and her cousin were spending a lot of time with Tituba, one of 2 of the family slaves, looking to her for some affection and what not - he was a religious zealot, tyrant, uncaring and they were apparently very afraid of him. He didn't want them associating with Tituba in that manner, but the cousin was older and hadn't grown up in that kind of household and disregarded him. Tituba was also apparently fond of dawdling with the girls instead of doing her work.
Had the girls not told their friends in the village about what Tituba was 'teaching' them which today resembles fortune telling and perhaps even Voodoo (she was from Barbados), the entire panic may not have started! It was supposed to be a secret, but they shared their fun with friends, and so on.
Rather than admit that they had disobeyed their father/uncle, they accused Tituba of bewitching them and forcing them to do those things and it escalated from there. How it got so out of control is utterly beyond my comprehension!
This was a spur of the moment purchase for me at the end of June. I walked into Barnes & Noble and saw Physick Book sitting on a 40% off for Members table, glanced at the description on the jacket, read "Salem Witch Trials" and had to have it!I wasn't sure what to think when I first started reading, I found it a little slow at first but also interesting! All you have to go through and know to become a professor is mind boggling! I found the Salem Witch Trial facts in Connie's orals fascinating so I kept reading, wondering how the connection was going to come about. I'm so glad I kept going!
Overall I think people tend to be enthralled with horrific events in history, or otherwise, because of 'morbid curiosity' or in most cases we're so far removed from the events they have an 'unreal' quality, hard to believe, even the horrifying aspects are beyond our rational minds comprehension, which makes us try and want to understand. It's that need for understanding and our inability to gain it that keeps us coming back to certain subjects. Many times there's also a personal connection, things resonate with us for a known or unknown reason and so we keep coming back to them.
My 1st impression of Connie was that while she was brilliant, she wasn't comfortable in her own skin and that in her quest to be safe & predictable (because she felt her mother was anything but), she was denying parts of her true self. I thought there had to be a connection between her studies and that true self she didn't realize she had yet.
I immediately thought Manning Chilton was a creep of some kind and didn't trust him! I knew he was going to be "the bad guy" but hadn't figured out how just yet.
So...what other 'witch trials' books would you recommend for wider reading round this subject? - I'm intrigued by Tituba & the fortune telling/voodoo connection and wondered what sort of popular histories there were out there for someone who just wants an overview and not necessarily a large academic tome.Ally
I believe that there is a book about Tituba, I'll have to find that title. I'm sure Jo knows the title! :)
Lol! Well Monica, I don't know the title but there is a book (fiction based on fact) about Tituba - you can find it when you go to my GoodReads profile & look for my Salem Fiction book shelf. Overall it seems as though not much is really known about Tituba. Popular belief has her being from the Islands, like Barbados, but some say she was from the West Indies. Some say she was Indian (not Native American) and not Black.
There's lots of interesting info online but the book about her listed on my gr shelf sounds really interesting!
Anyone who hasn't checked the "special announcement" thread, please do so and leave a reply in that thread for me! Thanks!
Last day to post your Qs for Katherine (there's a thread for them)!
This was a very enjoyable read, and I really liked Howe's writing style. The family history mystery angle really drew me in. :)
Chicks On Lit
Books mentioned in this topic
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (other topics)Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft (other topics)
The Devil in Massachusetts (other topics)
I'm so excited to discuss this amazing book with all of you! I thought I would go ahead and get the ball rolling with an opening thread for those that haven't finshed the book. I will also begin a thread for those chicks that have already completed the book. I have found some pretty nifty discussion questions from the Barnes and Noble website. :)
I liked how Jo opened her discussion with an "initial thoughts" thread, so I thought I would do the same. :)
So, what were your initial thoughts when starting The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane?
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is the latest in a long line of books about witchcraft in Salem. Why do you think we're still entralled by this moment in history?
What are your first impressions of Connie Goodwin? What about Manning Chilton?
(Also, can anyone recommend an abbreviation for this book? LOL! "PBDD?" Does that work?)