东镇女巫

The Witches and Eastwick(1987)和Bell, Book, and Candle(1958)都描写了女性在一个社会中的斗争，在这个社会中，规范的女性气质和巫术是 "社会构建的女性特征 "的两端。虽然两部电影最初都是描写职业女性（女巫），但社会塑造的欲望迫使她们做出不同的反应，即要么顺应所谓的 "常态女性气质"，要么反抗所谓的 "常态女性气质"，最终导致吉尔为了家庭化的爱情生活而牺牲了巫术，而三个女巫则欢迎她们内心的女巫组成了一个 "非传统 "的家庭。 在她们的挣扎过程中，正是每个时代的美国文化焦虑引入了 "理想规范的女性气质"，对女巫和女性起到了压迫的作用。

两部电影的女性角色都是以职业女性的身份开始，并且将自己的权力控制在手中。吉莉安是一个成功的女商人，经营着自己的商店；亚历山德拉-斯波福、简-斯玛特和苏琪-罗格蒙特是一个雕塑艺术家、音乐教师和记者。在这个阶段，她们都是和男人分开的。吉尔是单身，亚历克斯、简和苏琪的丈夫不是死了，就是离了婚，或者抛弃了她们。然而她们所有的自我依赖状态都无法持续太久。社会的压力和焦虑袭来，通过插入与 "规范的、传统的女性气质 "的距离的恐惧，扰乱了她们的时代。对于吉尔来说，她对谢泼德产生了生理上的吸引，渴望爱情亲情，渴望和他一起过着家常的生活。东域的三个女孩渴望感受到达里尔的力量，为她们提供自尊和关怀。从这里开始，所有的女巫都会把自己改造成一个有点性的女巫，"都是华丽的，做着邪恶的事情"(吉布森99)，比如吉尔迷倒了谢普，三个女巫让自己被达里尔勾引，对基督教女子费利西亚施咒。即便如此，这两部电影的结局也是截然不同的。对于吉尔来说，女巫是毫无顾忌的，也是由缺乏典型的女性属性来定义的。"不能脸红，哭泣或恋爱"（吉布森92）。吉尔坠入爱河，放弃了自己的巫术能力，成为 "唯一的人类"，以一个 "被安全驯化的性感女巫"(92)结束影片。相反，亚历克斯、简和苏琪则与魔鬼达里尔反目成仇，他们重新获得了巫术的能力，并将他赶走，故事的结尾是 "和他们（和他）的新宝宝一起生活在一个幸福的公共家庭"(99)，这是一种非传统的生活。

《钟、书、烛》的时代背景是50年代，这个时代的劳动妇女刚刚通过埃莉诺-罗斯福对妇女事业的推动获得了社会地位的提高。然而，这个后珍珠港时代又充满了来自父权社会的期望，希望 "女性会很高兴回到厨房和育婴室"(Gibson 92)。女性想要获得权力，但她们还是害怕成为 "激进分子 "的后果。在影片中，当吉莉安试图向谢普坦白她的巫术时，他开玩笑说 "你是不是一直在从事非美国的活动？"，她回答说："没有，我想说的是，我的巫术很厉害。"（吉布森92）。"不，我会说很美国"(93)。这可以理解为女巫吉尔害怕被冠以共产主义者的称号，是出于恐惧的反应。女巫与伊斯维克》的背景是80年代，一个在里根主义下保守主义加剧的时代。开头包括学校的发言人指责离婚率暴涨和拉客的孩子的现象。对于像伊斯威克这样的保守小镇，一个靠近塞勒姆的小镇，曾经举行过女巫审判，任何轻微的异常都会受到邻居的监视。三个女人的情况最初符合巫术的理由：（守寡、多子、不孕）。她们在潜意识中意识到自己作为女性的 "不正常"，并受到性压抑，导致后来她们参与了达里尔的勾引。因此，我认为，是美国的社会文化焦虑，将 "理想的常态女性气质 "寓于其中，对女巫和女性起到了压迫的作用。

Both The Witches and Eastwick(1987) and Bell, Book, and Candle(1958) depicted women's struggles within a society where normative femininity and witchcraft are on the two ends of the spectrum of "socially constructed female traits". While both of the films initially depicts working woman(witches), their socially shaped desires force them to react differently, that is either conform to or rebel against so-called "normative femininity", eventually leading Gil sacrificing witchcraft for domesticated love life, and the three witches welcoming their inner witch forming an "untraditional" family. During their struggles, it is the American cultural anxieties in each era that introduced "ideal normative femininity", acted as oppression on witches and females.

Both films begin with female characters as working women and have their own power controlled in hand. Gillian being a successful businesswoman, running her own shop; Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont being a sculpture artist, a music teacher, and a reporter. At this stage, all of them are separate from men. Gil being single, Alex, Jane, and Sukie's husbands either died, divorced, or discarded them. Yet all of their self-dependent states couldn't last long. The social pressure and anxieties come in, disturbed them through inserting fear of distancing from "normative, traditional femininity" during their eras. For Gil, she becomes physically attracted to Shepherd, desires love affection and a domesticated life with him. Three girls from Eastwick yearn to feel empowered by Daryl, providing them self-esteem and care. Starting from here, all witches transform themselves into a somewhat sexualized witch, "all gorgeous and doing evil"(Gibson 99), like Gil enchanting Shep and three witches allowing themselves to be seduced by Daryl and casting a spell against Christian woman Felicia. Even so, these two films have drastically different endings. For Gil, witches were without scruple, and also defined by a lack of typically feminine attributes: "could not blush, cry or fall in love"(Gibson 92). Gil fall in love, abandoned her witchcraft abilities to be the "only human", closing the film with a "sexy witch safely domesticated"(92). Contrarily, Alex, Jane, and Sukie turn against the Devil Daryl, they re-acquired their power to bewitch and drive him away, and end the story living in a "happy communal family with their (and his) new babies"(99), a non-traditional life.

Bell, Book, and Candle is set in the '50s, an era in which the working women who just gained a raise of social status through Eleanor Roosevelt's promotion of women’s cause. However, this post-Pearl Harbor era was filled again with expectations from a patriarchal society, hoping that" women would be glad to get back to the kitchen and the nursery"(Gibson 92). Women wanted to gain power, still, they were afraid of the consequence of being "radicals". In the film, when Gillian tried to confess her witchcraft to Shep he joked ‘Have you been engaging in un-American activities?’, to which she replied: "no, I’d say very American"(93). This could be read as Gil the witch terrified of being titled with communist, a reaction out of fear. The Witches and Eastwick is set in the '80s, an era with Increased conservatism under Reaganism. The opening includes a spokesperson of the school accusing the phenomenon of divorce rates skyrocket and latchkey kids. For a conservative town like Eastwick, a town near Salem where the Witch Trials were once held, any slightest abnormality would be under neighbours' surveillance. The three women's conditions initially fitted into the justification for witchcraft: being widowed, having many children, and being infertility). They were aware of their "abnormality" as females subconsciously and were sexually repressed, causing their engagement with Daryl's seduction later on. Therefore, I argue that it is American social and cultural anxieties that fabled "ideal normative femininity", and acted as oppression on witches and females.