The Crucible, by Arthur Miller can be superficially interpreted as a play that takes place during an era when witches posed a threat to people. With the villagers of Salem being a strictly religious puritan, any malicious event would have been considered to be the act of the devil and therefore were sought to be terminated immediately. It was during the early year of 1692 when mass hysteria rapidly spread throughout the people of Salem; with people being accused of consorting with devils and casting spells. These honest people were mainly middle-aged women who were childless or who were abandoned by their husbands. This trend undoubtedly represents the theme of empowerment and gender in the play.
Abigail realizes that by giving the names of people she saw with the devil she can control Salem because she has a good name and people will listen to her. June Schlueter and James K. Flanagan claim “.A shrewd opportunist, she turns her own violation of Salem law into an occasion for naming those for whom she has little liking and, in so doing, transforms herself into a local heroine.” (116) John Proctor knows that Abigail is controlling Salem with her accusations and recognizes that the only way to stop her is to sully her good name. When Abigail accuses John’s wife of witchcraft, he becomes enraged and claims “It is a whore!” (Miller 220). By accusing Abigail of being a whore, John is trying to ruin her name and stop her from making any more accusations, but by admitting to “have known her, sir.” is also ruining his own good
She had people fooled to believe that she had god in her and she could see the evil in people and could tell if they were in witchcraft. One person after another she had them hung. People so clueless of her intentions saw her as a saint for getting rid of the “evil” in the town. In the end of the play Abigail’s reputation was soon found out about, she knew people would come back and accuse her of murder so she ran away with her uncle’s money and Mercy Lewis. In contrast with Abigail Williams Elizabeth Proctor was not your ideal woman.
Abigial really ignites the fire by blaming Tituba for "bewitching her". As soon as Tituba confesses to witchcraft, to save her herself, and tells Mr. Hale and Rev. Parris that she saw Goody Good and Goody Osburn with the devil, all the girls start naming off names of women all around Salem that they supposedly saw with the Devil. Mary Warren is to blame for many innocent deaths as well. Mary was the housewife for John and Elizabeth Proctor.
(Douglass, 129) The slave system had mistreated the slaves in variety of ways. But the slave system affected everyone, including people who were and were not involved in it. Although slaves were victimized harshly by slavery, slaveholders and non-slaveholders were also affected by the system. The main way slaves were victimized was being stripped of their identities. They did not know when they were born, how old they were, and did not have any knowledge of their parents or family.
I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Act I) In this quote it explains how Abigail tried saving herself from being known as a “bad” person. Abigail also wants her name good in the village because a rumor was spread of her having an affair with John Proctor which is true. She then wants John Proctors wife dead so she could have him for herself. It then blows up in her face that she did not get what she wanted simply because Proctor did not want her.
Afterwards, Abigail's friend, Mary Warren, tells the court that everything was made up. Abigail and the other girls accuse her of witchcraft. Warren is terribly upset how her so called friends could so easily deceive
The Puritan community in The Crucible was vulnerable in many ways and susceptible to irrational and panicky accusations of the Salem Witch Hunts because of their strict and constricting ways. The children in the community are treated very poorly and less than everyone else in the town. As the Salem Witch Hunts were essentially started by the children the fact that they were treated as lesser beings contributed to the communities demise. “He (Reverend Parris) regarded them as young adults, an until this strange crisis he, like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at their sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak,” (Miller 3). Miller foreshadows the Witch Hunts to come.
Therefore the witches could foretell Macbeth’s fate and his downfall. Although, the witches were not completely honest, Macbeths' actions were more ambitious and destructive than the witches, since Macbeth used violence to advance in the game of power taking harmful actions to the advance to the next. Proving, that Macbeths' actions fed his ambitions and led him to his downfall. Secondly, the witches told Macbeth the apparitions as if they were complete truths not just mere predictions. The witches mislead Macbeth into believe a certain fate that could possibly have been a false truth.
When Betty and Mary Warren start to get scared and want to tell the adults about their doing, Abigail threatens them: “Now look you… I will come to you in the black of some terrible night… bring a reckoning that will shudder you… I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 20). This quote tells us that Abigail is showing who is in charge. She has no power at first, but then becomes empowered over the group of girls and maintains that power over them through fear and threats. Abigail, who was once powerless, now has the power to take control of her peers by threatening them to do her