James I of England expressed the view, in his numerous texts on this subject, that females were
intrinsically frailer than men, making it easier for them to be trapped by the Devil into doing his
work. The Serpent’s deceiving of Eve at the beginning, he asserted, had given Satan ready access
to women ever since.7 Henri Boguet, the notorious witch-hunting prosecutor of Franche-Comté,
was to explore in greater detail, however, the heart of this issue. He explained,
The Devil uses them so, because he knows that women love carnal pleasures, and he
means to bind them to his allegiance by such agreeable provocations. Moreover, he
adds, there is nothing which makes a woman more subject and loyal to a man, than that
he should abuse her body.8