Jessica Parant, Spinsters of Horror
The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) offers examples of the various roles allotted to women by a highly religious and patriarchal society. The women are rarely kind to one another and even seek to harm each other. In the characters of Mistress Ellen (Charlotte Mitchell), Mistress Isobel Banham (Avice Landone), and Cathy Vespers (Wendy Padbury), we see that women are expected to exemplify the role of good wife, mother, and religious servant. When a woman does not fall in line with these societal expectations and acts independently, she is seen as “Other” and a danger to society. This goes for the characters of Rosalind Barton (Tamara Ustinov), Margaret (Michele Dotrice), and Angel Blake (Linda Hayden). These dangerous women are branded “witches” and servants of Satan.
During the witch trials of Europe and Salem, Massachusetts, women—mothers, daughters, wives, and grandmothers—were tortured and executed by the authority of religious institutions based on accusations that came from eye-witness statements of people within the community. This is when the breakdown of sisterhood between women began. As Christian leaders demonized and labelled female healers and midwives as “witches,” they fueled the flames of division among women. Women had long come together to share knowledge about healing, birthing, and the day-to-day struggle; now they were becoming wary of one another. If a woman was slow to show her devotion to God or to follow the orders of her husband, then she was looked at with suspicion. These women did not fall into the mold of “good” and God-fearing but were temptresses in league with Satan himself, liable to tarnish the reputation of those associated with them. Encouraging the surrounding women to turn against such women allowed patriarchal authorities a means of controlling “dangerous” women and keeping them submissive. It’s important to remember that sometimes, when women would accuse others of witchcraft, it was for protection.
The Blood on Satan’s Claw shows how authorities perpetuate suspicion among women in order to uphold patriarchal ideals and keep feminine power in check through undermining solidarity. The lack of solidarity comes from the roles women are forced to fulfil and from telling them what is an “acceptable” role for the obedient and good woman. These “good” women are used to police other women who are perceived as unacceptable by society due to their undesirable qualities of independence, unconstrained sexuality, and leadership. It is easier to keep women under control when they are not a united force.
The End of Sisterhood
Some historians believe the disempowerment of women began with the disintegration of the communal forms of agriculture in feudal Europe (Federici, Witches 25). Women were influential members of their community, working in guilds and practicing forms of healing, serving as folk doctors and midwives. Women were employed and able to provide for their families as well as the community. However, as the practice of communal farming began to disintegrate and men began to push women out of the guilds, women saw themselves forced into the domestic sphere and, if they wanted to avoid poverty, into dependence on men.
The older women who remembered what it was like to provide for themselves and who resisted these changes were often charged with “witchcraft,” not only because they were a threat to the changing societal norms but also because they were seen as a negative influence on younger women. Depicting the lives of independent women as wicked and evil allowed men to control women for the social uses of marriage, procreation, and tending to the home (Federici, Witches 28).
The witch trials of Europe were the largest—legally and religiously approved—internationally organized assault on women and their bodies (Federici, Witches 31). Thousands of women were arrested, stripped naked, and tortured in front of large groups all because they were accused of being a witch, often with accusations coming from other women. To accuse another of witchcraft was a means of protecting oneself and avoiding becoming, oneself, a victim of the witch hunters. During this time, any woman seen congregating with other women was deemed suspicious and presumed to be involved in disruptive activities. Yet prior to these “assumptions,” women of all ages, and especially among the lower classes, would perform daily activities, often in groups, forming tight communities and providing support for each other. However, as women’s social status began to change with the increasing power of the Church, a war on women began, and any woman showing signs of independence was a threat. Women needed to be obedient and to understand that their duties were to their husbands and not to each other (Federici, “How”). They needed to differentiate themselves from the rebellious, deviant imagery of the independent woman, whose witchy ways could inspire men to forget all their social duties and obligations. She needed to be a “Good” Woman.
The Good Woman
The Blood on Satan’s Claw shows the clear dichotomy of the good woman vs. the evil woman and how quickly women could turn on each other for their own safety. The good women of the community only come together either to reform or to cast out the evil women, the social troublemakers.The film shows us that to be a “good” woman is what all women should strive to be.
Women continue to struggle to find an identity for themselves in a society that has already determined what is “acceptable.” If you are not a good woman, then you must be a rebellious woman, and there is no in-between. This dichotomy has existed since biblical times with the concept of Eve and the Virgin Mary and is enforced by patriarchal and misogynistic institutions in order to keep women subordinate. It was also a means to keep women divided so as to not challenge their fathers, husbands, and even sons.
But what is a “good” woman? She is often Christian, as her faith is what defines and instructs her actions. A good woman focuses on her family, is obedient to her husband and God’s will, protects her home from secular influences, puts her career and education on hold for her children, and, most importantly, she respects men as leaders in their community (Michel). These women become the instruments of misogynistic leaders in either reforming or eliminating women who do not conform to this cult of domesticity. Such women, with their supposedly “higher morals,” condemn other women based on their social status, gender, beliefs, appearance, and background, using shame as their weapon of choice (Michel).
Early in Satan’s Claw, Mistress Isobel Banham is introduced to Rosalind Barton, the fiancée of her nephew, Peter Edmonton (Simon Williams). Mistress Banham is a woman of high social status as a landowner and holds the respect of the Judge (Patrick Wymark) who appears to be the community’s local law representative. Rosalind, however, is the daughter of a local farmer. In Mistress Banham’s mind, Rosalind is not good enough for her nephew, and she despises the woman instantly, convinced that Rosalind is a loose woman who used her body to get her wealthy nephew to bed her. Mistress Banham perpetuates the narrative that all women are taught to believe about each other: that women are always looking for ways to better their situation in life at the expense of a man and other obedient women. She feels that it is within her right to mistreat Rosalind because the younger woman has (she believes) brought shame to her household. Mistress Banham forces Rosalind to sleep in a cold, dirty attic to hide away her nephew’s shame, and when Rosalind is attacked in the night, instead of helping her, Mistress Banham physically assaults her, all the while accusing her of being a whore.
These first ten minutes of the film depict shocking acts of hatred towards Rosalind by Mistress Banham. They are overt and disheartening. Both Peter and the Judge do nothing to stop the older woman because, as they see it, she is within her rights in the domestic sphere. Mistress Banham exemplifies the “good” woman, and she is willing to use shame and demonization to police another. These “good” women are created by the patriarchy to value marriage and motherhood and to uphold community standards. To deviate from this path would merit punishment from God (Michel).
Mistress Banham with the Judge
But Mistress Banham isn’t the only kind of “good” woman. What about the women who are just inherently kind/good people? These women are often virginal, innocent, and pure in nature—humble and modest in both behavior and appearance. Such women are not a threat to the patriarchy, but if they are not protected, they can easily become victims of the evils of society and of other untamed women. These women are represented in the characters of Cathy Vespers and her mother Ellen. Both Cathy and her mother Ellen are good, innocent women who represent the patriarchally-defined true value of a womanhood in their ability to play the good sister, mother, and wife (Etomi).
When naive Cathy is raped and murdered by Angel’s cult, her mother Ellen is left with not only the loss of her daughter but her son as well, who had been killed earlier by one of Angel’s followers. She does not let grief overcome her or become hysterical but opens her home to help reform what she believes is another lost and vulnerable woman, Angel’s follower Margaret. When Margaret is brought to her home, Ellen sees the woman’s appearance as a sign that she should take her as a new daughter. Ellen is the ideal maternal figure—willing to help a lost young woman find her way back from the clutches of both Satan and the untamed woman as represented in Angel. Ellen doesn’t question male authority, nor allow grief to keep her from her household duties, and she contributes to the greater good of the community.
The Tragedy of Margaret
We are introduced to the character of Margaret during the ritual rape and murder of Cathy in the woods. Margaret is seen reciting what is believed to be Satanic scripture as the innocent Cathy is being offered up to the Beast. And during Cathy’s rape, Margaret seems to revel in the sexual act as part of her experience as a follower. Margaret appears to the audience as a devotee of Angel.
When we see Margaret again, she is being chased through the woods by a group of local villagers who have given in to the belief that the strange events and deaths happening in their community are linked to witchcraft. We are not given any reason as to why this group of men have decided she is a witch, other than her having been in the company of Angel, the way she is dressed (low-cut blouse), or just because she is a woman and thus always a potential scapegoat. The villagers have clearly given in to their superstitions that women are more likely to be witches, and they almost drown her in their attempts to prove themselves right. Even when Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) comes along and tells them that they have murdered her, they just walk away as if what they’ve done is inevitable. Ralph saves her and brings her to Ellen, who immediately takes on the role of protective mother.
This is where Margaret’s story becomes interesting. When Ellen and Ralph clean her up and try to revive her, they find a patch of the “devil’s skin” on the outside of her leg. When they bring this to the attention of the doctor (Howard Goorney), Ralph takes it upon himself to suggest having the skin removed. He proclaims her not a witch and suggests that by having the “devil’s skin” removed, she would be reformed and no longer seen as a threat to the village. They say they want to save her for “Cathy’s sake,” which means she will serve as a new daughter for Ellen and possible future wife for Ralph whom Cathy was intended to marry. Unfortunately, all of this is done without Margaret’s knowledge or consent.
Margaret is only deemed acceptable, then, when what made her different and “act out” of her role is forcibly removed from her body. When she awakens, she is told that she is now the child of Ellen. Ralph tells her how lucky she is and tries to woo her with flowers and promises of a good life, but Margaret is fierce and calls him out for removing her Master’s skin. She attempts to seduce him and bring him to Angel, but he curses her and claims that “she will never be saved.” Margaret is the fallen woman. A hopeless case. She will never make a good wife or mother because she is lost to evil, lost to rebellious ways.
Angel and Margaret
This leads us to what I feel is the most chilling scene in the film: the moment Angel turns against Margaret despite her loyalty. Angel exhibits suspicious and defensive behavior towards Margaret—an example of the break in solidarity between women. While Margaret, who has stayed loyal to Angel, is seeking help from her sister, Angel feels threatened by her and the danger she brings. Instead of helping the injured Margaret, Angel leaves her behind to become a victim of the villagers’ judgement and torture. The Judge uses Angel’s act of self-preservation to get Margaret to turn on her. When women are kept suspicious of each other, looking for means to divert punitive attention away from their own lives, they are willing to turn on each other. Angel falls prey to the “If you are not with us, you are against us” mentality when she suspects Margaret of betraying her for a man (Ralph). She is unaware that Margaret was held and injured against her will in a man’s attempt to “save” her from the Devil. For all the Devil’s temptations, even Angel can’t resist the Christian propensity to turn against her own sister.
Conclusion
Women have been oppressed by sexism and socialized in such a way that many women become complicit in maintaining the misogynistic status quo. This can be traced back to the time of the witch trials, as independent women were targeted by religious authorities who sought to push them out of the public and into the domestic sphere. The act of accusing women of witchcraft was a means instituted by men not only to keep women subordinate but to establish a new model of femininity. The ideal was to be the “good” woman, who was supposed to get married, have children, worship God, and ensure the success of the men in her life. Any woman who fell outside of these patriarchal guidelines was a threat to all.
Women are indoctrinated from an early age that they are the “weaker” sex and thus have a generalized hatred of themselves due to the internalization of patriarchal negativity towards women (Etomi). This teaches women to be suspicious of other women. These women feel that they have regained power by being complicit in the demands of the patriarchy and thus use shame and suspicion to police other women who have chosen to break free of this oppression. Women learn to hate other women—they judge, dismiss, act cruelly to each other—all to sustain their own safety in a society that dictates that safety is only ever with, and through, relation with men.
As seen in The Blood on Satan’s Claw, women do not have relationships with each other. Female solidarity can never truly exist if women continue to believe that they are without value unless they are in a relationship with a man and performing the roles dictated by men. Both Angel and Margaret never had a chance of surviving; as independent women who stepped outside of their socially prescribed roles, they doomed themselves. They did not conform to the role of “good” woman like Cathy and Mistress Ellen. Through the dichotomy of the good woman vs. the evil woman, we are shown that true female solidarity cannot exist if the ideals of womanhood continue to be based on misogynistic principles and not on genuine feminine connection.
Works Cited
The Blood on Satan’s Claw. Directed by Piers Haggard, Tigon British Film Productions, 1971.
Etomi, Ozzy. “As Women, We’re Taught to Police Other Women — Here’s Why.” HuffPost, 24 March 2017.
Federici, Silvia. Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women. PM, 2018.
—. “How the Demonization of ‘Gossip’ Is Used to Break Women’s Solidarity.” In These Times, 31 January 2019.
Michel, Sarah Olson. “The Cult of the Good Christian Woman.” Medium, Human Parts, 10 February 2019.
