According to Global Citizen, in 2023, “women earn just 77 cents for every dollar men earn” demonstrating that men still dominate society. The idea of patriarchy is evidenced in The Crucible, a story about the mass hysteria running wild in the town of Salem during the Salem witch trials in the 1600s. The Crucible shows that false accusations can tear a community apart. But back in the 17th century, women had no opportunity at all. In the 17th century, men in society viewed women as sexual objects whose only purpose was to serve men. Although, some women gained power from the Patriarchal society and used that to their advantage. In Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor and Mary Warren are victimized, while Abigail Williams is empowered by …show more content…
We witness this when Proctor gets mad at her and lets her know that he will “show [her] a great doin’ on [her] arse one of these days” (21). Mary is victimized by John in this scene because of his threats of physical abuse. Proctor exerts his dominance over Mary Warren, who is powerless due to her position in society as an unmarried woman and maid. Proctor uses corporal punishment to keep his employees in line. Mary is later victimized by the court officials after Proctor forces her to go to the court to confess that everything the girls are doing is a lie. When Mary can't get the words out, John tells the court that Mary told him it was “Pretense she says. They are also pretending (89).” In this scene Mary is weak, vulnerable and has no power. When Mary can't seem to talk, Proctor is victimizing her because it's an example of puritan beliefs because a man is doing the speaking for the women. In this play, we see men usually have the power. For example, Mary Warren is powerless when it comes to them. Throughout the play, women are victimized by the men in their lives. But some gain power from the patriarchy. Abigail is empowered by John Proctor and Deputy Governor
Although women were beginning to work the same jobs as men, their wages were drastically different, with men being paid a lot more for the same job. More women started to go to university in order to gain the qualifications that would enable them to do the jobs that men did. Some parts of the play reflect the feminist issues that were happening at the time the story was written. In 'The Crucible' the issues surrounding the time of when the play was written was McCarthyism. Arthur Miller was interested not only in the Salem witch trials, but also the more current affairs of the USA.
In the first stage rests Mary Warren. She is not a character with strong conviction, and in the course of the play, she changes sides to whichever will keep her safe from harm at the time. During the first act of the play, we come to understand that she had been one of the girls dancing in the forest with Abigail and Tituba. She saw that the girls were being cornered, and felt that they should confess before it got out of hand, but was silenced after being threatened by Mercy Lewis and Abigail Williams. When Elizabeth Proctor was arrested, John Proctor employed his power as her boss and as a stronger human to coerce her to go with him to the court and expose the girls as frauds. Because he’s stronger than she, she agrees. When they g...
During the trial the girls and Abigail pressure Mary into conforming to them by pretending that Mary was bewitching the girls. When she plays along with the girls; Proctor screams at Mary with much rage, “Mary god damns all liars!”(224).Which is ironic because John Proctor has been lying to everyone about his deadly secret. Which he knows will eventually come out and ruin everything for him. Proctor finally comes out and tells the court when there seems to be no way out for Elizabeth he points out, “I have known her sir, I have known her” (220). Proctor finally confesses about his affair in front of Judge
Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.
The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts) fits into the stereotypes of the time period of the 16th century. In the time period Elizabeth Proctor lived, the Salem Witch trials were taking place. Elizabeth fits into this because she was an innocent women accused of witchcraft. About 200 people and even some animals were accused during this time. Elizabeth Proctor was of Puritan religion. Puritans did not agree with the common European viewpoint that women were more evil then men. Women were believed to have a bond with the devil because of the biblical belief in Eve's first sin, which makes them more susceptible to sin, according to (“Gender Roles in the Salem Witch Trials"). Elizabeth is very religious and she goes to church even though her husband does not, because the puritans were strict with obeying the Sabbath. She is also similar to this time period because of her husband’s affair. During some research, I found that women of this time period were excepted to tolerate it when their husband had an affair. If a women was caught having an affair, her husband would take her to court. If the wife were found guilty, she would be scented to death. The puritan women married for love. There was no arranged marriages. ("Puritan Women's Rights”). This is similar to Elizabeth because she loved her husband, John. John did some bad things but Elizabeth loved him and tried to understand why he chose
...e a part of his brain. These operations remove a man’s individuality and freedom. Kesey successfully portrays woman as overpowering and castrating as they as disabling McMurphy from sexual ability. Opposing to this, the Crucible witch trials empower several woman in the play that are previously marginalized in their society. In general, women occupy the lowest of male-dominated Salem and have very few options in life. The woman are brought up to work as servants for the men in the town until they reach of an age which they are then set to be married off and have children. Not only is Abigail so restricted, she also is a slave to John Proctor’s sexual conceptions. He manages to shed her of her innocence when he instigates adultery with her, and he provokes her jealousy when he terminates their affair. Women are portrayed as weak, innocent and selfish in this matter.
It is clear that Abigail Williams is portrayed as the antagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, taking place in the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts and based on the witch-trials therein. She serves as a catalyst for the witch trials by falsely accusing innocent townspeople with the intent of maintaining the position of power she gains from them. Due to the transparency of her actions, Abigail’s ulterior motives are also distinguishable. Certain effeminate stereotypes are presented throughout the course of the play. One of which, being that of the immoral, husbandless woman, Abigail embodies. Slave to emotion and motivated by lust, Abigail falls
The Crucible: Hysteria and Injustice Thesis Statement: The purpose is to educate and display to the reader the hysteria and injustice that can come from a group of people that thinks it's doing the "right" thing for society in relation to The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I. Introduction: The play is based on the real life witch hunts that occurred in the late 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts. It shows the people's fear of what they felt was the Devil's work and shows how a small group of powerful people wrongly accused and killed many people out of this fear and ignorance.
Arthur Miller’s 1954 play, The Crucible, toys with the emotions and morality struggles of the 1690 Salem Witch Trails involving the repercussions of government corruption and the desire for personal liberty and integrity. Miller’s artistry as a playwright, positions the audience to believe that women are largely suppressed by men in the community which ultimately leads to an uprising of power from the “powerlessness” members of the community. The Crucible challenges preconceived audience perceptions that change can only be accomplished with power, by presenting an opportunity for the powerlessness gender of Salem to congregate and upturn the pillars of society that Salem thought were most strong such as theocratic justice.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a play filled with backstabbing and deceit, but compassion and forgiveness are the prevailing themes hovering above the rest. People in the book are engrossed in a culture which lets women do no more than cook, tend the house and read. Women and girls in this culture often become bored with their lives and attempt to find outlets and this happened in the puritan lifestyle of which the Crucible is engrossed in. Compassion is a main theme of this book which takes its effect through Hale’s actions in the court, John Proctor’s attitude towards Abigail's love and Elizabeth's forgiveness of Proctor for Adultery.
Arthur Miller's classic play, The Crucible, is about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts. What starts with several girls practicing European white magic in the woods escalates to a massive hysteria, with the "afflicted" girls falsely accusing even the respected women in the community of being witches. Eager to "utterly crush the servants of the devil", church leaders and townspeople insist on trying the accused. The punishment for failing to confess to witchcraft is death by hanging. In the end, many are hanged for imaginary crimes, for which no actual proof is ever presented, the only evidence being the word of a handful of girls.
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.
One of the most prominent themes in Arthur Miller’s 1953 drama, The Crucible, is the use of role reversals within race and gender boundaries, social status, and superficial power. In the not-so-sleepy town of Salem, Massachusetts, the rumor of witches among the community runs rampant as various characters work to accuse their fellow citizens of witchery or defend their neighbors from the gallows. Driven by jealously and pure hatred, those who have minor roles within the community lust after a more notable place in society by accusing the more distinguished members to rid them of their land, wealth, or reputation – and even their life. Those wrongfully accused are driven by fear as they either admit their guilt to save their own lives or find someone else to blame for the supposed crime. In turn, this causes the well-known citizens to be reduced to their salt and the minor townsfolk to gain a certain type of fame or air about themselves. The turn of tables proves to benefit certain female characters with minor roles and damage the more notable male characters within the community.
The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. Initially, it was known as The Chronicles of Sarah Good. The Crucible was set in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. It talks of McCarthyism that happened in the late 1600’s whereby the general public and people like Arthur Miller were tried and persecuted. The Crucible exemplifies persecutions during the Salem Witch Trials. The people were convicted and hung without any tangible proof of committing any crime. Persecutions were the order of the day. When a finger was pointed at any individual as a witch, the Deputy Governor Danforth never looked for evidence against them or evidence that incriminated them; he ordered them to be hanged. This can be seen through his words “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for those, weeps for corruption!” (1273), the people were persecuted aimlessly. The four main characters in the play, John Proctor, Abigail Adams, Reverend Hale and Reverend Parris, are caught in the middle of the witchcraft panic in the religious Salem, Massachusetts in late 1690’s. Persecution is the most important theme in the Crucible, the leaders and citizens of Salem attacks and persecutes one of their own without any tangible evidence against them.
Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" is a potent and thought-provoking drama that takes place in the infamous witch trials of the late 17th century in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. Fundamentally, the play explores issues of deception, hysteria, moral integrity, and the fallout from unbridled authority. It also digs into the complexity of human nature. A group of young girls, led by Abigail Williams, are found dancing in the woods at the beginning of the story.