The midwife and witch were rival symbols of female reproductive power

Evidence

Symbolic of these changes were the midwife and the witch. From the perspective of the male, the witch was a symbol of disorder in nature and society, both of which must be brought under control. The midwife symbolized female incompetence in her own natural sphere, reproduction, correctable through a technology invented and controlled by men—the forceps. But from a female perspective, witchcraft represented a form of power by which oppressed lower-class women could retaliate against social injustices, and a source of healing through the use of spirits and the regenerative powers of nature. For women, the midwife symbolized female control over the female reproductive function. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 622

Categorization

• XREF: Links to my On Sacrifice article’s interest in how institutions seize control of life-cycle power from practitioners; also to the colonialism thread on male-dominated institutions displacing female traditional knowledge. — connects to: The Madonna cult and witch persecutions are paired expressions of Christian contempt for woman — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 89
• DEFINE: Explains the twin symbolic figures midwife and witch at the core of Merchant’s reproductive-control argument.

Broader Connections

• The Madonna cult and witch persecutions are paired expressions of Christian contempt for woman #expands (0.85) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 89