When I read the Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception, Witchcraft, Murder, and the King of England by James Sharpe, I could not help but wonder if Anne was pregnant and perhaps the bewitching was a clever cover up or distraction from an inappropriate pregnancy out of wed-lock.

What led me to this conclusion was when Sharpe mentions in passing that “under Bancroft’s care in the autumn of 1605 she fell in love, probably for the first time in her life, with one of his servants, and at least one contemporary recorded that the love was reciprocated, and marriage envisaged”(p. 5). He then goes on to note that her illness began with hysteria, “a medical theory of the period held to be a characteristically female complaint, originating from disorder of the womb” (p.6). Later, Sharpe says that “swelling in her belly, occasioned by the disease the mother [hysteria] she was oftentimes vehemently afflicted…and lastly she hath been fair in love with Asheley, servant to the Lord of Canterbury, and is still, hath sought his love long most importantly and immodestly (in a manner unfit to be written) and she doth now humbly and earnestly crave our furtherance that she may marry him” (p.180)    *** page numbers are from an ebook version, Kindle Addition.

Based on this information, it seems to me it is very possible that Anne fell in love with an unsuitable match, since her family was well off with a good name and the boy she fell in love with was a servant. She probably got pregnant, which would explain the hysteria, strictly as woman’s disease affecting her, as well as multiple remarks about her swollen belly. Additionally, pregnancy would explain why Anne’s father pushed her to go on with the trial. If Anne was pregnant with a child out of wed-lock from an unsuitable suitor, it is likely that her father would seek to hide that she was pregnant under the cover of bewitchment to preserve her eligibility for marriage to someone of higher rank. Furthermore, he would have every reason to hide an inappropriate pregnancy to persevere the family’s reputation, since women’s actions reflected on their family name and their name was well respected. Finally, the fact that Anne wanted to marry the boy she fell in love with further supports the idea that she might have been pregnant because people during this time were religious, and it is reasonable to infer that if she were pregnant that she would seek to marry the father of the child for religious reasons.

I am just speculating, but the evidence can definitely be interpreted this way. Perhaps further research and additional documents would solidify my arguments.