The First Witch

In class, we’ve discussed the sexism at play during the witch trials, and I’ve written about the “daughters of Eve,” the female descendants of the first humans who are susceptible to evil, taking after their foremother. Though I’ve discussed the link between this sexist assumption about women’s inherent inability to resist evil and the disproportionate number of women accused of, and executed for, witchcraft, I had never considered Eve a witch. Our textbook on the Salem witch trials states, however, that “her disobedience to God at the Devil’s bidding made her the first witch” (13). This comparison makes sense, as Eve followed the temptations of the Devil, which many considered a qualification for witch-hood, and much like her accused successors, she’s blamed for tempting a man into sin. Aside from her lack of magic, the title of “First Witch” seems to fit Eve perfectly, given the 17th-century definition of a witch. Unless that is, one accounts for Lilith. 

Though she’s often left undiscussed in Christian circles, some Judaic traditions considered Lilith the first wife of Adam. Accounting for the discrepancies in biblical creation stories, their belief is that Lilith came before Eve, made from the same soil as her husband so that she was not inferior, but an equal. Knowing this, Lilith refused to submit to Adam, choosing to leave the garden and her husband behind instead. Where Eve qualifies as a witch because she followed the will of Satan, Lilith qualifies because she followed her own will by refusing to take on the role of the submissive wife. Like Eve, Lilith aligns with 17th-century cultural ideas of a witch. According to our textbook, “women who seemed unduly aggressive and contentious or who failed to show deference toward men in positions of authority and seemed not to accept their place in the social hierarchy were most likely to be accused” of witchcraft (13). Lilith certainly matches this description in her defiance of Adam's (and some might say God's) will for her subservience.

If Eve qualifies as a witch, she certainly isn’t the first to earn the title. Both she and Lilith meet the expectations of witch-hood, with Lilith as the original. Interestingly, one might say that this is a prime example of witch sisterhood. During the Salem trials, many believed that the witches recruited other women to join them in their evil. Aligning with this idea, some interpretations of “The Fall” depict not Satan as the serpent who tempts Eve, but Lilith. This full-circle story contains some of the classic characteristics of witches– Lilith, the first woman made witch by her refusal of submission and gender roles tempts the weak-minded Eve to join her (now associated with Satan) in a pact of evil, leading Eve to tempt Adam and doom all of womankind to a similar fate. 

This image depicts an evil Lilith as the serpent

(complete with tail) tempting a naked and

vulnerable Eve with the Fruit of Knowledge.