Understanding historical fiction as a hybrid space, both presenting the past and embracing the culture it is written in allows insights into the problems women face within the patriarchal society by setting them at a temporal distance. This paper explores the connections between witches, history, and medical practices in Amy McKay’s The witches of New York. It first looks at how the novel queers history by introducing a female perspective embedded in memory-sharing. The paper then moves on to show how the novel contrasts gendered medicinal practices and segues into explaining how this contrast is superficial. The above serves as the ground for my key claim that, although the novel seeks to present an alternative to what it depicts as male-centric Western medical practices harmful to women, it fails to offer an alternative way of thinking. Even if it relies on the postfeminist discourse by seemingly presenting empowered feminine characters, these, under closer inspection, are shown to reinforce conservative notions of femininity through idealization of the figure of the female healer and gendered tropes of care. The paper concludes with the assertion that, although the novel aims to offer a meaningful alternative to the prevailing system of medical practice through its centering on female experiences, it cannot escape patriarchal discourses.

将历史小说理解为一个混合空间，既呈现过去，又拥抱其所写的文化，可以通过将女性置于时间上的距离来洞察她们在父权社会中面临的问题。本文探讨了艾米·麦凯的《纽约女巫》中女巫、历史和医疗实践之间的联系。它首先着眼于小说如何通过引入嵌入记忆共享的女性视角来酷儿历史。然后，本文继续展示小说如何对比性别医疗实践，并继续解释这种对比是多么肤浅。以上是我的关键主张的基础，即尽管小说试图提出一种替代方案，以取代它所描述的以男性为中心的西方医疗实践对女性的有害，但它未能提供另一种思维方式。即使它依赖于后女权主义话语，看似呈现出被赋予权力的女性角色，但经过仔细观察，这些都被证明通过女性治疗师形象的理想化和性别化的护理比喻来强化保守的女性观念。论文最后断言，尽管这部小说旨在通过以女性经历为中心，为现行医疗实践体系提供一种有意义的替代方案，但它无法逃脱父权话语。