Salem, Season 2, Episode 3: From Within

As if disease and filth weren’t enough, now we have something down a well luring people with children’s laughter then dragging them in. This is not helping

Mary’s trying to teach her feral child table manners – and not to kill passing doves and carry their corpses around (at least not to the dinner table!)

She has other problems with Hawthorne speaking up for power again – demanding a magistrate be put in place (especially since accused criminals are being locked up with plagued inmates). Hawthorne naturally puts himself forward and again snipes at Mary’s gender.

Time for an election over supper at Mary’s house – and she realises, as she tells Tituba, that she needs George to make Hawthorne back off. This quickly turns into an argument about Tituba hiding her son from her. They both threaten each other

We’re also introduced to Corwin who has apparently been Mary’s servant for years even though I’m sure we’ve never heard of him before now. Mary’s all touchy because Corwin didn’t speak up against Hawthorne. So now Corwin will be Mary’s candidate for Magistrate – especially since he’s a witch as well, though like Hale before him, he’s leery of how much attention Mary is attracting to them. John spies on their meeting (remember he plans to kill the Magistrate).

Meanwhile the very burned Mercy has her father bring her friend Dollie to her. She’s the only one of her followers who escaped and unharmed and Mercy intends to use her for epic revenge, of course. She goes to minister to Isaac – but whether because of her own inclinations of Mercy’s orders I don’t know.

Mercy is controlling her abusive father by controlling his “shrivelled manhood” so I take it he is one of the men whose penis she stole.

Isaac is convinced he’s going to hell for being a fornicator still, though Mary reassures him, basically scorning the idea that physical pleasure is sinful and pointing out how damn weird it is for a god to give humans body that feel such pleasures and then forbid them. Dr. Wainwright overhears and approves for much fun snark. She warns him that people are starting to mutter things about the doctor (because Salem likes its accusations) in a weird kind of flirty exchange surrounded by the sick and dying.

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon

Trigger warnings for discussions of rape, and child abuse. 

Dragonfly in Amber covers Claire and Jamie's attempt to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie from starting the Jacobite uprising because history tells us that it will end in slaughter for the Highlanders and the destruction of the clan system.  The book begins in the 20th century, told fromthe point of view of Roger Wakefield, a historian who Claire visits to try and discover what happened to the fighting Highlanders that she interacted with in the past.  Claire, now a doctor and widow of Frank Randall, is determined not only to find out what happened but to tell her daughter Brianna, who her true father is and the circumstances of her birth. 

The moment Claire begins recounting her time in France, the POV changes to hers, which is a good thing because much of Roger's commentary obsesses alternately about the beauty and sexual attraction he has towards Brianna and of course, how strong and beautiful he finds Claire to be.

We know almost from the beginning that Claire and Jamie failed to stop the uprising and so essentially, Dragonfly in Amber is the story of their failed political intrigue.  It makes it tedious at times to read because there is a strong sense of how the book is going to end.  To enjoy this novel, as with the first, one must believe in the relationship between Jamie and Claire.

I wish I could call Claire a strong protagonist.  I can clearly see the effort to make her strong with things like having her fight with Jamie over the right to work as a nurse at the hospital during her pregnancy, not content to sit around the house all day while he runs his cousin's shipping business.  There is also her defiant attempt to stop Jamie from killing Johnathon Randall, though the man tortured him and raped him, in order to ensure the possibility of Frank Randall's birth.  Having made her decision to stay with Jamie, Claire is unwilling to give up the possibility of her marriage to Frank.

Unfortunately, this is where Claire's strength ends.  For the most part, she is pretty submissive with Jamie.  At no point does she ever say no to sex, even when Jamie says things like wanting to use her. Am I supposed to find that romantic?   And when Claire has sex with the king of France, in order to free Jamie from jail, his first thought isn't of the sacrifice she made for him, but a desire to kill her for allowing another man to touch his property. 

 “Christ!” he said, and sat up suddenly, turning to face me. “Do ye not know what I…Claire.” He closed his eyes briefly, and took a deep breath. “I rode all the way to Orvieto, seeing it; seeing his hands on the white of your skin, his lips on your neck, his—his cock—I saw it at the lever—I saw the damn filthy, stubby thing sliding up…God, Claire! I sat in prison thinking ye dead, and then I rode to Spain, wishing to Christ ye were!” (pg 467)

Does Claire become enraged by Jamie's over possessiveness?  Does Claire tell Jamie to go to hell in no short order? Of course not.  Claire begs Jamie to punish her for her so-called betrayal.

“I beat you once in justice, Sassenach, and ye threatened to disembowel me with my own dirk. Now you’ll ask me to whip ye wi’ nettles?” He shook his head slowly, wondering, and his hand reached as though by its own volition to cup my cheek. “Is my pride worth so much to you, then?”

“Yes! Yes, it bloody is!” I sat up myself, and grasped him by the shoulders, taking both of us by surprise as I kissed him hard and awkwardly.

I felt his first involuntary start, and then he pulled me to him, arm tight around my back, mouth answering mine. Then he had me pressed flat to the earth, his weight holding me immobile beneath him. His shoulders darkened the bright sky above, and his hands held my arms against my sides, keeping me prisoner.

“All right,” he whispered. His eyes bored into mine, daring me to close them, forcing me to hold his gaze. “All right. And ye wish it, I shall punish you.” He moved his hips against me in imperious command, and I felt my legs open for him, my gates thrown wide to welcome ravishment. (pg 478)

 Both Jamie and Claire use the term "mine" to discuss the other but Jamie's possessive commentary is disturbing, given his beating of Claire in the last book and his threats of violence in this one. Are we really supposed to believe this is a love match. when Claire has to constantly remind Jamie of his promise not to beat her again and seems at times to outright fear him? 

Jamie stood up and unbuckled his swordbelt, narrowing his eyes at me. “Dinna think I don’t know what you’re up to, Sassenach. Changing the subject and flattering me like a courtesan. Did I not tell ye about those alcoves?”

“You said you didn’t mean to beat me,” I reminded him, sitting a bit farther back in my chair, just to be on the safe side.

He snorted again, tossing the swordbelt onto the chest of drawers and dropping his kilt next to the sodden shirt.

“Do I look the sort of man would beat a woman who’s with child?” he demanded.I eyed him doubtfully. Stark naked, with his hair in damp red snarls and the white scars still visible on his body, he looked as though he had just leaped off a Viking ship, rape and pillage on his mind.“Actually, you look capable of just about anything,” I told him.  (pg 167)

The only other strong woman in Dragonfly in Amber is Jenny Fraser but her time in the story is extremely short lived.  Jenny runs Lallybroch, the Fraser homeland inherited from their mother and is not at all shy to tell the men exactly what she will and will not put up with.  Jenny's major role is as a mother to her children and unfortunately, it takes a really gender essentialist tone.  While there are discussions of abortion, it's made clear that not only is this dangerous but there is continuing implication that this is something good women don't do.  The goal is to become pregnant and carry the child.

Salem, Season One, Episode Six: The Red Rose and the Briar

A drunk Cotton consults the stars firm in the belief that if he can interrogate the witch in a precise spot, she will be unable to lie.  He hands Alden a hypodermic needle filled with a paralytic to control the witch.  They head down to the cellar and the witch taunts them but they grab her.  She turns herself into Cotton's mother and then taunts Cotton saying that his mother is the devil's favourite whore.  In frustration, Cotton injects her without looking for a vein.

Mercy is feasting and Tituba looks on disdain.  She asks when Mary plans to kill her but Mary points out that she was a dirty little creature when they first met.  Mary orders Mercy's clothing burned.

Cotton and Alden march through the streets and Cotton blathers about the witch. At the Sibley's Mary shows Mercy how she shaves Mr. Sibley.  Alone, Mercy admires Mary's jewelry and Mary advises that the hard part is not getting what you want but knowing what you want. Mercy says that she wants to be like Mary.  Mary offers Mercy a book but it seems that her father believed there was no reason for a girl to read and that his plan was to find a man to read her the bible as that apparently is the only book worth reading. Mary says that her God likes them to read for themselves and offers to teach Mercy to read one day.  Mary then starts to tell the story of the Queen of the Night. Of course, the story that she tells is about herself and how after believing Alden dead, Tituba brought her to George's home. It seems that it was Hale who poisoned George's first wife to dead, leaving an opportunity for Mary to marry George.  As Mary tells this story, Mary holds a razor above Mercy.   She talks about throwing up after having sex with George and how it taught her to be careful what she wished for.  Apparently she was married to George for two years when she begged to be released but she was refused because the witches believed that Salem would go on to be one of the most powerful cities in the New World.  That night she initiated a sex game with George involving Tituba and purposefully got him drunk before forcing a toad down his throat.  From then of course George was docile, leaving Mary in control.

Mercy wakes and finds that she is no longer in the Sibley home but in the woods.  A panicked Mercy promises never to say that Mary is a witch.  When Mercy sees the blade in Mary's hand, she takes off running. Mercy runs screaming and Mary slowly stalks her never increasing her pace.

In another area of the woods Cotton hears the scream but dismisses it as the sound of an owl.  How or why is beyond me because it so clearly sounded like a human scream. Cotton reveals that they will only have a short moment to question the witch and then they must kill her before the paralytic wears off.  A drunk Cotton pulls out a sword saying that he fenced at school.

Tituba heads to see the magistrate where she learns that a witch is missing. Anne questions her mother about why the Magistrate would be meeting with Tituba.

Mercy continues to run ad stumble through the woods as Mary stalks her.  Mary finally catches Mercy and cuts off her clothing.  A naked Mercy sits on the ground and Mary demands that Mercy say that this is what she wants.

The sun has fallen as Cotton and Alden arrive at the chosen spot in the woods.  Alden snarks about how unpleasant the locale is.  As they work on suspending Rose from a tree, they don't realise they are being watched.  Rose tries to fight back and they realise the paralytic is wearing off. Rose cackles and threatens that the darkness will eat Cotton and Alden as she is hung from the tree. When Roe begins to talk about Mary, Alden grabs a sword but Cotton stops him.

Tituba has gone to see Petrus and says that Rose is missing and must be in his wood.  Petrus declares that he has not seen Rose but did see a witch in the woods tonight.  Petrus again taunts Tituba about teaching Mary everything and so Tituba reminds him that he must remember whose site he is on.

Wednesday Reboot: The Craft

 

The Craft was released in 1996 and stars Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, Rachel True and Neve Campbell.  As with previous Reboot Wednesday posts, the goal of this piece is to interrogate the social justice fails in older movies.  At the time that movies like The Craft came out, the social justice blogosphere as we know it today did not exist and so consequently, these movies that have in some cases become cult classics have managed to avoid the criticism often aimed at current movies like Twilight.  

When Sarah Bailey played by Robin Tunney arrives in a new town she makes friends with three girls who are social outcasts at their school.  Nancy is bullied after being slut shamed by the highschool jock, Bonnie for her disfigurement and Rochelle for being Black.  As they walk through the halls, they are called things like the bitches of Eastwick, a play on the 1987 movie, The Witches of Eastwick staring Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, and Jack Nicholson.  Shortly after arriving at the school, Sarah goes out on a date with Chris Hooker and he tells the entire school that not only did she sleep with him on the first date, but that she was a bad lay.  This of course sets of a solid round of slut shaming. 

As Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie and Rochelle come together they discover that they have the ability to form a coven and perform magic. Bonnie wishes for the disappearance of her scars, Rochelle for revenge on Laurie Lizze played by Christine Taylor for her constant racial abuse, Sarah for Chris Hooker to like her and Nancy to an end of her White trash existence and having to watch as her mother is abused by her boyfriend. Over time each on of their wishes come to fruition but they are warned that whatever the put out into the world will return to them times three by Lirio, the woman who owns the local magic shop.  

In no time at all, the power that they wield quickly runs out of control leaving two men dead.  Sensing that Nancy is out of control, Sarah attempts to bind her.  This of course does not go down well with Nancy and she attacks her.  The two end up in the huge battle of magic in which Sarah is the victor, leaving Nancy institutionalized.