The Persecution Of Women In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, women are constantly looked down upon. This play shows the sins of everyone in Salem, but it highlights the sins of women. In Salem, some of the townspeople, mostly women, are accused of being witches; however, these accusations and trials show how crazy society can be. The Crucible is both written and critiqued in a way that makes men look better than females. Critics point out all the flaws of women, but they do not highlight the just as guilty men in the play. The men should be just as criticized as the women for their mistakes throughout the play.
The first way that women are degraded in the play is that Abigail Williams is constantly condemned for her sins, but John Proctor does not receive and of this condemnation. Abigail is referred to by many critics as “’an evil child,’ . . . a ‘malicious figure,’ . . . ‘unstable,’ and ‘a whore’” (Schissel 2). Yes, Abigail did have an affair with John and some of these names do fit her, but John is not called any of these names. John did the same exact thing as Abigail yet he receives none of the shame that she does. Also, all of the witchcraft trials in the play begin because of Abigail’s

“carnal lust for Proctor” (Schissel 2). The whole play is about a scare caused by Abigail wanting to be with Proctor and her wanting to get rid of Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth.
Secondly, the women in the play are accused of witchcraft far more than men.

This is shown after Mary Warren gets home from court and Proctor asks her, “Is it true? There be fourteen women arrested?” (Miller 852). He does not mention men because at this point in the play, none have been arrested. This also translates into real life. According to “Re(dis)covering the Witches in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible: A Feminist Reading” by Wendy Schissel, “In Salem, the majority of witches condemned to die were women” (2). The numbers in Salem are much smaller than the number of accused witches in Europe which were “nine million witches executed at a ratio of women to men of as much as 100 to 1” (Schissel 2). There was a much greater number of women executed for being a witch that that of

men.
Lastly, Elizabeth is blamed for Proctor’s sins and no one argues that she should not be blamed. In the play, Proctor cheats on Elizabeth with Abigail. For some reason, Elizabeth is blamed even though there is nothing she can do about Proctor cheating. Miller shows us that Proctor’s sins are partly Elizabeth’s fault when Elizabeth says, “It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery” (883). Also, Critics do not question “Miller’s insistence that Elizabeth is at least partly to blame for John’s infidelity” (Schissel 6). The critics do not think that Miller was even the slightest bit wrong for blaming Elizabeth.
In conclusion, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible shows us that men are better than women and critics do not argue. The play shows us that women are called out more than men are for their sins. The play shows us that far more women were thought to be sinful than men were. The play shows us that women are always to blame. The play shows us that men are better, but men are not better. We are equal.