Types Of Fear In The Crucible

Fear, in a general sense, provided the impetus for the catastrophic events that occured in Salem, in colonial Massachusetts between February 1962 and May 1963. However, the transitional phrases between the events, such as the beginning period of accusations, the period of mass hysteria, and the end of these accusations, or the period of realization, all relate to different types of fear, or fear regarding different scenarios. Dr. Karl Albrecht, a Phd. qualified psychologist, has grouped main categories of fear in order “to try and understand the types of fears we have” (“Dr Albrechts 5 Types of Fears: What We're Really Afraid Of” ). These types of fears can be applied to characters in The Crucible and can be analyzed as a motive for the action …show more content…
For instance, in the beginning period of accusations in Salem, two main types of fears, the fear of a loss of autonomy and the fear humiliation, motivated Abigail Williams and her group of girls to commence accusing the society in Salem and also made this society more receptive to the girl’s inflammatory rhetoric. Societally, a norm in Salem was that hard work is good, and recreation is inherently evil. This, coupled with the fact that dancing and reading were disapproved of in society made life a strict one and gave next to no time for recreation to girls like Abigail Williams or Mary Warren. The context of The Crucible also included a time period in which society was normally patriarchally dominated, leading to even less influence for young girls. The general build of society against the group of girls who were the accusers developed the fear of a loss of autonomy in this group, which Albrecht defines as “the fear of being restricted … or otherwise controlled by circumstances beyond our control” (“Dr Albrechts 5 Types of Fears: What We're Really Afraid Of” ). Societal norms in Salem were definitely beyond this young group of girls’ control, and thus their accusations of witchcraft onto others were actually a