Witches in Love
by sara cleto & brittany warman
T
here’s a trope in fiction and media that we absolutely hate. In older media, especially from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, it was pretty much a standard in witch stories. Can you guess what it is? It’s the idea that love and witchcraft do not mix. Put another way, it’s that to fit into a romantic relationship, you can’t be a witch—you have to give up your magic. Think about the end of the film Bell, Book, and Candle (1958). Gillian, a contemporary witch who owns an art store, loses her powers (and her cat!) when she falls in love. This is presented as a good thing, a worthy sacrifice to make in order to secure a relationship. Think about how in the beloved TV show Bewitched (1964-1972), Samantha is always trying (and usually failing) to renounce her powers and live a proper human life with her husband, who has made her promise to give up magic and become a proper suburban housewife. The very idea of witches casting “love spells” implies that no one could love a witch without the influence of magic… or, if they dare to, the relations the relationship won’t work out well for them. Remember, for example, the Greek mythological story of Jason and the witch Medea. He runs off with someone else, she murders their sons and his new wife. Cheating on witches is generally not recommended. We despise this trope for a couple of reasons. First, magic is fun in so many of these stories. Why should a woman have to give it up to enter a relationship, especially when male partners are not expected to make a 40
