The Last of Roper

I really liked this weeks reading.  It was short, to the point, and I thought it was a good conclusion to Roper’s ideas that she reiterated throughout the book.  Catharina Schmid’s story was really heartbreaking because she was such a strong woman until the very end.  She had to go through so much and it is just sad that they did not let her off after everything she went through, and also because according to many people she was extremely devout.  I thought it was really interesting how even a century after the largest of the witch hunts how people could still be accused, even during a time of supposed Enlightenment.  I do not understand how people could consider themselves rational and yet still consider witchcraft a threat to them and to society.  Although, even today we still have similar types of situations, maybe not with witches but with other groups.  It is much easier to have someone that you can blame and punish for the things that are hurting you and that you cannot understand, then to have no one to use as a scapegoat.  I also thought, that having her daughter confess to witchcraft as well made the story even sadder.  The Story of Hansel and Gretel in the Epilogue, and how Roper related it back to stories about witchcraft, was very interesting.  I thought that was a good portrayal of what people were afraid of, and the awful things that happened during that time - stepmothers, food shortages, and the terror of witchcraft.  And the old woman who was trying the eat the children, was truely the typical witch that many people picture witches as being.