| Popis: |
This essay takes readers from the 15th to the 21st century, and shows how midwives, “these educated and trusted, yet non-conforming women were uniquely imperiled by their learnedness and vocation, one critical to the survival, health, and well-being of their communities,” and how this conflation of knowledge, gender, and persecution continues (and is sometimes contested) in contemporary pop culture representations. Midwifes were often the targets of hysterical claims of witchcraft, which some argue has been blown out of proportion. Widows and unmarried women were also targeted. Midwives were often highly trained and skillful medical practitioners. |
