Essay On Half Hanging Mary By Margaret Atwood

In patriarchal societies, women are placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. They were treated as the property of their husband or father. Men felt threatened by a woman who displayed any characteristics of self reliance. Any signs of independence of women placed fear within men that they would have to give up their power. To prevent this, they created the mold of the perfect Christian wife. A wife was expected to clean the house and take care of the kids. Mary Webster defies those standards and works on her own farm, without the need for a man. This leads to her eventual trial and hanging, as any women who did not fit the profile would be accused of witchcraft. In the poem “Half Hanged Mary”, Margaret Atwood describes the plight of Mary

Webster, who survives the witch hanging. It is within this poem that we see the defiance of Mary to her social boundaries. In the play “The Crucible”, Abigail Williams discovers a method for obtaining power, fear. By creating the frightening image of witchcraft within the eyes of the passionately religious Puritans, she is able to move up the societal ladder despite institutional oppression. Both Mary and Abigail are able to defy standards by breaking the mold of the Christian woman and gaining power within their towns.

Mary Webster was a woman who lived and worked on her own farm, something that was unheard of in the 17th century.

Her independence made the townspeople uncomfortable, which led to her being accused of witchcraft. This was designed to take away the power she had as an independent woman. However this backfired as she survived the hanging, and ended up giving her more power than she originally had: “Tough luck, folks, I know the law: you can't execute me twice for the same thing...Before, I was not a witch. But now I am one”. By simply being a self-reliant woman, Mary defied the societal norms enough to be accused of something as absurd as witchcraft. It is only after she survives a hanging that she truly has some shocking capabilities. After her surprising survival, she is able to live however she pleases, as it is illegal to hang someone twice for the same thing: “The
 towns folk
 dive
 head first
 into
 the 
bushes to
 get
 out
 of 
my
 way...Holiness 
gleams
 on 
my 
dirty 
fingers, I 
eat 
flowers 
and
 dung, two 
forms 
of 
the 
same
 thing,
 I 
eat 
mice and 
give 
thanks, 
blasphemies gleam
 and 
burst 
in 
my
 wake like 
lovely 
bubbles. I
 speak
 in
 tongues, my 
audience
 is 
owls”. This description of the ridiculous claims made by the townspeople is meant to showcase her attitude about life and her limitless potential behavior, she can do anything. This newly acquired attitude closely resembles that of Abigail Williams, who is willing to do anything against anyone

to obtain power.

As a single woman, Abigail was powerless, but she was able to overcome this by using the fears of the people. No matter who Abigail accused of witchcraft, the court was so devoted to their religion, which said witchcraft was real, that they believed her. Abigail used the puritan’s beliefs to create a structure where she held power over the townspeople. No one in the town could stop her because if they spoke against her, they themselves would be accused of witchcraft. “Abigail, in an open threat: Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it! There is -
Suddenly, from an accusatory attitude, her face turns, looking into the air-above - it is truly frightened. Danforth, apprehensively: What is it, child? Abigail, looking about in the air, clasping her arms about her as though cold: I know not. A wind, a cold wind, has come. Her eyes fall on Mary Warren. Mary Warren, terrified, pleading: Abby!”(108).
Mary Warren attempts to confess to the court that there never was any witchcraft. Abby does not want the truth revealed, and so she silences Mary by accusing her of witchcraft. If the court were to realize the invalidity of her claims, all her power would be taken away immediately. As childish as it seem, all Abigail must do to avoid prosecution is create more false claims. Abigail goes from a lonely, helpless girl, to having almost absolute control of the lives of the townspeople.

Abigail and Mary lived in societies in which they could not seemingly hope to gain the power they would eventually achieve.

These theocracy’s expected women to fit a mold that neither Abigail nor Mary would reduce to. They used the beliefs of their institutions in order to gain power over their towns. In an institution, power is always given up by the members and granted to the leaders. The institution does not exist without the relinquishing of some rights from a group. Mary did not give up power like she was expected to, and acted as she chose to. Her town feared this defiance and tried to kill her because of it. After overcoming this, Mary can sustain her lifestyle, and live as she pleases. Abigail recognized that the way for her to have dominance over the church was to use their religious beliefs against them. In a form of government different from a theocracy, one in which there existed a separation between church and state, this method would not have been successful. Abigail not only gained power over the church, but power over her entire

town.