The Crucible Role Of Women Essay

1. Why did Cato object to repealing the Oppian law? What was the basis of his objections?

John Proctor regrets of breaking his marriage vows, now his wife Elizabeth is being accused of witchcraft by Abigail Williams. Based on the statement by

Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, shows the important events in the Salem Witch Trials. Fear and emotion runs throughout the whole play. The two women who stand out the most is Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor.

Feminist theory is the advocacy of gender equality in terms of respect, opportunities and social rights. The Crucible by Arthur Miller represents the conventional feminist gender struggle, through the medium of an androcentric patriarchal society built on the ideals of religion. In Salem, woman are portrayed as the lower class of society, patronised by men such as Proctor “I am looking for you more often than my cows!" comparing Mary to a farm animal is indicative of their perceived place. Furthermore, the violent way the men within Salem converse with woman “You will confess yourself or I will whip you to death, Tituba! demonstrates the lack of impartiality and feelings that theyhave on a woman’s fundamental rights. Miller’s use of

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.

The Puritans were a religious group who left the Church of England because they wanted to have more freedom with their religion. They thought the Church of England was “too Catholic”. They believed the Bible and its rules were the number one thing to go by and that all humans were evil and had to overcome their sin. Women had to cover their whole bodies in clothing. They couldn’t show their ankles or wrists. They also had to wear their hair up and out of their face at all times, except if they were in a room alone with only their husband. They always were on one side of the church away from the men or in the back on the church. These women in the society that will be talked about have broken laws and have been misjudged.

Adultery. Abigail Williams is the young niece of Salem's Minister, Reverend Parris, she also was once John Proctor's housemaid until his wife, Elizabeth, put her out because of the affair. Abigial was just a young girl, she felt as if her feelings for John Proctor were ‘true love’, this drove her to do some of the most unspeakable things. She was seeking vengeance on Elizabeth since she put her out on the street, “blackened her name throughout the town” and she had the man she loved. Abigail's best way of getting things done was through manipulation, which she was best at. She voluntarily used witchcraft to ‘curse’ Elizabeth and yet turned witchcraft accusations against everyone of Salem. “I will come to you in the black of the night and will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you”(19), is one threat Abigail used to keep the girls mouth shut. She was a power hungry girl who did anything to keep the power for her own selfish gains. When she realized she was losing her power she claims “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, question like a -”(100) this was her way out of the truth. This shows Abigail's true

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 the post classical period, different societies viewed the women in different ways, therefore they were all treated differently. Due to all the passages being around the world, it shows how differently and similar these societies treated women. All have a different opinion on women’s role and position within their society. Some views were negative while others are positive and think both sex’s are both equal. In document 1, Islam: The Koran, it talks about how women are made from men.

Women in modern society are often expected to be kind, pure, passive, and submissive towards men, but that does not describe most women today. If a woman does not conform to this accepted type of behaviour, they are written off as being some of the worst that society has to offer: women that are bitchy, cold hearted, and impure. Arthur Miller purposefully stereotypes the women in the Crucible to make a statement concerning the treatment of women in modern society. Miller is making the statement that most women is modern society are viewed as having many negative characteristics, just because of their gender. In the Crucible, Miller primarily used Mary Warren, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams to show how negative stereotypes are used

There are various ways you can portray women throughout, The Crucible. Women are raised with high expectations, morals, and majority are raised in a Christian household. Although there’s the other types of women that are 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 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 uses a woman to 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.

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,

Parris even asks about Abigail’s reputation when he says, “Your name in the town-it is entirely white is it not?”(Miller 12). Abigail defends her name to a tee and even goes as far as accusing others and staying in the spotlight so she is absolved from partaking in witchcraft herself. In life it’s said that your reputation precedes you, even after death it is what you are remembered by. “ Where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel”, Abigails name is taken to a whole other level when she starts labeling the witches (Miller 53). Elizabeth is another character who knows the importance of a good name and when she is asked whether John cheated she protected him and denied the allegations (Schlueter 113). By the time the trials have been started, there is not much left to hold on to besides family and reputations. John Proctor and Rebecca both are people, “willing to lay down their lives if need be to preserve their dignity” (Schlueter 115). To hold onto something even more than life shows great courage.

Feminist theory is the in the advocacy of gender equality in terms of respect, opportunities and social rights. The Crucible by Arthur Miller represents the conventional feminist gender struggle, through the medium of a patriarchal society built on the ideals of Christian religion. In Salem, Miller portrays women, as the lower class of society, through direct comparison to men. Danforth in the court cries that he “cannot hear” Mary, however when Proctor, a man, reiterates what she says “it was pretence”, Danforth miraculously understands him, this lack of respect is indicative of a woman’s place within Salem. The reader grasps this notion further with Miller’s use of vernacular, frequent use of pejoratives “whore” /“You will confess yourself or I will take you out and whip you to your death, Tituba! and to Mary, “I am looking for you more often than my cows!". Miller has a number of female characters portrayed as naïve dumbs down (seen as IGNORANT) characters like Mary quote, to exemplify the notion of inequality and the role that most woman play in the text.

For years, all things involving power and prestige had been controlled and owned by men. The role of a woman was believed to be limited to domestic responsibilities until the onset of the feminist movement. The twentieth century became a time of social change for women that found a voice in art via paintings, portraits, and photography. With time, women became more visible in public life, and art became the reflection of not only their suffering, but their perseverance, courage, and strength. Freedom from the stereotypical chains of society for women was the message conveyed through the works of artists Alice Neel, Barbara Kruger, and Mary Kelly during the twentieth century.