What is a witch?
In Higurashi Sotsu Episode 8, Eua defines a witch as the above. This both is and isn't the same definition as we've seen in When They Cry before!
Indeed, the reason why it's so hard for Umineko fans to give a straight answer to "what is a witch?" is because the definition often changes depending on who is saying the word. But while the exact uses vary, they're often circling around a collection of related concepts.
So let's take a look at some other examples in the series of what it means to be a witch!
Rika’s Definition of a Witch
In When They Cry, the first use of the term "witch" comes from the original Higurashi. Rika uses the word early in Minagoroshi to describe herself as a being who has experienced multiple worlds, and therefore can predict events before they happen.
Note that Rika here isn't describing a specific kind of magic being that exists, with established rules and specific powers and whatnot. She's using the term as a label she made up (or possibly heard from Hanyuu) to try to make sense of her own experiences.
Throughout Minagoroshi, Rika continues thinking about herself in these terms - herself as a tired, cynical witch who has lived for a hundred years, versus the emotions and hope she hasn’t completely left behind.
Eventually, Rika comes to the conclusion pictured above. That thinking like a witch - that seeing herself as separate from the events around her - has made her forget her own agency in those events.
Saikoroshi takes Rika's thoughts from Minagoroshi and Matsuribayashi and expands on them. This is the first arc to explore the idea of Rika's "Frederica Bernkastel" witch side as a separate being from "Furude Rika," the human who lives in a Fragment.
It's... kind of heartbreaking, actually. Rika eventually comes to believe she (the witch Rika) has replaced the Rika that was supposed to be in the Saikoroshi world, and she starts to want to erase her own personality in order to give the body "back."
But would such a thing even be possible? If so, did the witch Rika possess Saikoroshi Rika and make her kill her mother? And at the end, did Rika actually separate her witch side into a being that exists on a higher plane? Who knows! Turns out the scenario was just a dream Hanyuu made Rika have to teach her a lesson.
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Still, within just these Higurashi scenes, we have all the seeds of what witches are in Umineko. We have the idea that witches are something no longer human, and specifically inhuman because of their perception of multiple worlds. We have the idea of a witch as a spectator distantly observing events, rather than a human participating in them. We have the idea of the witch as a shattering of one’s psyche, and of internal conflict brewing between the “witch” and the “human” sides of one’s personality.
And we have the idea that being a witch is fundamentally not a good or happy thing. It is power and psychological distance at the cost of one's emotions, agency, and humanity.
But so far, we only have one "witch." What happens when there are multiple witches?
Lambdadelta’s Definition of a Witch
The short story “Memoirs of the Lambdadelta” is looking more and more retconned with each episode of Sotsu, but even so, I think it’s still valuable in this context. While Rika defined witches as passive spectators, the following excerpt has Lambda define them as beings that exist in between two extremes.
(Also note the intriguing flip in perspective - in Higurashi, Rika attributed agency to the humans, while gods like Hanyuu were incredibly passive. But Lambda - and arguably Umineko as a whole - see it in opposite terms.)
The ones tossed about by fate are the humans. Fools, helpless, can’t create anything.
…...However, they have a ground to firmly step under their feet. And that ground will never betray them, thus, they can live their whole existence without the fear of the terror of falling to hell.
The ones who create fate are the gods. And the Creator.
......However, the fact that they create everything and are freed from all restrictions means they don't even have a restriction such as the ground under their feet.
Beings that have completely lost all constraints... In exchange for gaining everything, they have lost even the limitation of their own 'meaning'.
...When even the notion of life and death and the meaning of existence has been lost... they reach the level of zero. Or rather, they fall down to it. Crash down. Crumble. Vanish like mist.
I think the ones placed in the middle are us, the witches. We create fate and play with it. We move around in that interstice. However, we accept certain restrictions and limitations, leaving ourselves some footing so that we won't tumble down.
To the witches who are not afraid of it, the ones who are far, far ahead of me... these restrictions don't exist.
So the emphasis is a little bit different, but we’re still circling the idea of a witch as a being caught between planes, a being that has ties to the physical world but isn’t quite as bound by its rules.
Now, that’s all well and good, but it’s not very close to Eua’s description, is it? After all, Satoko has been dipping in and out of the Sea of Fragments and playing with fate ever since Satokowashi.
Indeed, there isn’t anything in Umineko that perfectly matches Eua’s definition. But there is, however, this exchange with Lambda from Umineko Episode 6:
Beatrice: "Th, there's no need to say 'so long'...! We'll... we'll think of a trick right away, and the game will resume! We won't take up your time...! So stay here a little longer...! Please...!!" Lambda: "...We've heard those same words from many witches in the past. And I've heard of hardly any who've actually managed to resume their games. As far as I know, the only two are me... and Bern." Beatrice: "Why... why would a person who knows about that hell [the logic error] throw another person into it?! Just because you're bored? Is that all?!" Lambda: "...Yeah, that's all. It's to escape from boredom. Because when we get bored, we remember. We remember that hell. And, you know, by throwing someone else down into that hell, we realize that, oh, we're the ones on the throwing side, and that means we aren't in that hell ourselves. If we don't keep doing that, then the fear of that hell will overwhelm us..."
Here, we finally have the idea of a witch as a creature wallowing in self-pity, and hurting others to do it. And it’s interesting, isn’t it? That Lambda, of all characters, is the one who ultimately sees witches the most similarly to Eua…
(Also this has nothing to do with anything, but while rewatching the scene to get the screenshot, I just noticed that what’s translated as “so long” here is... “gokigenyou.” That sure hits different now!)
Witches As Internal Conflict
[Warning! This section contains major Umineko spoilers!]
So much for Lambda. What about the other witches in Umineko?
I have a feeling that in the coming weeks, we’re going to be seeing a lot of arguments that Satoko is being possessed by her witch self and that the real Satoko is innocent. And I really don’t like that interpretation.
Because while Higurashi briefly flirts with that idea in Saikoroshi, Umineko comes down very hard on the side that witches are not an excuse, but a metaphor for internal conflict.
There are a few minor witches in Umineko that take the idea from Saikoroshi of the “witch” as a separate being and go even further. Eva, for example, personifies the ambition and determination of her younger self as a witch. That younger self even has her own sprite and dialogue arguing with the adult Eva. Maria, meanwhile, conceptualizes the abuse she experiences as a “Black Witch” that possesses her mother.
But the thing both these witches have in common is that they’re metaphors and externalizations. Maria’s big epiphany at the end of Episode 2 is her coming to understand and accept that both the good and bad sides of her mother are one person. And as far as I know, there is not a valid solution to Episode 3 where Eva isn’t a killer - which means Eva’s arguments with her younger self are representations of her inner struggle and guilt over the murders she commits.
...Of course, Eva and Maria pale in comparison to the queen of this example, Beatrice. One of the most brilliant aspects of Umineko is the way that in hindsight (or on re-read) all of the conversations and magical battles between Shannon, Kanon, and Beatrice can be read as externalizations of Sayo’s arguments with themselves. Sayo’s different personas don’t just have separate sprites, they even fight and kill each other in spectacular fashion!
But as much as Sayo tries to cordon off parts of their personality into separate characters, they’re all still fundamentally Sayo. And the struggle of being forced to choose one, and only one, “self” to live as while discarding the rest - that’s part of what makes them self-destruct so badly.
Perhaps we may eventually see Rika and Satoko split off the witch side of their personalities into fully separate consciousnesses. But if so, I suspect it’s going to take some serious, non-metaphorical magic to make it happen.
(...And it would explain why Lambda and Bern are such a mess, if they’re half a person set adrift...)
(Also yes, I am aware of the CPP characters in Ciconia. They are not the same thing as witches. Though your guess is as good as mine at what’s going on with that alternate Miyao…)
[end major spoilers]
Erika’s Definition of a Witch
Now, while many witches in Umineko are metaphors for internal conflict, not all of them are. In particular, Erika and Ange come at the idea of a witch from a slightly different angle than the characters discussed above.
This is an exchange between those characters in Episode 8, so obviously some minor spoilers, though nothing about Beatrice or the main mystery.
(Ange’s narration) From the theatergoer's perspective, our individual lives are hardly worth anything at all. If they're writing down an entire world in a single volume, then my life probably isn't even worth a single line.
Ange: "But we're the main characters. I am, and so are you."
Erika: "That's right. Even if the tale of the gods doesn't mention us, the main character in the story we write for ourselves is always us. Becoming aware of that fact is the first thing that separates witches from humans."
Yeah, remember how I said that different characters have different definitions?
As it turns out, Erika’s definition of a witch is almost exactly the opposite of Rika/Bern’s. While Rika considered the witch to be the side of her that retreated from her own story, Erika sees becoming a witch as confirming her importance to her story.
For what it’s worth, other characters in Episode 8 note how rare it is for Bern to actually participate in events herself rather than remaining as a spectator. So yes, Umineko’s Bernkastel is still implied to have the same mindset as Rika did in Higurashi.
The point is, witches as a concept are very much tied to a character’s perception of their agency within their life. But how they see that relationship can vary!
Ange’s Definition of a Witch
One last excerpt, and perhaps the most telling one of all.
This is a continuation of the scene in the previous section, so the same spoilers apply.
Ange: "...What?" Erika: "So, you really did make a deal, to throw away your life to learn the truth." Ange: "...I had nothing to gain from life. It was easy for me to trade away the time I had left." Erika: "My master really does take to idle whims. To think she would make a contract for the meaningless life of a powerless girl." Ange: "...Heh."
Ange chuckled, not bothering to argue. That was exactly right. How incredible that Bernkastel would lend her power to a worthless life that was trying to throw itself away.
Erika: "Well, my master is the witch who controls miracles. ......So, it makes sense that she'd appear even for a worthless girl like you." Ange: "Good point. Even if Bernkastel hadn't appeared, I would've still taken that step off the edge that day." Erika: "...You really are a cheap woman, aren't you?" Ange: "Well then, just how much are you worth?" Erika: "Me?! Hahaha, ahahahahahahahahahaha..."
The way Erika cackled was disturbing. Still, Ange realized that this was her way of answering the question. People don't become witches of their own choosing. If they're capable of living, all people want to live their lives as humans.
...When something comes along to trip up that life, that's when the road to living as a witch opens. Even Furudo Erika, who calls herself the Witch of Truth, must be like this. The two Witches of Truth, sitting here drinking tea without even looking at each other, are exactly the same.
And there we go. This, as far as I know, is the most straightforward definition of a witch in the series. And it exactly describes what happened to Satoko.
Once again, a witch is not a happy existence. Much like in Madoka Magica, a witch is the end point of (often suicidal) despair.
Indeed, I’d argue that the term "witch" almost implies too much freedom, in a sense. With Voyager Witches especially, they're more like timeline-juiced ghosts, endlessly repeating and re-inflicting their traumas on themselves and those around them.
(The Sea of Fragments is beautiful, but oh so very haunted.)
In Conclusion
"What is going on with Satoko's breakdown in Tataridamashi" is something I've been worried about how the anime would handle ever since the reveal that Satoko was the culprit. I never in my wildest theories suspected it would be used to finally drop the W-word!
But honestly, I think I do like the scene. As ambiguous as it is.
Because the contrast between Eua's cruel laughter, compared with Satoko's sobbing for someone to save her and for it to stop...
The contrast within Satoko herself, the tormentor and the tormented...
That juxtaposition, more than anything else, is what it means to be a witch.
