The strumpet and the wife

756 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparing and contrasting the historical Salem Witch Trials with the way that they are portrayed in The Crucible research paper

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, renders the horrific events of the Salem witch trial through a crew of many fantastic characters. Fear pedals the citizens of Salem Massachusetts to reveal their true character while facing the judgment of a bias court before barbarous judges. While the whole town of Salem is filled up with this madness, two particular women stand out above the rest. Shame and revenge lives in the mind and heart of an adulteress teenager Abigail Williams, while truth and righteousness lives in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor, a faithful wife to John Proctor. Abigail and Elizabeth both heighten the suspense and tension of the play along with their differences leading to turmoil due to both of their desire for one man’s love. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams is a cunning, manipulating and deceitful character who thought of an idea where she can get away with anything without fearing any consequences. A teenager never looked at as a dangerous character by her society; Abigail figured that she could avoid trouble by making up lies to cover up her practicing witch craft. When the other girls from her community who were also involved in this started feeling guilty, Abigail verbally threatened by saying "..Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shutter you. And you know I can do it.."(Act I, 20). She never did play around with her getting in trouble and ruining her chances to be with John Proctor, the man whom she was most in love with. Elizabeth and Abigail are merely opposite of each other. A faithful wife to John Proctor, Elizabeth was more than a bystander in her commu... ... middle of paper ... ...proves how unethical, immoral, and selfish she is. Elizabeth is a stand up women. Throughout The Crucible, she seems to be struggling to forgive her husband and let her anger go for his infidelity. Of course her anger towards Abigail is understandable. Elizabeth’s hatred for Abigail is justified because Abigail later in the play tries to murder Elizabeth by framing her of witch craft. Elizabeth is the blameless victim. The only sin we see her commit is at the court. Elizabeth in the play is portrayed as a noble and a honest women. The Puritans really did believe in witch craft. Reading about the witch trail may look stupid and make many people mad but the truth is that Puritan’s life was different than one’s life in the 21st century. Because in Puritans society moral law and state law was the same individual’s soul, sin, and status was matter of public concern.

Show More
Related

  • The Struggle Of Conformity In The Crucible And Conversion

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    She even claims that John should know her better than to expect such a thing from her. Elizabeth often believes that she has not been a good enough wife to John and that she does not deserve his love, or any love. She confesses, “I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me!” (137). Her confession displays humbleness, an admirable trait in any Puritan. All of the young girls in The Crucible exemplify conformity by submitting to Abigail Williams. As the leader of these young girls, Abigail persuaded them to do whatever she said, including accusing people of witchcraft. These accusations led to the deaths of many men and women. Mary Warren is a victim of Abigail’s peer pressure. She eventually admits that everything she claimed was a lie that Abigail made her tell. She explains these lies by saying, “It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits” (107). This confession is her way of saying that they never meant for one small lie to turn into something so huge. Later, Mary agrees to testify against Abigail in court, but, in yet another

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams Dark Side

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, In the book The Crucible Abigail Williams is the vengeful, manipulative, and a liar. She seems to be uniquely gifted at spreading death and destruction wherever she goes. She has a sense of how to manipulate others and gain control over them. All these things add up to make her one good antagonist with a dark side. In Act I, her skills at manipulation are on full display. When she's on the brink of getting busted for witchcraft, she skillfully manages to pin the whole thing on Tituba and several of Salems other second class citizens. Also since Abigail's affair with John Proctor, she's been out to get Elizabeth, his wife. She convinced Tituba to put a curse on Elizabeth, hoping to get rid of her and take

    Read More

  • The Crucible Edward Murrow Character Analysis

    116 Words  | 1 Pages

    “No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices.” In the case of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Edward Murrow is uncannily accurate. The Crucible, set in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials, proves that when one antagonist has accomplices, they can destroy the lives of many. In this story, Abigail destroys the lives of everyone in Salem. That being said, in times of stress or panic, people's’ true traits and personalities can be discovered, as shown in the cases of John Proctor and his damning indiscretion, Rev. Hale’s panicked realization, and Mary Warren’s naive and fearful indecision; all of which develop throughout the play in response to different stimuli.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Comparison of Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, the leading female characters in 'The Crucible'. Both show determination in order to get what they want. Abigail, a cunning girl that is out for revenge, feels she has superiority over many of the other characters even though she is only a young girl. Elizabeth's character portrays a wife in distress after she finds out about her husband's affair, yet she still has courage throughout the play. She shows determination when she is in need of strength to keep her going, after Abigail accused her of witchcraft.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials: Fear and Faith in 1692

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over two hundred years of history rests between the Salem witch trials and the publication of The Crucible, but innumerable resemblances rests between the times. From the wrongful deaths during the witch trials to the punishments throughout the reign of McCarthyism, all occurred without much validation other than someone’s word over someone else’s. Also, Miller possibly set his play hundreds of years ago to give a voice to the accused citizens of Salem who lost theirs in a similar way to those haunted by the accusations against them during the Red

    Read More

  • Examples Of Close Mindedness In The Crucible

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible is a famous play written by Arthur Miller. This play centers around the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. In Act II, Abigail and her friends accuse several innocent people of witchcraft. Once they leave the court, Reverend Hale goes to John Proctor’s house to inform Elizabeth Proctor that people in the court have mentioned her name. Then officials of the court, Herrick and Cheever, arrive at the Proctor’s house. They claim to have a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest because the court declares she practices witchcraft. After, Herrick and Cheever take Elizabeth to jail. Injustice in Act II prevails because of the inability to see the truth. Reverend Hale and John Proctor illuminate the theme that closed-mindedness

    Read More

  • The Crucible Marxist Analysis

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    She first establishes power over the other women throughout the town by engaging in witchcraft and then placing the blame on others. She coldly lies and condemns others to guilt while keep her eye on the prize, John Proctor. Abigail precedes with her plan by falsely accusing Elizabeth of witchcraft. The guilt of Elizabeth will allow Abigail to fulfilled her desires of lust and revenge. She will eliminate Elizabeth and end up with John Proctor. However, the plan fails when John Proctor rises to the occasion and admits his guilt of adultery. In Act Three, John Proctor exclaims, “Excellency, forgive me, forgive me. She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might!—for I thought of her softly, God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat!” (Miller 110). Abigail, without one shred of remorse, turns on John Proctor and condemn to death. Although she is an insecure, lonely, young girl, she was able to use her skills of manipulation, power, insight to rise above the people of

    Read More

  • Who Is To Blame For The Events Of The Crucible

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abigail is in love with Proctor. They had an affair together. The events that happened in the story were based on what she did so she could be with Proctor. She did everything she could in her power to try and make Elizabeth disappear because she is Proctor’s wife. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” says Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible. Abigail tells Proctor that Elizabeth is spreading lies about her. She wants Elizabeth departed so she can be with Proctor. Abigail caused the events in this story because all she wants is Proctor to love her.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast John Proctor And Hale

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Written in the 1950s, Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible delineates the situation of the McCarthy conflicts in America while the plays’ events revolve around the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. In the play, two major characters are Reverend Hale, an expert on witches sent to Salem for investigation, and John Proctor, a man known for his leadership and hard work. Proctor and Hale, in addition to both being Puritans, are alike in their actions and motives since they both see the depravity of the court and seek to protect people from it. However, they have major differences in their characters as they have contrasting dedication to Christianity and the values that they live by.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Rebecca Nurse And Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning, she established a licentious and conniving character by having intercourse with John Proctor, while she was out of wedlock, and while he was married to Elizabeth. While ranting, Abigail says, “ She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! .She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a -” (23-24). One of the only things Abigail ever cared about was her “name” within the village. Williams went to extreme lengths to protect her “name” and she was fine with destroying other people's’ lives, reputation, and dignity. Abigail also says, “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John, pity me, pity me” (24)! By blinding herself with the false idea of someone loving her, Abigail she destroys her self value by asking for the pity of the man who fails to love her back. She would rather have her name pure than admit she danced in the woods, and receive a light whipping. Instead, she seeks revenge on a legitimate housewife, and takes the entire village with her to the

    Read More

  • Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, takes place during 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The setting is important because it takes place during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The play begins with the town’s girls, led by Abigail Williams, gathering in the forest and starting to dance around a fire, chanting. Reverend Parris catches them dancing, sending the girls into a panic and causing two of the girls to go into a coma-like state. The townspeople spread rumors that there are witches lurking throughout the the town that have put the girls under their spells. This causes Reverend Parris to send for Reverend Hale, an expert in witchcraft and the devil's work, who hopes to rid the town of all witchcraft. John Proctor, a local farmer, asks Abigail to stop accusing innocent people and start telling the truth about what happened in the forest. Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor's wife, excused Abigail from their house because she found out about an affair between Abigail and John. She lies to the court when she is asked about John’s affair to save him from any punishment. In doing so, they were both sent to jail for witchcraft because they knew she had lied. Abigail and the girls continued to lie about people in the town being witches, causing many innocent people to be killed, including John Proctor. Miller shows the dangers of scapegoating when lies that are regarded as the truth, and can kill innocent characters.

    Read More

  • Affects A Bad Reputation In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the start of the play, Abigail already has a bad reputation for committing adultery. Elizabeth Proctor had kicked her out of their home because Elizabeth knew of the affair that was going on between Abigail and John. This tarnished her reputation and for that, Abigail wanted to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!” This is the remark Abigail makes to John Proctor about Elizabeth and what she is doing to her reputation. The main reason behind Abigail accusing so many people is so that eventually the blame is put on Elizabeth. Abigail’s hopes are to have Elizabeth killed so her and John can go on living their lives together. Not only does she want to live her life with John Proctor, but Abigail is also angered at Elizabeth because of the reputation she has given her throughout the village. Her actions go to show how willing she is to ruin numerous lives in order to get revenge on Elizabeth and also get rid of Elizabeth to carry on her dreams of marrying John Proctor. Obviously, Abigail Williams was very serious about getting vengeance on Elizabeth for destroying her reputation in the village of Salem,

    Read More

  • Compare The Crucible And Abigail Williams

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Crucible, Abigail Williams might be depicted as a tricky and sly character who thought about the thought that she could lie her path through existence without confronting any results. Never took a gander at as a hazardous character by her group, Abigail figured she could abstain from getting into a bad situation by making up stories to conceal her polishing witch create. The point when alternate young ladies included in this began to feel blameworthy, Abigail quickly undermined ...

    Read More

  • Hysteria In The Crucible Essay

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    The year is 1692 in Salem, a small town in Massachusetts, and the Puritans community is in serious trouble. In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, the Puritans community is in the Salem court where John Proctor admits to committing adultery to Abigail Williams who at the time was very young. Abigail Williams is where the court started after she is involved in the case where John Proctor is accused of committing adultery with her. Abigail also lead the girls and their witchcraft accusations in court. Abigail truly believed that John Proctor still had love for her.

    Read More

  • The Role of Fear Depicted in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play “The Crucible” is an allegory for the McCarthyism hysteria that occurred in the late 1940’s to the late 1950’s. Arthur Miller’s play “the crucible” and the McCarthyism era demonstrates how fear can begin conflict. The term McCarthyism has come to mean “the practice of making accusations of disloyalty”, which is the basis of the Salem witch trials presented in Arthur Miller’s play. The fear that the trials generate leads to the internal and external conflicts that some of the characters are faced with, in the play. The town’s people fear the consequences of admitting their displeasure of the trials and the character of John Proctor faces the same external conflict, but also his own internal conflict. The trials begin due to Abigail and her friends fearing the consequences of their defiance of Salem’s puritan society.

    Read More

More about The strumpet and the wife

Open Document