How Does Arthur Miller Portray Women In The Crucible

In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, there are multiple very specific ways

women are represented, some of which are demeaning. We are shown two

different types of women. Miller describes Abigail as a “supporter” of adultery and

claims that she becomes a whore. He writes Elizabeth as the classic boring

housewife. Miller’s way of depicting these women can be seen as insensitive and

demeaning; so much that it may seem to be done on purpose. Was Miller himself

stereotypical towards women, or was he trying to expose stereotypes from the

17th century? Miller essentially takes the gender discrimination from 17th century

Salem and applies it to his own writing to construct his female characters.

In The Crucible, one way women are represented is in a mischievous

and
“whoreish” way. Abigail specifically, was written in a way where she is described
as a whore by others and performs troublesome acts. When Betty is recounting
what happened in the woods she says, ““You did, you did! You drank a charm to
kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (18). Abigail
drinks a “potion” with the hopes that it would kill Goody Proctor. This shows how
she wants John Proctor to herself even though she knows that he is married to
Elizabeth.

At the end of the play, Arthur Miller writes how, “Abigail turned up later

as a prostitute in Boston,” (135). This rather unnecessary piece of detail further

shows how Miller wrote Abigail’s character with the intentions of making her out

to be a whore. He adds this to strengthen who Abigail is. Miller demeans Abigail

in The Crucible with whore-like qualities very specific to women.

In The Crucible, another way women are represented is in an overly loyal

and domestic way. Many times John Proctor refers to Elizabeth as being in the

house or being responsible for their marriage issues. One time when John

Proctor is speaking to Elizabeth about the state of their marriage he says, “It’s

winter in here yet,” (49). John Proctor is referring to both the state of their home

and the state of their marriage. He puts the blame on her that their marriage is a

cold and bleak one rather than evaluate what he could be doing wrong. Elizabeth

exhibits a great deal of obedience —not necessarily a bad quality— towards

John Proctor. In court while being questioned she lies to defend John. Danforth

says to her, “Is your husband a leecher?” (105) To this question

Elizabeth
responds, “No, sir,” (105). She does so with the only reason being loyalty. John
had already confessed to adultery and all Elizabeth got out of claiming he is not a
sexual felon was the attempt to save John’s name. In The Crucible Miller
describes Elizabeth as loyal and domestic; these are two very demeaning
qualities women can be described with. We are shown two very clear, defined
characters in Abigail and Elizabeth.
Also in The Crucible, women are deemed to be overall less than men.
When men in the play refer to women they typically use the term “whore” and
describe them in demeaning ways. While Proctor is speaking to Abigail about
Elizabeth spreading rumors he says to her, “Do you look for whippin’?” (22).
Whipping was an action usually reserved for animals and slaves so this threat is
a severe one. To even suggest whipping someone is a completely degrading act.
In Miller’s play it is not only men who look down on women. Women look down
on each other for being a part of different lifestyles. Regarding Abigail Elizabeth
says, “Then go and tell her she’s a whore,” (59). The term ‘whore’ is thrown
around in The Crucible by both men and women an almost exaggerated amount
of times. Demeaning women was the norm. Miller wrote his play with this in mind
and built his characters surrounding the most obvious gender stereotypes
towards women.
In The Crucible, women are certainly stereotyped. We are introduced to
Abigail, the evident femme fatale, and Elizabeth, the typical homemaker. Miller’s
application of gender prejudice cannot be disputed. These characters are given
qualities that depict them as the “standard” woman. Although it may simply be for
the sake of exposing 17th century values, the portrayal of certain female
characters is clearly in negative light. Explaining that Abigail becomes a
prostitute adds nothing to the story however he writes it in order to strengthen
Abigail’s —negative— image. In conclusion, Miller writes his women in
demeaning fashion in order to highlight a perception many people had of women
during the 17th century.