Women and the Abuse of Power

Do witches and witchcraft represent our understanding of how women who threaten the patriarchy are demonised? If to be born female is to be born deviant, how deviant is a body transformed to be female? There are few explorations of whether power exercised by women is as robust as that exercised by men, and therefore whether it is more open to abusive use. This fascinating anthology examines these questions through the lens of literary critique, history, criminology, and psychology to explore another representation of women – in relation to how they abuse power, or how they react when they are the victims of that abuse. With themes ranging from the personal consideration of female bodies, to the supernatural hidden realm, to the public condemnation of women who fall foul of either the law or of a male-dominated world, this collection of interdisciplinary essays provides an in-depth look at the fate of women who abuse or are abused by power.