This text is part of the special Museums notebook
A new exhibition at the Pointe-à-Callière museum examines the mythical figure of the old lady riding a broom, in a fascinating historical-feminist light.
For some, it was Circe, the enchantress of Greek mythology, who bewitched Ulysses’ companions. For others, she is the healer of old, consulted in desperation when the doctor’s limited knowledge and the priest’s prayers proved powerless. For still others, she is simply a free, strong, independent woman, but born in a bad era – one where power, de facto male, had to dominate the “weaker sex”. But to everyone, they were witches. A word full of meaning.
According to Élisabeth Côté, project manager responsible for Witches. Of shadow in lightpresented on October 25 at the Pointe-à-Callière museum, “this figure allows us to retrace an important chapter in the history of women through a multitude of themes: faith, art, science, imagination, popular culture, beliefs and myths. On this specific chapter, the museum takes a “historical, necessarily feminist” look: it presents how the figure of the witch evolved according to the perception we had of women from the 16th centurye century, in the West.
What will we see in the museum rooms? In its historical part, we will discover several objects linked to the world of witchcraft, including a rare edition, dating from the 17the century, of the famous Malleus Maleficarumthe “bible”, so to speak, of the inquisitors at the time of the witch hunt. “For decades, this misogynistic book will be used to justify the idea that women are more likely to be tempted by the devil than men,” explains the project manager. Women aged 50 and over, who were no longer fertile, and widows, therefore without a husband to hold their property, were described as “witches”. “They are owners, they are autonomous, they are free, but also more vulnerable and easy to track. » Oh, and as they will be — all the way to the United States, to Salem Village, the Puritan colony in Massachusetts known today as Danvers.
An exhibition, conversations
In the contemporary part of the exhibition, it will be about a takeover of power. “ Women on Pyrefor example, a superb sculpture of [l’artiste américaine] Kiki Smith, represents a naked woman, kneeling on a pyre, who expresses the wish to rehabilitate those who have been victims of persecution and who also speaks of their resilience,” underlines Mme Side.
The subject of witches is part of a very current trend, she notes. As proof, more than 30 English, French, American and Canadian lenders of works of art and objects rushed to respond to the museum’s appeal. And then, beyond the exhibition, we hope to spark exchanges and debates. At the time these lines were written, a whole cultural program including conferences and round tables with speakers from various backgrounds was being developed.
Following the visit, the exhibition manager hopes that we will have learned a thing or two about this history that we know without really knowing it. She also wants us to be a little better informed about the question of perceptions and facts. “Yes, falsely accusing someone has consequences…” she said. But “visitors will also be satisfied in terms of entertainment, because the exhibition has a fun dimension.”
As for the positive recovery of the figure of the witch, Élisabeth Côté says she is “delighted” by it. “I think that being a witch today is about exercising the freedom and the power to be who you are,” she concludes.
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