The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
The Torturer's Dilemma: Analyzing the Logic of Torture for Information
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
only <strong>the</strong> witch-trials that brought this conflict out into <strong>the</strong> open?<br />
<strong>The</strong> answer is that <strong>the</strong> trials <strong>of</strong>fered a means <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> Putnam family, which had been on <strong>the</strong><br />
losing end <strong>of</strong> this struggle since <strong>the</strong> mid-1600s, to revenge <strong>the</strong>mselves against <strong>the</strong>ir more successful<br />
competitors in a way that preserved <strong>the</strong> illusion <strong>of</strong> godliness: <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> accusations were not seen as a<br />
deliberate attack by one family against ano<strong>the</strong>r (although some villagers certainly had <strong>the</strong>ir suspicions<br />
from <strong>the</strong> beginning), but ra<strong>the</strong>r as a purification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> community from an assault by <strong>the</strong> Devil himself.<br />
And indeed, this ability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trials to trans<strong>for</strong>m petty local grievances into battle with <strong>the</strong> Lord <strong>of</strong> Lies<br />
was not a property <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Putnam clan alone – part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> reason why <strong>the</strong> accusations spread so far<br />
afield (to places like Ipswich, Topsfield, and above all Andover) was because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> opportunity <strong>for</strong><br />
revenge that <strong>the</strong>se accusations <strong>of</strong>fered. <strong>The</strong> case <strong>of</strong> Timothy Swan <strong>of</strong>fers a stark example <strong>of</strong> how a man<br />
could bring his enemies to utter ruin by claiming to have been attacked by witchcraft (<strong>for</strong> which no<br />
direct evidence was possible).<br />
Certainly, it cannot be possible that <strong>the</strong> (very) young Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Jr.<br />
would have chosen <strong>the</strong>ir victims randomly, and just so happen to have lighted upon those families and<br />
individuals that had been a problem <strong>for</strong> so long. For <strong>the</strong> girls named people <strong>the</strong>y could not possibly<br />
have known about – names that would have been suggested to <strong>the</strong>m as likely culprits by concerned<br />
family-members (and <strong>the</strong>re is no need to doubt <strong>the</strong> sincerity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir concern). Indeed, <strong>the</strong> names<br />
suggested would have been most likely to be those <strong>of</strong> known enemies – those who would have been<br />
most likely to wish <strong>the</strong> family harm, and potentially willing to make a pact with Satan to carry that<br />
harm out. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, it is not necessary to assume <strong>the</strong> irrationality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> actors in this drama to<br />
explain <strong>the</strong> irrationality <strong>of</strong> that drama's conclusion: in a world in which people accepted witchcraft<br />
(whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> mass belief in black magic, or <strong>the</strong> elite belief in <strong>the</strong> Satanic conspiracy), <strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong><br />
mass-seizures unexplainable by medical science <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time would have immediately made witchcraft a<br />
likely source <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trouble. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong> pre-existing tensions in <strong>the</strong> community would have<br />
provided <strong>the</strong> afflicted with a number <strong>of</strong> potential persecutors – it was precisely those who would have a<br />
motive who could be expected to be behind <strong>the</strong> attacks, and <strong>the</strong>se were precisely <strong>the</strong> local enemies <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> afflicted. And while we may suspect that several <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> afflicted were engaging in deliberate<br />
deception (Mary Warren, Ann Putnam Sr. and Goody Bibber all spring to mind), <strong>the</strong> willingness <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>ir relatives and friends to believe <strong>the</strong>ir accusations can be explained simply by <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y did<br />
appear to suffer, <strong>the</strong>ir enemies had <strong>the</strong> motive to make <strong>the</strong>m suffer, and no one doubted that witches<br />
60