Sylvia Federici, in her seminal work Caliban and the Witch, argues that the witch hunts of early modern Europe were not mere isolated incidents of religious fervor or superstition. Instead, she posits them as a crucial, albeit brutal, mechanism for the subjugation of women and the establishment of a new social order that undergirded the transition to capitalism. By systematically dispossessing women of their autonomy, their reproductive power, and their economic independence, the witch hunts effectively cemented a sexual division of labor. This division relegated women to the domestic sphere, making them dependent on men and ensuring a constant supply of cheap, exploitable labor for the emerging capitalist economy.
Federici meticulously details how the period preceding the witch hunts, the late medieval era, offered women a degree of agency and control that was systematically dismantled. Women were active participants in the economy, engaging in agriculture, artisanal production, and even petty trade. They held knowledge of herbal medicine and midwifery, roles that granted them significant social standing and community respect. This independent economic base, coupled with their control over their own bodies and sexuality, represented a fundamental challenge to the patriarchal structures that were being reconfigured for the demands of nascent capitalism. The witch hunts, therefore, became a violent campaign to eradicate this female autonomy.
The accusations leveled against accused witches – bew此-craft, consorting with the devil, poisoning – often stemmed from their very independence and their defiance of social norms. Women who were healers, midwives, or those who lived outside the strictures of marriage and patriarchal control were prime targets. Federici points to the Malleus Maleficarum (1486), a witch-hunting manual, as evidence of a deliberate ideological assault on women, portraying them as inherently weaker, more susceptible to temptation, and thus naturally prone to witchcraft. This demonization served to justify their persecution and to create a social climate of fear and suspicion directed at women who deviated from prescribed roles. The systematic torture and execution of thousands, predominantly women, served as a stark warning, reinforcing obedience and conformity.
Crucially, Federici links the witch hunts to the privatization of reproduction and the expropriation of women’s productive capacities. As capitalism developed, the need for a disciplined, wage-earning workforce intensified. This required the separation of the home from the workplace and the confinement of women to the domestic sphere to manage reproduction and the rearing of future laborers. The witch hunts, by criminalizing and punishing women’s traditional roles and knowledge – such as herbalism, which competed with emerging medical professions, or midwifery, which challenged male physicians – helped to disempower women and consolidate male control over reproduction and the family. The legal and economic sanctions imposed on accused witches, including confiscation of property and forced confession, further stripped them of any residual economic power.
The consequence of this systematic persecution, Federici argues, was the entrenchment of the sexual division of labor. Women were increasingly confined to unpaid domestic work, their value tied primarily to their reproductive capacity and their role as consumers of male-produced goods. This arrangement ensured a surplus of cheap labor, as women’s unpaid work subsidized the wages paid to men. Furthermore, it created a dependent class of women, making them more manageable and less likely to challenge the emerging capitalist order. The fear of being accused of witchcraft lingered, a potent tool for enforcing social control and maintaining the established gender hierarchy. The legacy of this period, Federici contends, continues to shape gendered power dynamics and economic inequalities today.