Women's position in society made them vunerable and the picture of the stereotypical witch was built around that.
Salem
the past
She was pregnant and they wouldn't hang a pregnant woman. By the time the baby was born, the witchcraft accusations had been proved false and there were no more hangings.
Landowning women were targeted in witchcraft accusations because they held power and wealth, which threatened the traditional gender roles and social hierarchy of the time. Accusing them of witchcraft was a way to undermine their authority and maintain the status quo.
The spread of the plague & other kinds of disease.
vengeance
Vengeance
Vengeance
In "The Crucible," John Proctor believed the motivating force behind all the accusations of witchcraft in Salem Village was vengeance. He was outraged at the interrogation of the pious Rebecca Nurse, and the accusation of his wife Elizabeth.
Vengeance
vengeance
The wives of Francis Nurse and Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, were both accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse was charged with witchcraft largely due to her reputation as a pious and respected woman, which made her accusations particularly shocking to the community. Martha Corey was accused after she expressed skepticism about the witch trials and the validity of the accusations, leading to allegations that she was engaging in witchcraft. Both women faced intense scrutiny and were emblematic of the hysteria and paranoia that characterized the trials.