Pictures of Dutch masters of the XVII century usually paint an image of a calm and measured life filled with works and innocent pleasures. However, not everything was so serene and cozy in this world. There was a place in it for the poor, and cripples, and homeless demobilized soldiers. In a word, all those who were thrown out to the side of life. Society, alas, was cruel to these unhappy people. They were feared, they were credited with criminal tendencies in advance. They were in each city and in every village waiting for a whip, a gallows and a red-hot stamp.
The rapid economic development of the country not only did not improve their situation, but, perhaps, made it even more difficult. “New” Dutch believed that all the plagues of society – drunkenness, poverty, insanity – should be hidden away from the eyes, pretending that they do not exist. But Hals found the courage to tell about this dark side of life. Mallet Babbe, the owner of one of the city’s taverns, was called behind the eyes “Harlem witch”. This nickname she received for a demonic laugh, and even for an owl, that she always sat on her shoulder. For a long time the name of this woman was considered fictional, but now we have documents that show that Malle Babbe really existed and in 1653 was placed in a reformatory. Was she a witch? We can only guess about this.
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