The Witch's Trinity Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Era of Witchhunts and our BookBrowse Review of The Witch's Trinity.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About This Guide
This reader’s guide is intended as a starting point for your discussion of Erika Mailman’s thought-provoking and powerful The Witch’s Trinity.

About This Book
The year is 1507, and a friar has arrived in Tierkinddorf, a remote German village nestled deeply in the woods. The village has been suffering a famine, and the villagers are desperately hungry. The friar’s arrival is a miracle, and when he claims he can restore the town to prosperity, the men and women gathered to hear him rejoice. The friar has a book called the Malleus Maleficarum—“The Witch’s Hammer”—a guide to gaining confessions of witchcraft. The friar promises he will identify the guilty woman who has brought God’s anger upon the town; she will be burned, and bounty will be restored. Tierkinddorf is filled with hope. Neighbors wonder aloud who has cursed them and how quickly can she be found? They begin sharing secrets with the friar.

Güde Müller, an elderly woman, has stark and frightening visions—recently she has seen things that defy explanation. None in the village know this, and Güde herself worries that perhaps her mind has begun to wander—certainly she has outlived all but one of her peers in Tierkinddorf. Yet of one thing she is absolutely certain: She has become an object of scorn and a burden to her son’s wife. In these desperate times her daughter-in-law would prefer one less hungry mouth at the family table. As the friar turns his eye on each member of the tiny community, Güde dreads what her daughter-in-law might say to win his favor.

Then one terrible night Güde follows an unearthly voice and the scent of charred meat into the snow-filled woods. Come morning, she no longer knows if the horror she witnessed was real or imagined. She only knows that if the friar hears of it, she may be damned in this life as well as the next.

The Witch’s Trinity beautifully illuminates a dark period of history; it is vividly imagined, elegantly written, haunting, and unforgettable.

For Discussion

1. Before the famine, Tierkinddorf was a close-knit community where families lived side by side for generations. In light of this, why do you think the villagers were so willing to accept that one of their own was in league with the devil? Consider the very human need to have a scapegoat in difficult times. Why does having someone to blame for our woes seem to lessen them?
   


2. Describe Güde’s life. What is her position in the village? At home? On page 9, Jost admonishes his wife for treating his mother harshly but then leaves before making sure the fight is over; as a result, Irmeltrud sets Güde out to beg for her food. What does their treatment of the old woman say about them?
   


3. On the night that Güde’s daughter-in-law throws her out of the house, she wanders in the woods searching for Jost. Why is Güde afraid of the forest? What does it represent? Terrified and frozen, Güde believes she meets the devil and his followers there; she is tempted to sign his book in exchange for food. Does she do it? Is the whole event the work of an age-addled mind, or true evil?
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Three Rivers. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.