Wonders of the Invisible World
Wonders of the Invisible World is a book that was published in 1693 by Cotton Mather, Mather was born in 1663. After graduating from Harvard College, he followed in his father's footsteps to become a pastor of the Second Church of Boston. He continued in this role from 1685 until his death in 1728.[1]:307 His book contained information about the Salem Witch Trials, which had taken place in Salem, Massachusetts. Robert Calef published a response to Mather's book in 1700.
Its discussion of Swedish witch trials may have come from Saducismus Triumphatus by Joseph Glanvill.[2]
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Summary[edit]
While narrator and preacher of the Second Church of Boston, he began with an explanation of how the people of God were living in the devil's territories. He discussed the devil's plan to overturn the plantation and churches with the help of witches.
"...An army of devils is horribly broke in upon the place which is the center, and after a sort, the first-born of our English settlements...[1]
Mather prefaced the trials, by saying he would recount the trials as a historian. One of the trials included was Martha Carrier's, who was "[t]he person of whom the confessions of the witches, and of her own children among the rest, agreed that the devil had promised her she should be Queen of the Hebrews.".[1]:313 Mather gave testimonies against Martha Carrier, all of which presumed her to be guilty.
Analysis[edit]
Point of view[edit]
Mather presented himself as an unbiased informer to the reader.[1]:310 He received his information from court records. He did not present defenses against the testimonies given.
Language[edit]
Mather’s background as a minister[1]:307 showed in his references to religion. Mather went into details on the traditional religious view of the Devil and witchcraft.[1]:308
Puritan colonists feared the perceived witches among them, "and the houses of the good people are filled with the doleful shrieks of their children and servants, tormented by invisible hands.".[1]:309
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Wonders of the Invisible World in etext.
- The Wonders of the Invisible World(1693 edition) in PDF format.
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Baym,, Nina; Franklin, Wayne; Gura, Philip F.; Krupat, Arnold; Levine, Robert S. (eds.). The Norton Anthology: American Literature A. (7 ed.). p. 309. ISBN 0393929930.
- ^ Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav (editors) Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries (1990). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 431-3.
