Abstract | This paper explores the political, religious, and feminist aspects of contemporary witchcraft novels. It discusses the novels: A Discovery of Witches (2011) by Deborah Harkness, The Witching Hour: Lives of the Mayfair Witches (1991) by Anne Rice, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (2009) by Katherine Howe, Voodoo Dreams: A Story of Marie Leveau (1995) by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Beautiful Creatures (2009) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The analysis pays special attention to these novels' references to social issues such as racism, intolerance, social status of women, and the social function of religion that are achieved not only through fictional depiction of social issues but also by referring to actual historical occurrences. The chapter on political aspects of witchcraft discusses in depth the policies and social interactions between witches and elaborates on the moral issues of using magic for personal gain. The analysis of the religious aspect of contemporary fiction about witchcraft, conducted in the following chapter, points at the role of the Catholic Church in the persecutions of witches during the Middle Ages. This Chapter also analyzes the religious elements in witchcraft itself by comparing fictional rituals to practices of pre-Christian religions. The last chapter, dedicated to feminist aspects of these novels, provides evidence of fictional witches being strong, educated, and independent women. In addition to social issues, the analysis of political, religious, and feminist aspects provides an insight into the complex character of a fictional witch. The novels included in this scrutiny show that contemporary authors turn away from the traditional way of depicting witches as villains by revolving the plot around their lives and experiences. They demonstrate that a witch need not always be a negative character but can also be good and kind. As these authors include important social issues into their writing, reference historical occurrences, and create multifaceted characters, it can be said that fiction about witchcraft must not necessarily be trivial. |