This forebodes the death of Macbeth and also Lady Macbeth by suggesting that they will not be able to kill the King and live a normal, guilt free life afterwards. Lady Macbeth then creates irony as she mocks Macbeth for thinking this way, she refers to him as a ‘coward’ and insists that this murder is necessary. This part of the play is extremely significant as we realise just how harsh Lady Macbeth is and how far she would really go. She removes any maternal characteristics that she may have had by explaining that her lack of pity would extend so far, that she would murder a baby. “Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out”.
Guilt is constantly seen throughout the play Macbeth driving the characters to question their morals. To the responder it appears that Lady Macbeth is the driving force behind the initial killing of King Duncan influencing her husband Macbeth to commit the evil deeds by threatening him with his man hood by saying “when you do it, then you are a man”. Her tone portrays her dominant nature and her hunger for authority and demonstrates to the responder her strength as a character. However her over confident traits and clear and concise thinking is diminished once the guilt of the crime poisons her conscience. This is demonstrated by her imagining her hands stained by blood and her constantly trying to clean the “damned spot” away and rid her sole of the guilt.
Here, they have not used common sense, ignoring the possibility that perhaps the girls feared the consequences of their actions in the forest, the fact that they were young girls playing, not calling the devil. Furthermore, the arrival of Reverend Hale does little to restore common sense and reason among the people of Salem. Upon his arrival, his reputation as an expert in witchcraft is quickly circulated, fueling the people's fears that the devil is indeed among them. John Proctor, could see how Hale's appearance could add to the hysteria rising in Salem and was quick to bring this to Parris' attention challenging his decision to call Hale to examine the girls; "if it be not the devil, what's he coming for?" (pg 22).
But, she is afraid of his personality ‘too full o’th milk of human kindness’ and decides to take matters into her own hands. This is also the scene where we hear her first famous soliloquy which is ‘unsex me here’ when she calls on the evil spirits. Really, she wants to be the same as the three witches, but because of who she is, she has to repress all her inner feelings and her conscience in order to carry on with her plan to murder Duncan. She has to be two-faced. When Macbeth returns later in the scene, she immediately pounces onto him and tries to persuade him to murder the King and she says it in a very manipulative way.
Arrogance in pride has the potential to ruin a man’s integrity, destroy his life, and even drive a settlement to insanity. Salem experiences all of the previous and more because of the arrogance of those involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Nathan Hale is one of the few men involved in the trials who had potential to prevent its tragedies from ever occurring. When Reverend Hale was summoned to Salem, he was quick to let his “extensive” dealing with witchcraft be known. Though he is more a man of God than Parris, he is not without his faults, and his faults will prove fatal.
Arthur Miller shows how being put on the spot can scare people and make them accuse others. Abigail was put on the spot and she didn’t want people to think she was acting like a witch, even though she was, so she put the blame on Tituba. In Act III, Mary Warren was going to help Elizabeth Proctor get out of trouble with the court. Elizabeth was accused by Abigail in Act II because Abigail wanted to be with John Proctor who is Elizabeth’s husband. Mary Warren was forced by John Proctor to speak the church about confessing/lying so Elizabeth could be back home with John.
Because of their sins, the townsfolk have guilt and blame others to free themselves of it. People call out names for the witch-hunt on behalf of God; but in reality, they blame others to avoid dealing with their guilt. These accusations make the townspeople turn on their neighbors and friends, ultimately adding to the intensity of the witch trials. In contrast to the townsfolk, Giles deals with his guilt. He asks Reverend Hale to resolve his curiosity about what his wife Martha might be reading behind his back, but instead rouses the town’s suspicion of Martha being a witch.
I know! You disgust me…” would traumatize almost anyone. That event took away her sanity and left her with the sounds of the music from the dance floor and the gunshot ringing in her ears years, and years later. Another theme is the necessity of a man in every woman’s life. Stella had Stanley would she wouldn’t leave no matter how horribly he abused her, Eunice had her
In the play many characters do not take responsibility for what they do see going on. As a result many lives are taken. For example, John Proctor realizes how dangerous the witchcraft accusations are when the court officials arrest his wife, Elizabeth, for witchcraft: "The little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! I ll not give my wife to vengeance!” (Miller 34). Before his wife was arrested, John really did not see that the girls weren't just telling little “white lies”.
While lying with Betty, she warns the other girls, “If anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, I will come to you in the black of some terrible night” (). However, when the news of her and the other girl's strange actions spreads like wildfire, the hysteria sets in. Abigail only contributes to the hysteria, though. She makes up lie after lie just to conceal her wrongdoing. She even pretends to see Mary Warren take the shape of a yellow bird while in court just to take the focus off her and John’s affair.