Hysteria In The Crucible

“There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires” (Miller 28). Hysteria discloses petty jealousies, greed, and revenge. It starts from one person to another sparking bigger and wider range of problems. Hysteria takes the place of logic and enables people to believe that neighbors whom they consider honest and respectable of committing treasonous acts. It creates an environment where people act on their grudges and selfishness which is exemplified by Abigail, Tituba, and Marry Warren. The story begins with the young girls in Salem caught dancing in the forest in order to kill Proctors wife so Abigail could have him to herself. After the girls are caught by Reverend Parris, they blame their actions and influence on the devil and that Tituba, Parris’s slave teaches the girls about spirits and made them dance. The girls don’t confess, and because of this everything goes downhill. Abigail creates a lie to keep herself from getting caught to protect her name from being …show more content…
She starts off by going along with the shenanigans that Abigail and the girls are pulling off. Later on when Elizabeth is accused for sending her spirit out and stabbing Abigail, Mary agreed to go to court with her deposition and confess. During the court confessions Mary couldn’t handle the pressure of the other girls that she caved in and turned her back on John Proctor rather than saving his wife and many others life from death. The hysteria takes the place of commonsense, values, love, and kindness in Mary and many others. In Act Three Mary immediately turns her back on John and says “ He wake me every night, his eyes were like coals and his fingers claw my neck, and I sign, I sign . . ..” In an instant she didn’t think about anyone but herself and the only way to get out of it is to