The Witches of Eastwick should just leave men alone!
The Witches of Eastwick is a novel written by John Updike about three witches in the late 1960’s. The witches, Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart and Sukie Rougemont, live in the fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. The Witches of Eastwick acquire their powers after all three husbands leave their them for unknown reasons. Maybe their husbands realized the powers they possessed and decided to leave now rather than later. How else do you explain all three men leaving three different women at the same time? It could have been part of a bigger plot. The Witches of Eastwick seems to tell a story of women relying on men to survive. Hmmm… maybe this should not come as a surprise since the book was written by a man!
The Witches of Eastwick rely on each other to get through the pain until the mysterious and maybe evil Darryl Van Home enters the Witches of Eastwick’s lives. Everything appears to be going smoothly as Darryl Van Home seduces each woman and teaches them how to use their power for personal gain and create havoc around the town. You cannot help but wonder if Darryl Van Home is playing on the emotions of the Witches of Eastwick and this was part of his plan all along. Not only was he surrounded and sharing three fairly beautiful women, he had the love from all three women who had great power.
Just like a man, Darryl Van Home was not satisfied with his “every man’s dream” life and decides to marry the Witches of Eastwick’s innocent friend Jenny. No power is greater than the power of a woman scorned. When you have three women who actually have true magical powers, it does not help the situation. Women are emotional creatures by nature and it should not come as a surprise that the Witches of Eastwick would devise a plan to kill Jenny.
Jenny does not deserve to die, but she should have known that her friends would not take the situation lightly. Darryl Van Home should have also known that the Witches of Eastwick would not be happy with his decision to break the peace and marry Jenny. It would be common sense to know that three women who already lost their husbands would not be happy with losing another man. Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont are not the Witches of Eastwick by chance. They actually have magical powers and the crazy thing is Darryl Van Home helped the Witches of Eastwick develop their powers. Darryl Van Home will not let the Witches of Eastwick have the last word and surprisingly, in a weird twist, leaves town with the Witches of Eastwick’s younger brother, Chris, who has been revealed as Darryl Van Home’s lover!
In the end The Witches of Eastwick are heartbroken. Not once after their husbands left or twice after Darryl left, or even three times when Darryl left them for their friend Jenny, but four times when Darryl took off with their brother. Feeling worthless and having a sense of self doubt, they decided to leave the town that caused so much pain. However, the Witches of Eastwick still manage to gather the strength to find their ideal men before leaving town.