(Witch Hunts) Witches were thought to be consults of the devil who gave up their bodies and led others away from the church for the devil in exchange for otherworldly power. In addition to this women were marked as being sexually voracious, the origin of this mindset being the Garden of Eden. (Witchcraft and Midwifery) It was also believed that because women were weaker than men and had fewer rights, they were more likely to succumb to the devil in order to obtain their wishes. (Witch Hunts) In this respect they were “...by nature instruments of Satan -- they [were] by nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation.” (Steven Katz, Gendercide Watch: European Witch-Hunts) Because of the influential role religion held in European communities, these associations women held were powerful instruments in their accusations. Still tying into religious influences, the very physical appearance of a woman could lead to the belief that she is a witch.
The quote where Lady Anne states “If ever he have wife, let her be made. More miserable by the life of him. Than I am made by my young lord and thee!” is rather ironic because in the end it is she who becomes Richard’s wife. Richard then enters, or rather bursts into this scene with a verbal onslaught and starts his intention on seducing Lady Anne. In the BBC version of this scene, the priests surrounding Lady Anne cowers at the presence of Richard.
Crucible/Modern-day Witch Hunt The “Wenatchee sex ring witch hunt” parallels the witch-hunt of The Crucible because in both cases devout Christians are being unfairly persecuted as a result of unfounded accusations made by teenagers, who are incapable of understanding the ramifications of their accusations. The most obvious example from The Crucible is when Rebecca nurse, the saintly, angelic character of the play, is accused of witchcraft by guilty teenagers trying to shift the focus of blame away from themselves. In act II Reverend Hale, who is brought to rid the evil from Salem, is troubled about Rebecca’s accusation and that “… if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning” (Miller 67). It is somewhat ironic that Mr. Hale is so concerned and in disbelief of Rebecca being accused yet he let’s her fate “… rest upon the justice of the court” (Miller 67). However, that very court was itself guilty of unjustifiably assuming that the accused were guilty of witchcraft and would sentence them to death unless they admitted to such.
In The Scarlet Letter, the sin that has been committed is adultery where Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale conceive an illegitimate child, a daughter named Pearl. Throughout the story Hester is put on display and humiliated for her sin, while Dimmsdale is still thought to be the "almighty" minister. In similarity from The Crucible, sin is put on trial. The Crucible directly addresses the themes and ideas from Salem Witch Trials. The young girls and their leader Abigail are the core of sin and evil in the girls and the community.
Showing how women are nothing but servants to their master. They have no choice but to listen and do whatever their husbands say. The emotional choice of words explained to the reader that women were ordered around by the men. Having no equality dismissed their independence and freedom as citizens and human beings. Ethos: “…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel thom to such a course” In this appeal Elizabeth tells the reader that she has respect towards mankind.
According to de Beauvoir, religion acts very similar to women as Marxists see it acting on oppressed classes. She says; there must be a religion for women as there must be one for the common people, and for exactly the same reasons.’ She notes that men have exercised control over religious beliefs, however in modern societies, ‘religion seems much less an instrument of constraint than an instrument of deception.’ She notes that women are deceived by religion into thinking of themselves as equal to men, despite their evident inequality. Simone de Beauvoir compares religion to how Marx’s proletariat, in that it gives women the false belief that they will be compensated for their sufferings on earth by equality in heaven. She
All of these factors were brought out in David Freeman Hawke’s Everyday Life in Early America, a detailed chronology of the life of the colonists. Religion was a major factor in the establishment of an Anglo-American society. After the creation of the Anglican Church, a mild form of Protestantism, under Elizabeth I, it became the religion of England. This however was not the only religion in England at the time. Other movements, such as Catholicism, Baptism and Puritanism all flourished, which correlated to a faction in the colonies.
The problem was a damned if she does and damned if she does not. This accusation of a woman being a witch meant that “their feminine souls made an explicit and aggressive choice to conjoin with the devil” (Reis, 94). Puritans believed they were not just manipulated by Satan, they willingly desired to be possessed by him. This was aggressive stance most Puritan men had towards Puritan women. Satan could get to their soul through their body because it was weak.
The speaker feels that men do not appreciate this work. By repeating “I want a wife” in almost every sentence, the author clarifies the many things a man expects and how ridiculous and overwhelming the amount wanted is. Even though she herself is a wife, she says she wants a wife to do all of these chores for her (274). Brady repeats “I want a wife who will…” to identify what a proper wife is supposed to do. Repetition enhances her sarcastic tone because after all that is expected of a wife, she says, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife,” (276) in the final sentence, meaning even an actual wife would want someone to do as much as she does.
Women did not escape torture and punishment during this violent era - Anne Askew was put to the rack for her religious beliefs, and subsequently died, during the reign of Elizabeth's father King Henry VIII.” (William Shakespeare info) This shows that all classes were punished for their crimes, not just the lower class. The nobility could not escape punishment, however they are automatically exempt from torture but other courtiers were not. In Romeo and Juliet, violence is portrayed as universal. To portray the image of violence in the characters, Shakespeare has the Prince recite a monologue to the fighters… “...You men, you beasts, that quench the fire of your pernicious rage with purple fountains issuing from your veins, on pain of torture, from those bloody hands throw your distempered weapons to the ground and hear the sentence of your moved prince. three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, by thee, old Capulet, and Montague,