How are women portrayed in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"?
How are women portrayed in The Crucible?
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, we are faced with an interesting psychological question: What would happen if the lowest social rank attained power? After all, in the time of the Salem witch trials, women suffered because of their low rank and were expected to submit themselves to men. However, instead of portraying strong female figures, which combat outdated beliefs of a woman’s duty, this play casts women as weak creatures whose only access to power is through dishonesty and manipulation.
Although Miller’s portrayal of women seems to fit with the prejudices against them of the time, the family-oriented women who remain honest throughout the play possess less power than the unmarried female teenagers who wantonly sentence people to death. Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are two of the least powerful women in The Crucible, while Abigail Williams relishes her newfound power, attained by accusing innocent citizens of practicing witchcraft. Both Elizabeth and Rebecca dutifully serve their families, and the community that ultimately betrays them. Although Elizabeth never confesses to witchcraft, only the fact that she is pregnant saves her. As the Puritan leaders would never sentence an innocent unborn baby to death, Elizabeth’s life is spared until its birth. Rebecca Nurse, on the other hand, is eventually executed despite the fact that she always presented herself as an upright, God-fearing woman. However, the honest accused were more often than not the ones who lost their lives during both this period and the McCarthy era that the book serves as a commentary on, as they were not willing to confess to a crime they did not commit. For these reasons, one could argue that Miller agreed with the misogynistic prejudices dominant in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Women with power only use it for evil; those suppressed by men remain good and honest. Abigail doesn’t adhere to Puritan ideals, instead following her
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, we are faced with an interesting psychological question: What would happen if the lowest social rank attained power? After all, in the time of the Salem witch trials, women suffered because of their low rank and were expected to submit themselves to men. However, instead of portraying strong female figures, which combat outdated beliefs of a woman’s duty, this play casts women as weak creatures whose only access to power is through dishonesty and manipulation.
Although Miller’s portrayal of women seems to fit with the prejudices against them of the time, the family-oriented women who remain honest throughout the play possess less power than the unmarried female teenagers who wantonly sentence people to death. Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are two of the least powerful women in The Crucible, while Abigail Williams relishes her newfound power, attained by accusing innocent citizens of practicing witchcraft. Both Elizabeth and Rebecca dutifully serve their families, and the community that ultimately betrays them. Although Elizabeth never confesses to witchcraft, only the fact that she is pregnant saves her. As the Puritan leaders would never sentence an innocent unborn baby to death, Elizabeth’s life is spared until its birth. Rebecca Nurse, on the other hand, is eventually executed despite the fact that she always presented herself as an upright, God-fearing woman. However, the honest accused were more often than not the ones who lost their lives during both this period and the McCarthy era that the book serves as a commentary on, as they were not willing to confess to a crime they did not commit. For these reasons, one could argue that Miller agreed with the misogynistic prejudices dominant in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Women with power only use it for evil; those suppressed by men remain good and honest. Abigail doesn’t adhere to Puritan ideals, instead following her