Of Milk and Men: Normative Masculinity in Scandinavian Milk-Witch Legends

Abstract:Legends of the milk-stealing witch can be found throughout northern Europe, including the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. This article argues that Scandinavian narratives about this nearly always female character speak to normative male behavior as well as to normative female behavior. While the milk-witch can be understood as an inversion of the ideal Lutheran housewife, I demonstrate that milk-witch legends often focus not on the witch but on her opponents, who are typically male. The witch is usually defeated by these male protagonists, who illustrate idealized male behavior, duties, and abilities. Milk-witch legends can therefore be understood as one part of a folkloric discourse establishing and maintaining a binary gender system in Scandinavia.