We don't need to analyze too much of the colonial and Puritan background of 17th-century New England—just see that this is an allegory of punishment.
Undoubtedly, the blindness of the father made the family fall into the predicament of self-isolation from the society from the very beginning. I think the scene where the family leaves the colonial stronghold is the basis for the narrative of the entire film: out of society's beliefs, no longer beliefs but just fanatics... The Thomasins are not Mormons - because the latter even isolated In general society, there are also social organizations within it. But what about this family... exposed in a chilling mid-shot.
It must be realized that the medium shot of this film not only conveys a cold emotional color, but also the fable itself: those desolate shacks; simple furnishings; numb portraits and continuous dry forest wilderness, All reveal the undertones of this ominous fable.
The metaphor of the black sheep, the lust of the twins and the younger brother, are actually not very important - just like the father's paranoia and the mother's hysteria, it is just a preparation for Thomasin's survival. The gist of it is: Thomasin's Surviving Historical Metaphor (History of the Witches Persecution in New England). This female figure, who can only survive in the wilderness, on the axis of real history, predicts the catastrophic result. And this is precisely the punishment fixed on Thomasin, an innocent person. A well-established CU shot, but under the restrained editing, all the indifference poured down.
Excessive punishment is what the film is all about. Sons died of lust, mothers were murdered by daughters, these are all savage devastations to the family - although it seems that all the source is from the arrogance of the father, but for these residents who fled from the Old World to the colonies , isn't life itself a kind of exile? In this way, the prehistory of the New World (from the colonies to the pre-Independence War) is a history of punishment and persecution.
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