The Theme Of Hysteria In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller’s allegorical play “The Crucible,” the characters share in a common state of hysteria, as reflected in the paranoid and conspiratorial mindset that allows for a witch-hunt to take root. Mrs. Putnam, the grieving wife of Thomas Putnam, firmly believes that a witch is responsible for the deaths of her seven infant children. Mrs. Putnam questions Rebecca Nurse as to whether or not she believes that it is God’s choice as to why Rebecca would never lose a child or grandchild, and yet the Putnams have lost all but one. Mrs. Putnam wonders why God would punish her so cruelly; so if not God, it must be the devil. In the beginning of the play, Mrs. Putnam explains to Rebecca Nurse, “There are wheels within wheels in this village and fires within fires.”
28 in Act I) The wrongdoings that take place inside of Salem, such as some of the characters’ ability to manipulate higher authorities, tend to result in horrible consequences such as hanging, in which innocent people must endure. Typically, those who come across as devout, are, in fact, trying to cover up their sins.
In other words, Mrs. Putnam conveys that things are always more complex than how they appear on the surface. The phrase “wheels within wheels” is used as a metaphor to describe the conflicts that are taking place within Salem, showing how one thing leads to another. As more and more people become involved in the witch trials, the more widespread paranoia and distrust intensified throughout Salem. This sequence of events directly relates to fire and how it burns uncontrollably if it is not extinguished. Miller suggests that the Salem witch trials were driven by the hidden human “defects” within the people such as greed, lust, and envy. Characters like