The Power Of Women In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Three hundred years ago a group of girls accused both men and women of witchcraft, of those accused were 14 women, and 5 men were hanged. Two dogs believed to be familiars were convicted of witchcraft; the list involved a 5-year-old girl. Although in 1692 women in typical Puritan society are subordinate to men and treated practically as slaves, a group of young girls, lead by Abigail Williams and a slave named Tituba characters in The Crucible gain power and control over Salem, Massachusetts.

In Puritan society the Devil lurks in the woods and when the group of girls defiantly dances in the woods, people begin to suspect witchcraft. Witchcraft to the townsmen could be occurring with girls chanting, dancing without clothing, and drinking blood. Reverend Parris became nervous as later in the week few of those girls became a version of sick, “I’d not call it sick; the Devil’s touch is heavier than sick(13)”. Reverend Hale came to the town for his expertise in discovering witchcraft. Hale met with a slave named Tituba, Parris’s slave, who conjured spirits with the girls when they were found definitely dancing. “I saw Tituba waving her arms over the fire…. I saw a dress lying on the grass(10)”. Tituba initially refuses being a witch, but when she is continuously beaten and when

Miller is able to send messages through the characters using a third-person point of view in The Crucible about the absurdness of the events and how the archetypes of women could be altered. The portrayal of women in The Crucible and during the witch trials is so far from how typical Puritan women would be portrayed sends the message that irrational actions can be taken, for an unjust reason all due to fear. Along with when minority’s subordinate to others see opportunity for power they take advantage and are very unwilling to give it