Exploring the Gothic Elements of The Witch
Robert Eggers’ The Witch is not a horror film for everyone. The slow-building pace leaves a lot to the imagination—something the American Gothic thrives on. The original definition of “Gothic” meant fear of the unknown, and this becomes a major theme in the film.
The film starts off with a Puritan family at a hearing. We never find out what their exact crime was, but they are banished from a Colonial setting. The family leaves the Puritan village and finds a farm surrounded by woods, a perfect scene for the American Gothic. Very quickly, it becomes apparent that the woods are a huge character in the film. The eeriness of monochromatic colors, woodsy area, and music creates the perfect setting for the evil and terror that slowly affects the family.
After the infant of the family, Samuel, is stolen by a witch from the forest, the downfall of the family unit begins. The eldest daughter, Thomasin, deals with the wrath of her mother for losing Samuel; while the mother mourns, Thomasin must resume all of the responsibilities of the household. It is apparent that Thomasin is the main caretaker of the family, caring for all of her family members and being in charge of all of the chores. She is oppressed by the stereotypical gender roles commonly seen in the 17th century. I believe The Witch represents an anti-feminist perspective because of how the women are treated; it is not until the end of the film that Thomasin receives some redemption, but she is still oppressed in a different way.
As the film progresses, the family delves into different levels of insanity:
The mother relies heavily on her religion to combat the evil forces she believes are affecting her family. The mother comes off severe and selfish as she is seen mourning throughout most of the beginning of the movie; while she relies on Thomasin and her husband to maintain the family unit, I could not help but think of how she was failing as a mother. But she was mourning the loss of Samuel and felt she had fallen from grace by her family being ousted by the Puritan community.
The father indulges himself in his one skill: cutting fire wood. I believe he feels like a failure as his family is falling apart and he is supposed to be the man of the house keeping everything together. Thomasin takes a stab at his ego when she mentions that he cannot shoot a rifle or hunt—something that seems to hurt him deeply. When William (the father) takes his eldest son, Jonas, into the woods to go hunting since their crops were failing, he was unable to shoot a rabbit. This rabbit seemed to be a witch’s familiar as it had an evil gleam in its eyes, but the whole scene was symbolic as William was not able to provide for his family. Especially during the Puritans’ time, it was a man’s duty to hunt and keep his family together.
The two younger children, Caleb and Mercy, befriend the family’s goat named Black Phillip, whom the family begins to believe is also a witch’s familiar. The two children have a nursery rhyme about the goat, and Thomasin believes they are able to talk to him as well. Caleb and Mercy start believing that Thomasin is the witch bringing evil into the family, which also tears the family apart and forces each family member to pick a side.
The real horror of the film is how psychologically damaged the family becomes from beginning to end, leading up to the last 15 minutes—which I will not spoil. The “A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the audience is given the opportunity to engage in the same process of deduction as the protagonist throughout the investigation of a crime. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric, amateur, or semi-professional detective.” aspect—a very familiar aspect of the witch trials—takes over the family. Through each scene, they seem to turn against one another and accuse each other of having an evil nature and being cursed by the witch in the woods. Also, the fact that a very religious Puritan family is banished from their village clearly was jolting enough, besides everything else that happened to them.
As aforementioned, the tropes of the American Gothic play huge roles in this film. From the time period to the religious aspects to the woods being the setting and a major character to the stereotypical gender roles to the slow and steady flow of the film and the overall ambiguity of the plot, so much of this follows how American Gothic literature plays out.
This is not a horror film for the general population. The horror is not necessarily spelled out, and there are no jump scares. However, those who are looking for a different and classic kind of horror – with Gothic sensibilities – will find their calling with The Witch.
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