The puritan’s view of the way things should be done in this century was that men and women had certain roles and for women to step outside of these boundaries, that is to act in a way that it is perceived that only men should act, is highly contestable. The puritans adhered to the bible very closely. Also, the puritan society of early Massachusetts was among the most critical that could be imagined. John Winthrop who was the prosecutor in the case against Anne Hutchinson was among the strictest puritan, along with the local government. One can clearly identify the puritan’s feelings of their superiority, not only in law, government, and church, but also in being a man as opposed…
The Crucible presents women on a narrow spectrum reflecting the culture of the Puritan New England and the “cult of true womanhood.” Many of the play’s central conflicts exist because of limitations on the rights of women, and their low status in society. The status of the Puritan white male allows the infringement of women’s fundamental human rights to be overlooked by the public. The role of women and the theme of misogyny or distrust of women is an undercurrent theme in The Crucible. According to the ideals of the “cult of true womanhood”, women were supposed to embody perfect virtue in four cardinal aspects: piety, purity, submission, and domesticity. Piety maintained that a woman is more religious and spiritual than a man. Yet, in Miller’s play women were more susceptible to sin. Eve’s corruption, in Puritan eyes, extended to all women, and justified marginalization them within social avenues. In The Crucible, the ideal of femininity is presented within the traditional role of subservience, lack of voice, and suffering. The two female characters, Elizabeth Proctor and Tituba, both subordinate to their husbands and master, respectively, and in the religious life of both home and church. The fate of both characters; Elizabeth Proctor’s loss of her husband, and Tituba’s execution as a witch, provides a standing critique of the Puritan ideal of women being superior in embodying the Puritan religiosity juxtaposing the subordination of their gender.…
Abigail can be seen as a misfit throughout the entire novel. Abigail had tried multiple times to get Elizabeth proctor accused of witchcraft so that she could have John Proctor for herself. She used her uncle's power with the church to get her way. Abigail likes to get people executed because they've done something to her that angers…
She’s also a skillful liar. She is the leader of her group of girlfriends and is willing to do anything to protect herself. The angelic part of her personality is gone after the first act when it is discovered that she accused Goody Procter of witchcraft. Although Abigail seems like an innocent girl in the beginning of The Crucible, her ruthless, persuasive, and wicked personality leads her to her lustful plot to murder making her the representative of the devil she projects on others. She goes out of her way to get the troubles off of her and on to someone else. Abigail seems to bring the evil to the play. She has the willness to make her self look good and put others down. She interacts with witchcraft and believes in it. She lies about everything and tells lies to get the trouble off of her. She steals from the Reverend and runs…
She would call witchcraft on innocent people for example John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail fancied John Proctor and was furious when John ended the affair to go back faithfully to his wife Elizabeth. Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft and as a result of of Abigail’s accusation It caused John’s death. Another major reason i believe she is the villain is when she saw her town falling to pieces she stood there and filled with pride. Abigail enjoyed being able to have the power of putting a label on someone and cloud everyone's judgment. Once one of her followers backed down from…
Many forms of literature paints us an interesting portrait of women in Puritan society. by Women,s roles, specifically concerning religious conviction, are very interestingbjhighlighted…
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, women are portrayed as both powerful and weak at once. The author shows that during that time women had no rights and were inferior to men. However character such as Abigail presented her dominance over other girls which were included in the “witchcraft” action. The plate doesn’t make any specific statement about the gender roles by showing multiple sides of women and the variety of their dimensions as human being.…
In the novel of The Crucible, written by Authur Miller Abigail committed the greatest crimes. Abigail destroyed the reputations of many and killed much of her surrounding society. Her power lied in the fact that judges believed her, making all those women who fell victim to her scapegoats. She is the one who triggers off a sense of hate in the play. She tempts John Proctor into sexual activity, and to escape punishment for dancing, she deflects the actions and blames them on someone else, and does not care how many lives she ruins. “ ABIGAIL: give me a soft word, John. A soft word; PROCTOR: No, no, Abigail, that’s done with; ABIGAIL: oh I marvel how such a strong man may let a sticky wife-; PROCTOR: You’ll speak nothing of Elizabeth” (page…
Elizabeth knows about john cheating on her and does not forgive him for cheating on her. When Elizabeth is at church she see's the way that Abigail looks at John and it makes her jealous. I don't think you could ever truly trust a cheating spouse because once a cheater is always a cheater.…
Overall, Elizabeth is a blameless victim. The only sin we see her commit is when she lies in court, saying that John and Abigail's affair never happened. This is supposedly the only time she's ever lied in her life. Unfortunately, this is really bad timing. Though she lies in an attempt to protect her husband, it actually ends up damning him. Abigail is the exact opposite of Elizabeth. Abigail represents the repressed desires — sexual and material — that all of the Puritans possess. The difference is that Abigail does not suppress her desires. As you can see Arthur Miller wanted Elizabeth Proctor to be the heroine of the…
She would play the role of the leader of all the young girls and if one of them did something she didn’t like they would all beat that one girl up. Abigail would do as she please and never get caught because her friend would back her up. For example , it’s like a group of friends where there’s a leader and they all try to please them so they would become the leaders favorite or not get kicked out of the group. The play states that Abigail says” you will not speak of this or anything that happened or I will hurt you”.…
Additionally, Abigail is displayed as the major antagonist and her role in the play remains static. Abigail falsely accuses innocent people of witchcraft and feels no repentance for her actions. She is a vicious antagonist who will stop at nothing to attain her uncontrolled goals. Her central role remains static throughout the play. This is proven from her hiding the truth and convincing the girls…
In 'The Crucible', Acts Three and Four, Arthur Miller has demonstrated female roles and dominance through the use of the themes: prejudice, paranoia and power. Moreover, Miller also utilises poetic and language devices to express the female roles in the times of the Salem witch-hunts and trials in the 1600s, as well as the ‘McCarthyist’ era in the 1950s. Firstly, Act Three leads on and constructs female dominance as a follow on from Act Two, the playwright than ‘morphs’ female dominance into female submission as the play enters into Act Four. In Act Three, ‘Abigail’ is the most dominative figure in the text, she also represents Senator McCarthy through demonstrating his powerful influence and involvement with the HUAC trials as ‘Abigail’ does…
Although Abigail had already taken part in an affair with John Proctor, the betrayal of his wife was not enough for her. While Abigail fell deeper in love with Proctor and further away from the bible, constantly raising her greed of the hope of having John all to herself, Elizabeth fell into a deeper suspicion and disappointment towards her husband. Elizabeth tried to limit the tension between the two…
Abigail posses an immoral persona and many of her actions are unethical. She wants one thing and one thing only, John Proctor, a married man. She participates in infidelity and constructs a web of lies. She knows that it is a sin to have sex with a married man but continues to proclaim her love for him, “I will not, i cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is you love me yet!” (The Crucible, Act 1). In connection with the infidelity she lies on Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife, and says her spirit stabbed her when in reality she stabbed herself. Similar to her lack of emotions it proves how immoral, unethical, and selfish she really is.…