Samantha Stephens

Samantha Stephens is the central protagonist of the sitcom TV show Bewitched. She is a witch who has married a mortal man, Darrin Stephens. The show mostly revolves around Samantha trying to adapt to functioning as a normal mortal home-maker despite having many powers and a vast view of the world at her disposal.
==Premises==
Samantha faces two major conflicts in the series, the more elaborate being her witch family and heritage, which very often threaten to consume her attempts at a mundane personal life. Her mother, Endora, in particular is a major antagonist, though not by intent towards her daughter, but rather Darrin. Endora dislikes the prospect of Samantha marrying a mortal and giving up the shear amount of power she has to live a dull life of servitude. Samantha has many other relatives including her cousin Serena - who has inherited the same likeness, though brunette instead of blonde. Samantha must also deal with her well-meaning but often clumsy Aunt Clara - who frequently forgets how to undo spells and suffers from random episodes of short-term memory loss.
The second conflict Samantha most often faces is from her husband's life. She has to deal with many easily solvable problems such as helping Darrin make a good impression on his boss Larry Tate or doing house-hold chores without resorting to magic. Samantha sees getting by without her powers as a challenge and good habit to have so as not to be overly reliant on them, but in particular, she tries to accomplish this so as not to undermine Darrin as bread-winner.
Samantha has two children, the longer running one was Tabitha. Tabitha has had on and off training in magic and though Darrin and Samantha tried to keep her living as a mortal at first eventually both agreed that doing so would lead to more trouble than was necessary trying to find an outlet for her powers if never used. To this end Tabitha receives most of her magical training from her great-aunt Clara. Though Clara was often forgetful and with waning magic, she was a very qualified caregiver and knew just enough magic by heart to provide Tabitha with a constructive outlet for her powers. Adam Stephens was born much later in the show but showed a massive talent for magic, so much so Endora took to training him.
==The Metaphor of Magic/Witchcraft==
Based on the timing of the show, Magic/Witchcraft is largely considered to be a metaphor for female empowerment. Samantha is capable of much power, she is seen as a deviant by 1950s society and has access to a vast world of possibilities - however indulging in it scares her husband at first and puts him at unease even later in the series. Giving up magic causes her very liberal mother to despise Darrin for weighing her down. And Samantha often feels trapped by the modernity of life as a home-maker yet does her best to adapt to it despite the world of possibilities open to her. Using magic threatens to make Darrin feel useless and while he prefers to avoid it, he wants his wife to be happy. Darrin sees Endora as obnoxious for insisting magic is the answer to all life's problems yet sympathizes with his aunt Clara for having largely had access to magic but being too old fashion to use it effectively. Both Darrin and Samantha want their children to be able to have normal lives but still have every opportunity and so encourage open-mindedness in philosophy but conservative values in practice.
==Personality==
Samantha is naturally helpful and true. While she tries to be polite and non-intrusive, she will stand-up for those she sees ostracized or abused, including herself. Samantha is prepared to give Darrin as much support as she can unless he specifically tells her not to in order to stand on his own two feet. She still has a firm limit to what she will and won't indulge and when Darrin or any other mortal starts treating her like a tool to comply with their sensibilities instead of a person she is quite willing to fight back, either with magic or every-day psychology. Samantha cares deeply for her family but is often exasperated by them.
==Trivia==
*Samantha was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Montgomery.
*Elizabeth Montgomery portrayed both Samantha and Serena.
Category:Magic
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Sitcom Heroes
Category:Spouses
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:Symbolic
Category:Feminists
Category:Magical Girls
Category:Passionate Learners
Category:Charismatic
Category:Parents
Category:Female
Category:Neutral Good
Category:Summoners
Category:Psychics
Category:Hypnotists
Category:Immortals
Category:Loyal
Category:Philanthropists
Category:Voice of Reason
Category:Twins/Clones
Category:In Love
Category:Reality-Warpers
Category:Selfless
Category:Honorable
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Protectors
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Genius
Category:Jerks
Category:Wise
Category:Localized Protection
Category:Non-Action
Category:Benevolent Rulers
Category:Leaders
Category:Sympathetic
Category:Mischievous
Category:Envious