Puritan Women In The Crucible

The Salem Witchcraft trials was an outrageous event that began in 1692, and ended May of 1693 seeing the execution of many people. Unfortunately most of the victims of this phenomenon were women. For the most part these women were accused for very trivial reasons, such as for being widowed, being of old age and living alone, or for simply collecting herbs and other plants. During this time in history women and men were treated very differently both as they should contribute in the home and in society, this would have presented reasons as to why women were predominantly accused of witchcraft, along with any religious beliefs. The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place at a time of a patriarchal society, the roles of men and women were different, along with how they were treated overall in society. This contributed to the stereotype of women being the ones predominantly associated with witchcraft.

It’s important to note why and how Abigail inherited her selfish behavior in the first place, and what caused her to act a certain way. Abigail claims that she is in love with John Proctor, and the two characters were discovered to have an affair with each other. John Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, finds out about the affair and

Women and children are regarded inferior to men in social standing and have restricted power, which causes the group of girls to accuse people as a way of gaining power. If women and children were not so restricted and put down, Abigail and the other girls would not be motivated to seek power through the means of witchcraft accusations. Abigail, by nature, is very controlling and orders around the other girls by threatening, “Let either of you breathe a word...and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring some pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (Miller 317). As a woman in Puritan society, Abigail has no other means to exert her power over others, so she resorts to accusing people of witchcraft to gain authority. John Proctor wants his servant, Mary Warren, to help him free Elizabeth and stop the wrongful court proceedings. However, after being threatened by the group of girls and ordered around by John, she declares “I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God” (Miller 397). Mary turns her back on John because she is

Through the characterization of Abigail’s Machiavellian nature, playing her uncle for a fool and using lies and her deceit to achieve power, Miller enables the reader to draw a direct feministic comparison between her and the powerless woman in The Crucible. The use of adultery and its connection to humiliation and lack of respect allows for a greater representation of Elizabeth’s and Proctor’s relationship with respect to Abigail. Elizabeth is victimised as she finds herself stumbling through her husband’s evident adultery “(Abigail) charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor! and his reprimands “Enough… Elizabeth! “I’ll whip you”. Submissive to his anger and with her own “She’d dare not call out such a farmer’s wife!” Elizabeth understands that it is Abigail who has driven a wedge between her and Proctor’s marriage. As a result, her situation contrives sympathy, a reaction that is similar to the highly respected Rebecca Nurse who Hale has “heard of your giving great charities”. Nurse, as a direct result of Abigail’s machinations is thrown in jail, labelled a “witch”. The helplessness of these woman is directly attributable Abigail’s lust for influence and recognition and represents the power imbalance between the woman of Salem.

While reading the Crucible there are several recurring themes, a few of which include sexual repression and patriarchy. Specifically, these themes which are seen so often throughout this play seem to be connected to the downfall of this small Puritanical town. Today I will bring to light the biased views and sexual repression that led this small town to its untimely demise. This paper will delve into the puritans daily way of life and beliefs and expose that sexual repression and patriarchy were the real killers in this play based on real events.

The outlook on gender roles in today’s advanced society is in drastic contrast to the views portrayed in The Crucible, set in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, depicts women as weak creatures, who are expected to submit to men, and whose only access to power is through dishonest means.

As stated by the great Irish philosopher, Edmund Burke, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse” (braniyquotes.com). Burke’s words are proven true in many facets of the human experience. In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, a shift of power is portrayed through Abigal’s sly manipulation. Arthur Miller takes a historical context, that of the Salem Witch Trials, and shows how simple actions can alter the course of history. The disintegration of an orderly Puritan society into one that is governed by chaos and hysteria is caused by a radical change in the normally male dominated power by a woman whose pride has been bruised.

Imagine never being able to speak in public or talk to a man other than your husband. This is how the women of Salem had to act and live during the 1600s, they were deprived of any social power in the public eye. However, during the year 1692 the Salem witch trials occurred allowing powerless women to finally develop a social standing. In the play, “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, the witch trials empowered powerless women by allowing the female gender to develop a voice, bestowing social power within themselves, instilling fear in others.

There are various ways you can portray women throughout, The Crucible. Some are raised with high expectations, morals, and the majority are raised in a Christian household. And some are raised the complete opposite. In The Crucible, women are viewed in many different ways based on their actions and behavior. In Margaret Atwood’s poem, “Half-Hanged Mary,” she often views women the same way. The author in The Crucible, Arthur Miller, uses very important women to characterize the certain roles of women. The author of the poem, “Half-Hanged Mary also shows how women portray the roles of how women were treated in the poem, as well as the story, The Crucible. Both of these authors, Margaret and Arthur, compare the similar roles of women based on their well being and moral upbringings.

In Puritan society during the 1600s the most important role for a woman was being a mother. In addition to being a mother, Puritan women were housewives with very limited rights. Women were not able to vote, buy or sell land. During this time period women were subjective and inferior to men. Married women were expected to follow what was told by their husbands. In the case of Elizabeth Proctor (Goody Proctor ) wife of John Proctor, mother of two boys, and housewife, Elizabeth followed the traditional roles of women in Puritan society, yet achieved power through defiance which was also the cause of her downfall.

The author of The Crucible and the author of “Half-Hanged Mary,” both portray how women are treated and looked upon based on their gender roles. Women’s roles back in the Puritan times differ from how women are treated today. During Puritan times, women were considered to be weak and a servant to the male. In Margaret Atwood’s poem, “Half-Hanged Mary,” she shows this by using a main character in the story named Mary. Mary was a woman who gets accused of witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, and later gets hanged. On the day of Mary’s hanging, men of the community gather around. Not to pity her, but to show their dominance, and hatred towards her.

Power is something almost everybody strives for at least once in their life. In Salem, the men who own the most land or people who have a great reputation for being very religious are the people with the utmost power. Slaves and women, especially unmarried ones, are the people with the lowest status. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the power dynamic dramatically shifts. Tituba, Betty’s family’s slave, brings a group of Puritans girls, including Betty, into the woods. Tituba is from Barbados and practices a different religion, which goes against parts of the Puritan beliefs. When the girls are in the woods, Reverend Parris, Betty’s father, sees them and they all scatter. Betty worries she will get in trouble, so she falls into a trance,

The roles in which women play in the drama are very significant due to the fact that they are able to shape the story and give an idea of the nature of one of the strangest events which we call the witch trials. In the play, women are depicted as weak creatures who are expected to submit to men, and whose only access to power is through dishonest means which we see a lot through certain characters. No women in the Crucible possesses extreme power and with the lying and dishonest females having the most power through despicable acts, only means for the truthful, pure-hearted, and family orientated women to be the least powerful. More specifically, women from the drama who fit into these archetypes are Mary Warren,

From the very beginning, society has seen women as inheriting the character flaw of Eve 's original sin. Most people see women as lustful beings because of how Eve tempted Adam in the garden of Eden, meaning they were more susceptible to the Devil. Men target the females because of their views and the roles they play in a male dominated society. Men have a more opinionated view of a woman 's duties. The Crucible portrays women as the very definition of sexual desire, open to demonic command and beneath the common beggar, with little or no reputation attached to their name.

In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller uses the characters Abigail and the three girls as feminists to gain power. “American laws wanted to move women closer to equality through an Equal Rights Amendment that would ban governments discrimination based on sexes”. “Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes.” He portrayed this by women having the power in a positive and negative way. In the town of Salem, women were given less amount of power, with their ability to have judgments upon other women and men as being witches and wizards. There was no need of evidence to prove if a person was a witch or not. This power was given to Abigail and the girls implying larger comments on the negative effect of women holding power. Although there were good things and bad things about women having power, Elizabeth Proctor lost power over her husband because John Proctor is the head of the house, but “she is submissive to him.” Elizabeth is not secured within her relationship with John Proctor because he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Elizabeth is upset and deeply hurt, and constantly reminding John Proctor that she is still hurt because he cheated on her. Society’s view a husband having more power than the woman. Elizabeth began to have the position of a stereotypical wife. She doesn’t lose power, but suppresses her power and holds her power privately. Society view women to be weak, not intelligent, so they deserve to have less power, and