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28.11.2022
The VVitch Review
Historically in western culture witchcraft was condemned as an unspeakably evil act
against God because it defied religious orders set by the Old Testament. Christianity had an
overwhelming influence on peoples way of life. This is conveyed or at least tried to be in The
VVitch. It takes place in 17th century New England which is when the first accusations of
had just emerged. The film is very direct on the impact religion has on its characters and the
use of imagery helps convey an even deeper subtext of the overall story. The family is from a
Puritan Christian background, who immigrated from England in an attempt to purify their
religion back to its ideal form.
In the opening scene, the family is banished into the empty wilderness because of
religious reasons. It almost mirrors the banishment of Adam and Eve who also were forced to
leave the holy place because of their sins. The father William is excommunicated because of
his prideful conceit. The son Caleb is guilty of the sin of lust, the lust he has towards his own
sister Thomasin. Just like the story of Adam and Eve, he keeps referring to an apple tree and
ends up choking on a red apple near the end of the film, just moments before praying and
asking for forgiveness from God leading to his inescapeable death.
In Puritan households, the male figure of the family played a vital role as the dominant
authority figure and females were to play a more submissive role in child raising.
The hunting scene strongly sets up the father’s intentions of rearing his son into an authority
figure. They talk about selling Thomasin to another family since she is nearing puberty. This
was not an uncommon occurence in Puritan households. They sold or at least sent away their
pubescent daughters to seperate them from the mother because they believed that it would
bring them closer to God. This becomes Thomasin’s final of killing her mother in an attempt
to grow closer to God. However this is in fact the work of the devil.
Thomasin’s transition into a witch is completely justifiable given how she is tricked
into accepting her fate. Thomasin attempts to hold dearly to her beliefs but eventually gives in
to temptation when no other option of hope is available. Her parents are prepared to sell her
when she hits puberty and eventually the entire family seems to conspire against her. She is
the last person to see every other children before they go missing, placing her as the suspect
to their disappearance. We see Thomasin slowly accepting her label of being a witch and
giving in to temptation at the end.