Thou Shalt Not Allow a Witch to Live

Poor crop yields, epidemics, war's desolation, natural disasters, and festering jealousies-these were the cataclysmic tensions and ill omens to a pious Puritan priesthood of God's displeasure and punishment to their "city on the hill" and their wavering, flagging parishioners. God had deserted the Puritans, leaving fear of the devil and witches amiss in the New England villages. The strict Reformed Puritans were very intolerant, not only of witches, but also of any deviation from their Puritan orthodoxy and civic order. Bridget Bishop was a rebellious outsider who deviated from the Puritan standards for women. She was constantly under suspicion 'cause of her strong will, flamboyant life style, and outspoken tongue. Her livelihood as ordinary keeper and her thrice marriages brought criticism and scorn from her Puritan neighbors and the Puritan clergy. Cotton Mather's June 1662 document advised and urged the Court of Oyer and Terminer to speedily and vigorously prosecute "such as have rendered themselves obnoxious." Bridget Bishop was not the first to be accused and arrested, but she was the first to be prosecuted 'cause her lifestyle met the criteria of "very obnoxious."