Crucible Essay Submissive. Inferior. Disregarded. 1692 Salem women suffered under such fates, along with the mass hysteria of the notorious Salem witch trials. Women, who held a subordinate position to men, gained a unique power over them, and used it to their advantage. Women such as Abigail Williams and Mary Warren, who bowed their heads in the presence of men such as John Proctor or Reverend Hale, had also struck fear and paranoia in their hearts each day. These women, and the rumors about the supposed witchcraft they practiced, are the sole purpose behind the confusion and terror washing over this town. Most knew, and fully understood how to stay alive and, in Abigail Williams’ case, get her own way. Men believe women are beneath them,
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Abigail Williams, a young teenage orphan with little intent to live the Puritan life, wanted to be the only one heard. Abigail’s inevitable, or thought inevitable, fate was to be a servant in a man’s world. She however never accepted such a thought, as she expressed to her Uncle, Reverend Parris, in the beginning of the play. “They want slaves, not such as I. Let them send to Barbados for that. I will not black my face for any of them!” (11). Abigail represented what most women during the time of the “witchcraft” epidemic did; deny, confess, and exaggerate. Once confronted about the idea of practicing witchcraft, Abigail quickly and frantically denied the accusation. “Uncle, we did dance; let you tell them that I confessed it-and I’ll be whipped if I must be. But they’re speakin’ of witchcraft. Betty’s not witched.” (9). As soon as she saw a possible threat arise, she confessed to the crime and, of course, spit the names of any and all enemies that came to mind, as this guarantees your life, like most women did during this time. “I danced for the devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw …show more content…
His male characters each portray the way that fear, confusion, and paranoia will affect and test moral and emotional limits. “What will you tell? You will confess to fornication? In the court? Proctor: If you will have it so, so I will tell it!” (142). His female characters, however, bring forth the idea of using your limits as a guideline to gain personal advantage. In each female reigns a power unbeknownst to the men, an authority that the male powers are naive to. Is it ironic that the witchery of the town has only been “found” in females? Is it a coincidence that the men accused have frantically denied, thus hung, and the women have admitted and lived? “The archetypes in which Miller’s women convey ranges between the main characters of Abigail, Mary, and Elizabeth, and they each portray a different attitude toward society’s expectations and suspicions. “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (73). The larger message being displayed throughout the story is that society, despite its inner divergence, will adapt to common misunderstandings in their own way. Many people will follow a social normality, while others may take matters into their own hands. Either way, everyone will always have their own beliefs and justifications on social
Abigail Williams, a young teenage orphan with little intent to live the Puritan life, wanted to be the only one heard. Abigail’s inevitable, or thought inevitable, fate was to be a servant in a man’s world. She however never accepted such a thought, as she expressed to her Uncle, Reverend Parris, in the beginning of the play. “They want slaves, not such as I. Let them send to Barbados for that. I will not black my face for any of them!” (11). Abigail represented what most women during the time of the “witchcraft” epidemic did; deny, confess, and exaggerate. Once confronted about the idea of practicing witchcraft, Abigail quickly and frantically denied the accusation. “Uncle, we did dance; let you tell them that I confessed it-and I’ll be whipped if I must be. But they’re speakin’ of witchcraft. Betty’s not witched.” (9). As soon as she saw a possible threat arise, she confessed to the crime and, of course, spit the names of any and all enemies that came to mind, as this guarantees your life, like most women did during this time. “I danced for the devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw …show more content…
His male characters each portray the way that fear, confusion, and paranoia will affect and test moral and emotional limits. “What will you tell? You will confess to fornication? In the court? Proctor: If you will have it so, so I will tell it!” (142). His female characters, however, bring forth the idea of using your limits as a guideline to gain personal advantage. In each female reigns a power unbeknownst to the men, an authority that the male powers are naive to. Is it ironic that the witchery of the town has only been “found” in females? Is it a coincidence that the men accused have frantically denied, thus hung, and the women have admitted and lived? “The archetypes in which Miller’s women convey ranges between the main characters of Abigail, Mary, and Elizabeth, and they each portray a different attitude toward society’s expectations and suspicions. “We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!” (73). The larger message being displayed throughout the story is that society, despite its inner divergence, will adapt to common misunderstandings in their own way. Many people will follow a social normality, while others may take matters into their own hands. Either way, everyone will always have their own beliefs and justifications on social