The Witches and the tales
Burn, fire, and boil, mix, the butter is already bubbling! Macbeth (act 4, scene 1) Translation by Salvador Oliva.
Witches are, for young and old, fascinating characters who have managed to frighten us, unsettle us and make us laugh for centuries (and to their credit).
Surely we all have that witch that reminds us of our childhood and that we cannot forget.
When we had the opportunity to make these guides, the subject seemed to us to be delicious and impossible, because they are characters that fascinate us.
Popular literature, the translations that have been made in contemporary literature, the possibility of questioning which society is behind the way this character is represented...
We hope that both this didactic file and the following guides will be very interesting and will make you fly far! 5 2.
Witches as a literary character The word witch comes from the Indo-European root bhreus, which means "to crush or break".
Literally, the word witch meant "the one who crushes".
Witches, collectively understood as a female symbol of evil, with the ability to cast spells, have been present in literature—in many different ways—since tales and stories began to be told.
This figure has mutated in form and nomenclature, but has remained more or less faithful to its metaphorical capacity in literature, its association with evil, its ability to inflict pain on characters and its ability to 'antagonist.
If we think about classical antiquity, we already find mythological figures who, although they are not yet called witches, present many of their characteristics: the Gorgons, with Medusa as a paradigmatic figure, or the witches Circe and Medea.
These first references have in common the close relationship they have with divinity.
Likewise, we are already reminded of some features of the figures of the witches by their mastery of nature and the mastery they have of herbs and other elements to carry out their spells, as well as transforming themselves or transforming others into different beings .
To continue reading... you can download The taste for reading 2023-24. Didactic file Government of Catalonia.
