American Themes

In its own twisted way, The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike is an inverted reflection of the American Dream gone awry. The background behind each "witch"'s character is a relatively ordinary one. They each married their dream prince at a young age, and were soon swept off to suburbia to begin their all-American married life complete with weekly backyard barbeques and bus stop rendezvouses with fellow suburbanite mothers who are dead-set convinced their children are prodigies. However, as usual, this supposed euphoria is not half of what it's cracked up to be. After each witch's husband has dropped out of her life, the three band together and begin a new twisted form of the American Dream that involves conjuring up storms and frequenting a dilapidated mansion, whose resident's intentions concerning the witches are mysteries. The town of Eastwick is communicated as a somewhat sad husk of the bustling excitement of hay days past, and the inhabitants form tight-knit groups reluctant to trust anyone unless they have a good tale about someone else.
Witches also conveys a strong feel of patriarchy and feminine dependence. Throughout the book, the witches' thoughts almost always revolve around men: the past men in their lives, how to get men, insecurities concerning men, and which man to pursue next. My initial reaction to this aspect of the novel was one of deep offense, but when I thought about it again, I realized that The Witches of Eastwick may very well be a satire poking fun at not only women's supposed dependence on men, but also the polished pie-on-the-window image of the American Dream that a majority of today's population still harbors.