Sexism In The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter By Arthur Miller

In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and the novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many common themes expressed. The authors used the internal and external conflicts of the characters to develop the overall message of the story. The actions of the character along with the beliefs of their communities led to similar conflicts and themes to be interpreted. Throughout the “The Crucible” and “The Scarlet Letter” the authors expand on the topics of sin and reputation, sexism against women in the early Puritan Era, Puritanism, and good versus evil to create common themes in each story. Initially, a critical theme in both stories is sexism. Both authors capture the sexism women faced in their communities and the impact …show more content…
In “The Crucible” the theme of sexism is also present. Arthur Miller captures the effects of sexism faced by women in Puritan societies. In this time period women we the undermost forms of human beings. This idea is expressed through those persecuted in “The Crucible”. “The women accused of witchcraft are, not surprisingly, those who did not conform to socially constructed gender roles, such as Sarah Good, who participated in extramarital sex, or those who hold social power such as Tituba, the exotic slave from Barbados” (Tunc 267). As a result of sexism towards women in this time period, many were targeted for accusations of witchcraft, which resulted in the executions of many innocent women. Furthermore, the theme of good versus evil is also present in both “The Scarlet Letter” and “The Crucible”. Both authors use characters to represent the idea that good overpowers evil and that evil is hidden within society. This idea and theme is carried throughout “The Scarlet Letter” by Roger Chillingworth and his personal vendettas which served as motivation towards his evil acts committed. “His lifelong study of apothecary and the healing arts, first in Europe and later among the Indians of America, is a sincere benevolent exercise until he discovers his wife 's infidelity, where upon he …show more content…
The authors use strict Puritan societies to show how individuals are influenced by their culture and surroundings. The authors portray how strict religion can have effects on societies and create a false perception of reality and how the world works. In both stories the Puritan societies follow a theocratic government. They believed that church and state should be combined and that all human beings were born sinful and must prove that they can be pure. All sins in the Puritan society had a strict punishment, not including the social isolation as a result. The Puritans followed the Bible and believed that everything in it was true, even when it mentioned the devil and supernatural beings. The impact of these beliefs is expressed in both stories. In “The Crucible” these strict beliefs show the impact they had on individuals in society. When Abigail Williams and others in the community began acting strangely, experiencing convulsions, and violent fits, the only logical explanation to the Puritans was witchcraft. As a result, of their beliefs on the matter, the situation grew out of hand, and an increased number of individuals were accused of sinfully, participating in witchcraft. The theme of strict Puritanism is also expressed through society 's punishments. As a result of these accusations, many innocent men and women were hanged for crimes which they did not