Something Wicked This Way Comes: Female Empowerment in The Witches of Eastwick

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Ok, so I love 80’s films. The big hair, the fashion and the strange little towns they’re always set in: I love them. And The Witches of Eastwick has all three.

In picturesque Eastwick, three best friends accidentally summon the literal Devil to their town. We could blame the margaritas blended with hidden magical powers for the following events, but I’m certainly not complaining.

Cher’s Alex is a widowed artist with a teenage daughter who’s not afraid to speak her mind, even to the Devil himself. She’s also the first of the women to meet Jack Nicholson’s Daryl Van Horn, swiftly followed by newly-divorced Jane (Susan Sarandon) and mother-of-five Sookie (Michelle Pfeifer). The women are bored in their small town, lacking men who understand them.

Enter Daryl Van Horn, the self-proclaimed ‘horny little devil’, who seduces each of them within weeks. He entertains the women and their children and buys the local manor house for the three to conduct their affairs. He’s perfect. He’s not that attractive or knowledgeable, knows he’s full of bullshit and is very clear about what he wants from the women. I’m not attracted to Jack Nicholson, but I understand the appeal of his character. He’s nothing like the men in town, and he liberates the women from it.

Their hair gets wilder, they dress more freely -especially the formerly bookish Jane- and, somehow, they all agree to sleep with the same man without getting jealous. They also realise they have magic powers. From creating rain to floating when they laugh, these girls have incredible power between them. Daryl seems to admire them, but, in the end, he isn’t afraid to use his own powers against them.

In such a small New England town, it doesn’t take long for rumours to spread about their relationship, and the three become alienated. One could argue this is typical of a small town in the eighties. The idea of sexual liberation and women being in a consenting polyamorous relationship is unthinkable in this small community. Scared of the impact on their children, the women end things with Daryl.

Daryl, however, doesn’t appreciate being dumped. Like many a toxic boyfriend, he lashes out by using what they’ve told him about their greatest fears against them. So, it would seem that the man of their dreams was exactly like the other men they’d met. He wants them liberated to an extent, but only if their dreams and ambitions don’t clash with his own.

Relationships rarely end without consequences, especially if you’re dumping the Devil. When Sookie is rushed to hospital with internal haemorrhaging caused by Daryl, the three reveal to each other that they’re all pregnant. Not only are they his playthings, but he got all three of them pregnant to give birth to his sons, reducing them back to the stereotypes of motherhood. He demands reciprocity for what he’s done for them. They must be with him in return for their powers. This idea likely stems from the tradition that witches sold their souls to the Devil in return for their magic, binding them to serve him. For some reason, this includes ironing his shirts, but I suppose the Devil has little experience with laundry.

With his true colours revealed, the ladies aren’t content being his broodmares. I particularly enjoy the scene where he’s dragged around town against his will, covered in feathers and blown around by wind thanks to their magic until he ends up in the church.

Here, in the house of God, he launches into a tirade against women, comparing them to natural disasters and God’s mistake. Even in this modern age, we see men who pretend to be feminists but are misogynists at heart, who put limits on the rights of girlfriends and wives. Daryl’s takedown is so satisfying as the women join forces to get rid of him using the magic he gave them.

The ending is even better. Three women with big hair, big personalities and magic live happily ever after in a mansion, raising their kids together? I can definitely get on board with that.

by Sophie Hutchison

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