“THAT THE TRUTH OF THINGS MAY BE MORE FULLY KNOWN:” UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF RHETORIC IN SHAPING, RESOLVING, AND REMEMBERING THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS A Dissertation by LAUREN ANN LEMLEY Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2010 Major Subject: Communication “THAT THE TRUTH OF THINGS MAY BE MORE FULLY KNOWN:” UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF RHETORIC IN SHAPING, RESOLVING, AND REMEMBERING THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS A Dissertation by LAUREN ANN LEMLEY Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, James A. Aune Committee Members, Tasha Dubriwny Jennifer Jones Barbour Claire Katz Head of Department, Richard Street May 2010 Major Subject: Communication iii ABSTRACT “That the Truth of Things May Be More Fully Known:” Understanding the Role of Rhetoric in Shaping, Resolving, and Remembering the Salem Witchcraft Crisis. (May 2010) Lauren Ann Lemley, B.S., Abilene Christian University; M.A., Abilene Christian University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. James A. Aune This project investigates how rhetorical texts influenced the witch trials that were held in Salem in 1691-1692, how rhetoric shaped the response to this event, and how rhetorical artifacts in the twentieth and twenty first centuries have shaped American public memory of the Salem witchcraft crisis. My analysis draws from three different chronological and rhetorical viewpoints. In Chapter II, I build upon work done by scholars such as McGee, White, and Charland in the area of constitutive rhetoric to address the question of how the witchcraft crisis was initiated and fueled rhetorically. Then, as my examination shifts to the rhetorical artifacts constructed immediately after the trials in Chapter III, I rely on the tradition of apologia, rooted in the ancient Greek understanding of stasis theory to understand how rhetorical elements were utilized by influential rhetors to craft a variety of different explanations for the crisis. And finally in Chapter IV, I draw from individuals such as Halbwachs, Kammen, Zelizer, and Bodnar, working in the cross-disciplinary field of iv public memory, to respond to the questions of how we remember the trials today and what impact these memories have on our understanding of the themes of witchcraft and witch hunting in contemporary American society. Therefore, this project uses the lens of rhetorical analysis to provide a method for examining and understanding how individuals, both in the seventeenth century and today, have engaged in the act of updating their reflections about this facet of American history. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the guidance and support of so many people. Although I could never name them all, my sincerest gratitude goes to - my husband, Brandon, for his understanding, support, and encouragement throughout this process; my father, who always believed that someday I would earn my Ph.D., and often told me so, even when I was a stubborn teenager who thought she knew best; my mother, who surrounded me with books and love from my earliest memories, and whose patience will always inspire me; my grandmother, who took me to the library religiously as a child and let me stay up late on the weekends helping her work crossword puzzles that I was far too young to complete on my own; my grandfather, from whom I inherited my love of history and joy for research; my doctoral advisor, Dr. James Aune, who has believed in this project since the first time we discussed it and shared so many important lessons with me about writing, academia, and life during my time at Texas A&M; the members of my committee, Drs. Tasha Dubriwny, Jennifer Jones Barbour, and Claire Katz, who were always willing to read a draft of a chapter, write a letter of recommendation for a job, and offer advice on any number of subjects – academic and otherwise; my fellow graduate students and friends at Texas A&M, who were constant sources of encouragement and insightful feedback; and all of the inspiring educators I was fortunate enough to learn from throughout my life who helped to fuel my desire to teach, and encouraged me to always vi reach for more, set higher goals, and never compromise for anything less than everything I was capable of achieving. This is for you all, with my deepest thanks. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................ vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: RHETORICAL FRAMEWORK AND WITCHCRAFT HISTORY....................................................................... 1 Examining Witchcraft Rhetorically........................................................ 4 A Historical Overview of Magic and Witchcraft ................................... 9 Rhetorical Frameworks ......................................................................... 36 A Final Thought ................................................................................... 40 II CONSTITUTIVE RHETORIC: SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS ..................................................... 48 A Survey of the Field of Constitutive Rhetoric....................................... 50 Rhetorically Constituting a Community Primed for Crisis .................... 68 A Final Thought: The Impact of Puritan Constitutive Rhetoric ........... 111 III INTERLUDE: A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS .............................................................. 122 January/February 1692 .......................................................................... 123 March 1692........................................................................................... 124 April 1692 ............................................................................................. 125 May 1692.............................................................................................. 126 June 1692.............................................................................................. 127 July 1692............................................................................................... 128 August 1692 .......................................................................................... 129 September 1692 .................................................................................... 130 October 1692........................................................................................ 131 November 1692..................................................................................... 133 December 1692..................................................................................... 133 1693...................................................................................................... 135 vii CHAPTER Page IV APOLOGIA: THE AFTERMATH OF THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS ............................................................................ 139 A Survey of the Field of Apologia .......................................................... 140 The Rhetoric of the Salem Apologists ................................................... 166 A Final Thought: Assessing the Work of the Salem Apologists .............. 201 V INTERLUDE: THE SCHOLARLY ASSESSMENT OF THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS .............................................................. 216 Sociological Factors............................................................................... 218 Psychological Factors............................................................................. 219 Religious Factors ................................................................................... 221 Gender-Related Factors......................................................................... 223 Judicial and Legal Factors...................................................................... 224 Political Factors..................................................................................... 226 VI PUBLIC MEMORY: REMEMBERING THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS ............................................................................ 230 A Survey of the Field of Public Memory ............................................... 231 Remembering Salem Through Contemporary Popular Culture ............ 248 A Final Thought: Finding Meaning in Our Memories ........................... 296 VII CONCLUSION: RHETORICALLY CONSTRUCTING THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT CRISIS YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW ................................................................................. 308 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 324 VITA .......................................................................................................................... 346 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: RHETORICAL FRAMEWORK AND WITCHCRAFT HISTORY The witches’ world, like that of any other social group, changes considerably from one generation to the next. And witches are thought to exist in a variety of historical circumstances, in countries with different cultural backgrounds and changing patterns of society. Julio Caro Baroja, The World of the Witches1