The Witches and Eastwick(1987)和Bell, Book, and Candle(1958)都描寫(xiě)了女性在一個(gè)社會(huì)中的斗爭(zhēng)，在這個(gè)社會(huì)中，規(guī)范的女性氣質(zhì)和巫術(shù)是 "社會(huì)構(gòu)建的女性特征 "的兩端。雖然兩部電影最初都是描寫(xiě)職業(yè)女性（女巫），但社會(huì)塑造的欲望迫使她們做出不同的反應(yīng)，即要么順應(yīng)所謂的 "常態(tài)女性氣質(zhì)"，要么反抗所謂的 "常態(tài)女性氣質(zhì)"，最終導(dǎo)致吉爾為了家庭化的愛(ài)情生活而犧牲了巫術(shù)，而三個(gè)女巫則歡迎她們內(nèi)心的女巫組成了一個(gè) "非傳統(tǒng) "的家庭。 在她們的掙扎過(guò)程中，正是每個(gè)時(shí)代的美國(guó)文化焦慮引入了 "理想規(guī)范的女性氣質(zhì)"，對(duì)女巫和女性起到了壓迫的作用。

兩部電影的女性角色都是以職業(yè)女性的身份開(kāi)始，并且將自己的權(quán)力控制在手中。吉莉安是一個(gè)成功的女商人，經(jīng)營(yíng)著自己的商店；亞歷山德拉-斯波福、簡(jiǎn)-斯瑪特和蘇琪-羅格蒙特是一個(gè)雕塑藝術(shù)家、音樂(lè)教師和記者。在這個(gè)階段，她們都是和男人分開(kāi)的。吉爾是單身，亞歷克斯、簡(jiǎn)和蘇琪的丈夫不是死了，就是離了婚，或者拋棄了她們。然而她們所有的自我依賴狀態(tài)都無(wú)法持續(xù)太久。社會(huì)的壓力和焦慮襲來(lái)，通過(guò)插入與 "規(guī)范的、傳統(tǒng)的女性氣質(zhì) "的距離的恐懼，擾亂了她們的時(shí)代。對(duì)于吉爾來(lái)說(shuō)，她對(duì)謝潑德產(chǎn)生了生理上的吸引，渴望愛(ài)情親情，渴望和他一起過(guò)著家常的生活。東域的三個(gè)女孩渴望感受到達(dá)里爾的力量，為她們提供自尊和關(guān)懷。從這里開(kāi)始，所有的女巫都會(huì)把自己改造成一個(gè)有點(diǎn)性的女巫，"都是華麗的，做著邪惡的事情"(吉布森99)，比如吉爾迷倒了謝普，三個(gè)女巫讓自己被達(dá)里爾勾引，對(duì)基督教女子費(fèi)利西亞施咒。即便如此，這兩部電影的結(jié)局也是截然不同的。對(duì)于吉爾來(lái)說(shuō)，女巫是毫無(wú)顧忌的，也是由缺乏典型的女性屬性來(lái)定義的。"不能臉紅，哭泣或戀愛(ài)"（吉布森92）。吉爾墜入愛(ài)河，放棄了自己的巫術(shù)能力，成為 "唯一的人類"，以一個(gè) "被安全馴化的性感女巫"(92)結(jié)束影片。相反，亞歷克斯、簡(jiǎn)和蘇琪則與魔鬼達(dá)里爾反目成仇，他們重新獲得了巫術(shù)的能力，并將他趕走，故事的結(jié)尾是 "和他們（和他）的新寶寶一起生活在一個(gè)幸福的公共家庭"(99)，這是一種非傳統(tǒng)的生活。

《鐘、書(shū)、燭》的時(shí)代背景是50年代，這個(gè)時(shí)代的勞動(dòng)?jì)D女剛剛通過(guò)埃莉諾-羅斯福對(duì)婦女事業(yè)的推動(dòng)獲得了社會(huì)地位的提高。然而，這個(gè)后珍珠港時(shí)代又充滿了來(lái)自父權(quán)社會(huì)的期望，希望 "女性會(huì)很高興回到廚房和育嬰室"(Gibson 92)。女性想要獲得權(quán)力，但她們還是害怕成為 "激進(jìn)分子 "的后果。在影片中，當(dāng)吉莉安試圖向謝普坦白她的巫術(shù)時(shí)，他開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō) "你是不是一直在從事非美國(guó)的活動(dòng)？"，她回答說(shuō)："沒(méi)有，我想說(shuō)的是，我的巫術(shù)很厲害。"（吉布森92）。"不，我會(huì)說(shuō)很美國(guó)"(93)。這可以理解為女巫吉爾害怕被冠以共產(chǎn)主義者的稱號(hào)，是出于恐懼的反應(yīng)。女巫與伊斯維克》的背景是80年代，一個(gè)在里根主義下保守主義加劇的時(shí)代。開(kāi)頭包括學(xué)校的發(fā)言人指責(zé)離婚率暴漲和拉客的孩子的現(xiàn)象。對(duì)于像伊斯威克這樣的保守小鎮(zhèn)，一個(gè)靠近塞勒姆的小鎮(zhèn)，曾經(jīng)舉行過(guò)女巫審判，任何輕微的異常都會(huì)受到鄰居的監(jiān)視。三個(gè)女人的情況最初符合巫術(shù)的理由：（守寡、多子、不孕）。她們?cè)跐撘庾R(shí)中意識(shí)到自己作為女性的 "不正常"，并受到性壓抑，導(dǎo)致后來(lái)她們參與了達(dá)里爾的勾引。因此，我認(rèn)為，是美國(guó)的社會(huì)文化焦慮，將 "理想的常態(tài)女性氣質(zhì) "寓于其中，對(duì)女巫和女性起到了壓迫的作用。

Both The Witches and Eastwick(1987) and Bell, Book, and Candle(1958) depicted women's struggles within a society where normative femininity and witchcraft are on the two ends of the spectrum of "socially constructed female traits". While both of the films initially depicts working woman(witches), their socially shaped desires force them to react differently, that is either conform to or rebel against so-called "normative femininity", eventually leading Gil sacrificing witchcraft for domesticated love life, and the three witches welcoming their inner witch forming an "untraditional" family. During their struggles, it is the American cultural anxieties in each era that introduced "ideal normative femininity", acted as oppression on witches and females.

Both films begin with female characters as working women and have their own power controlled in hand. Gillian being a successful businesswoman, running her own shop; Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont being a sculpture artist, a music teacher, and a reporter. At this stage, all of them are separate from men. Gil being single, Alex, Jane, and Sukie's husbands either died, divorced, or discarded them. Yet all of their self-dependent states couldn't last long. The social pressure and anxieties come in, disturbed them through inserting fear of distancing from "normative, traditional femininity" during their eras. For Gil, she becomes physically attracted to Shepherd, desires love affection and a domesticated life with him. Three girls from Eastwick yearn to feel empowered by Daryl, providing them self-esteem and care. Starting from here, all witches transform themselves into a somewhat sexualized witch, "all gorgeous and doing evil"(Gibson 99), like Gil enchanting Shep and three witches allowing themselves to be seduced by Daryl and casting a spell against Christian woman Felicia. Even so, these two films have drastically different endings. For Gil, witches were without scruple, and also defined by a lack of typically feminine attributes: "could not blush, cry or fall in love"(Gibson 92). Gil fall in love, abandoned her witchcraft abilities to be the "only human", closing the film with a "sexy witch safely domesticated"(92). Contrarily, Alex, Jane, and Sukie turn against the Devil Daryl, they re-acquired their power to bewitch and drive him away, and end the story living in a "happy communal family with their (and his) new babies"(99), a non-traditional life.

Bell, Book, and Candle is set in the '50s, an era in which the working women who just gained a raise of social status through Eleanor Roosevelt's promotion of women’s cause. However, this post-Pearl Harbor era was filled again with expectations from a patriarchal society, hoping that" women would be glad to get back to the kitchen and the nursery"(Gibson 92). Women wanted to gain power, still, they were afraid of the consequence of being "radicals". In the film, when Gillian tried to confess her witchcraft to Shep he joked ‘Have you been engaging in un-American activities?’, to which she replied: "no, I’d say very American"(93). This could be read as Gil the witch terrified of being titled with communist, a reaction out of fear. The Witches and Eastwick is set in the '80s, an era with Increased conservatism under Reaganism. The opening includes a spokesperson of the school accusing the phenomenon of divorce rates skyrocket and latchkey kids. For a conservative town like Eastwick, a town near Salem where the Witch Trials were once held, any slightest abnormality would be under neighbours' surveillance. The three women's conditions initially fitted into the justification for witchcraft: being widowed, having many children, and being infertility). They were aware of their "abnormality" as females subconsciously and were sexually repressed, causing their engagement with Daryl's seduction later on. Therefore, I argue that it is American social and cultural anxieties that fabled "ideal normative femininity", and acted as oppression on witches and females.