Witchcraft and ‘Bitchcraft’: A Portrayal of the Witch Character in American Horror Story: Coven

Abstract

American Horror Story: Coven (2013-2014) is an original TV series created by Ryan Murphy and Brian Falchuk that revolves around a group of witches who dwell in a private school owned and run by Cordelia. This teacher is the prototype of the good witch. She is also the daughter of Fiona Goode, the so-called ‘supreme’ among the witches’ community, meaning she is the most talented and powerful witch alive. This character, played on screen by Jessica Lange, is the most vivid embodiment of the evil mother that haunts traditional fairy tales: she is egocentric and her ultimate goal is to keep her physical appearance intact. Undoubtedly the universe within the series appears markedly feminine and overtly addresses gender issues which range from the traditional relation that femininity has with patriarchy to the way female characters are depicted in fairy tales. Within this framework, the purpose of this chapter is to examine how gender issues are dealt with in the series, namely the relation between peers, the bond between mothers and daughters, and the ways femininity develops taking into account the obstacles brought by the counter-power of patriarchy. In this context, it will be challenging to explore how the witch characters are grounded on female stereotypes and cliches, and how they express female anxieties and fears that have roots in the past and continue to afflict them in the present. This analysis also aims at exploring how the traditional fairy tale conventions are manipulated, parodied and subsequently integrated into the filmic narrative. In an original fashion, we can say that American Horror Story: Coven engenders an eerie atmosphere, offering the spectator a universe where the horrors of the past meet the terrors of the present in a harmonious and dark account.