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The issue of gender in the story goes beyond witches. Others feared the presentation of the witches promoted a rebellion against all adults, not only females" (Oliver). Many adults, fearing the perpetuation of sexist order, protested The Witches. The Witches was published in 1983 when second-wave feminism was robust and prosperous, fighting issues of unofficial inequalities and sexist structures. Even though males are ghouls, they are not half as evil as the female witch however, such strong reactions against the female-only witches were due to the time of release. In "Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble: a critical look at the controversy over The Witches, Elizabeth Oliver analyzes early reactions to Dahl's novel, writing of the above quote, "This statement does split the sexes, and provides readers with the viewpoint of evil only inhabiting the female sex. But neither of them is half as dangerous as a REAL WITCH" (3).
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On the other hand, a ghoul is always a male. But the fact remains that all witches are women. "I do not wish to speak badly about women. Most of the criticism the book has received on the topic is due to Dahl's definition of witches as women. Gender is an incredibly important aspect of The Witches, and has led to continued criticism of Dahl and of the work, despite its popularity and success as a children's book.