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Why John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick Should Remain in the Literary Canon
The literary canon calls to mind the most gifted authors and the greatest works ever read. One would think that such a praise and honor would necessitate some kind of award, or perhaps to print the book on gold paper. But there are no awards or gold paper, forcing some to believe that maybe the canon is nothing but a reading list for higher education. Whether it is on a high school reading list or inscribed onto ornate scrolls, John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick will continue to be a worthwhile title within the literary canon.
The novel tells of three witches who live in Eastwick, Rhode Island. The story is not centered around spells and magic, but around the lives of these three divorced women during the Vietnam War. How did these middle-class, small-town, otherwise ordinary women get their witchy powers? They became husbandless. All three are divorcees and embodiments of what American small-town society tends to think about divorcees. Whether you leave your husband or are left ”doesn’t make any difference.” Divorced then, and, with the images of their former husbands shrunk and dried and stored away in their minds and kitchens and cellars, they are free to be themselves. They usually do not use their magic to do everyday tasks, but rather for when their emotions get very intense. In other words, do not get on their bad side. These witches do not want to heal the world or even take it over. They use magic for personal reasons so there are many instances when they play tricks on people just for the fun of it.
Things get turned upside down when the wealthy Darryl Van Horne moves into town. The three witches become Van Horne’s lovers and together the four of them are good friends, only to be dumped later on by a young newcomer to their exclusive group. Sukie, Jane, and Alexandra are not happy with the fact that she eventually married him and seek revenge by creating a voodoo doll with the purpose to kill. Any woman would feel anger towards Jenny because of this. The women’s lives are already complicated and interesting but the witchcraft adds an extra twist that proves to be even more entertaining for the reader.
The novel is meant to be entertaining and its purpose it to allow the reader to escape. The characters long for escape from their everyday lives whenever they visit Darryl Van Horne. The reader feels like coming along with them. One cannot help but take a vacation to the town of Eastwick, Rhode Island with its picturesque streets and high tides. This involuntary reaction is the result of carefully written descriptions. A reaction of this kind is a canonical trait. Many of the works in the present literary canon are there because they are entertaining as well as profound.
Not all works of literature in the canon have to contain deep meaning or an [next page]