A Delusion of Satan by Francis Hill

Introduction

The book, A Delusion of Satan refers to the witch hysteria back in 1692 known as the Salem Witch Trials. This time period, although very short, caused a great mark in history. Betrayal, deceit, and secrecy are but a few words that could describe this event. Nineteen men and women were convicted of witchcraft and were taken away, to be hung.

The historic witchcraft persecutions are a recurrent theme in the works of Hawthorne. There are allusions to it in "Drowne's Wooden Image," in which an elderly Puritan man accuses Drowne of selling his soul to the devil when his exquisitely carved figurehead of a woman comes briefly to life. The story "Edward Randolph's Portrait," in "Legends of the Province-house," turns on an ancient, dark picture in the Province-House during the term of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. There is a legend that it depicts the Evil One, taken at a witch meeting near Salem.

Discussion and Analysis

In 1689, the revival preacher Samuel Parris, the first independent director of the strict Puritan community of Salem was appointed. The focus of his sermons was on the battle between God's chosen people, and Satan. In winter 1691/1692 began Elizabeth "Betty" Parris and Abigail Williams , his daughter and his niece, to behavioral problems, to speak particularly strange, hiding under things and crawl on the floor. None of the doctors ordered could not explain the suffering of the girl medically. The physician William Griggs suspected after a thorough investigation and the exclusion of all then-known mental disorder, that she might be possessed by the devil. The girls seemed to be dislocated from the invisible hand of the devil. Abigail and Elizabeth confirmed this by describing how they were tormented by invisible hands. Parris took this statement at once and said that the ...