The Simpsons, Gender Roles, and Witchcraft: The Witch in Modern Popular Culture

This paper analyzes "The Simpsons"' use of the witch to uncover how her constructionin this animated series reflects not only the current theoretical work on the witch but also the ambivalence about the role of women in modern American society. This paper posits that the original construction of the witch, as seen in current interpretation of Early Modern pamphletsand cultural artifacts,steemed from the time period's expetations of gender. Further, "The Simpsons"' incorporation of the witch into its episodes revels that many of these same gender constraints exist in modern culture.