Women are portrayed in three distinctive ways in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. Some are appeared as great, moral, upright people, while others are the opposite. Miller is not a feminist, his intentions are not to make women appear to be spotless, however, he is also not a misogynist, he does not condemn all women for the sins of their sex. He demonstrates a balance between various individuals, with a specific end goal to make the story more believable. There are three distinct women in the play with three different personas. Elizabeth Proctor can be viewed as the most loyal woman in the play. In spite of the fact that her better half, John Proctor, admitted to having an affair with their housekeeper, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth was still devoted to John. At the point, when Elizabeth was questioned as to whether her significant other, John, was having an affair behind her back, she lied for him and denied it. When Danforth stated, "To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery?” and Elizabeth reacted, "No, sir". Elizabeth had never lied before this incident, yet she did now, to save her cheating spouse. Elizabeth is a strong woman who took the fault for something that she was not associated with. She thought she was the reason behind on why her husband cheated, ”I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery". Elizabeth is portrayed as a woman with a strong, loyal character and a faithful wife, yet she has her flaws
Arthur Miller is considered one of the greatest American playwrights of the 20th century. He has written many acclaimed plays, including The Crucible. Written in 1953, The Crucible uses the historical perspective of the Salem Witch Trials which took place between 1962 and 1963. A lot of the inspiration for the events that take place in the play were from the McCarthyism era that was taking place at the time. It is evident that The Crucible is a critical look at the way the Communist hunt was handled, and used the hysteria and madness of the witch trials to show how history repeats itself. The relationship between men and women and the way the woman in the society is treated is also a prominent theme throughout the play.
Both literary works were written about the same time period, the Puritan era, hence their strong views on women and their roles in Puritan society, though one is a larger extreme than the other. Arthur Miller and Anne Bradstreet both have God as a main theme in their works. Though the writers have Puritan life as a major theme they also have many differences in their writing styles. The Crucible was not written in the Puritan era, the story was written as an allegory to Communism (The Communist Witch Hunt); because in the 1950’s Arthur was accused as a Communist spy. Rather than Anne Bradstreet who lived in this time period. Also in Bradstreet’s writings she largely focuses, with her Puritan-related works, on more of the familial side of the Puritan lifestyle. When Arthur Miller writes more closely relate to the Puritan woman's relationship with her husband and the corruptness of Puritan society. In Bradstreet’s portrayal of the Puritan woman in her poem Upon the Burning of Our House, is an attached woman, to her memories in her possession and with reason she figures out that God is the only that is constant and everlasting in her life. Arthur Miller portrayal of the Puritan are at opposite spectrums of the Puritan, the loyal Elizabeth’s; which her husband knows when he says, “ That woman will never lie, Mr. Danforth.”(Miller 85), or
Today, we plaster death, relationship drama, and corruption in Holy places everywhere for our enjoyment. During 1953 when the author Arthur Miller wrote a play called The Crucible, it had all of those components. This play had the drama of infidelity, lying, murder, and corruption of a church; all of the fun things that make us laugh, cry, and fear for a character's fate. The Puritans did not allow entertainment, only work and pray, so when they received entertainment they took to the extreme. The play will have Miller playing with your emotions in the same ways that the Puritans played with life and death. Throughout this play, Miller will create pathos through the conflicts of infidelity, religion, and injustice.
There are various ways you can portray women throughout, The Crucible. Some are raised with high expectations, morals, and the majority are raised in a Christian household. And some are raised the complete opposite. In The Crucible, women are viewed in many different ways based on their actions and behavior. In Margaret Atwood’s poem, “Half-Hanged Mary,” she often views women the same way. The author in The Crucible, Arthur Miller, uses very important women to characterize the certain roles of women. The author of the poem, “Half-Hanged Mary also shows how women portray the roles of how women were treated in the poem, as well as the story, The Crucible. Both of these authors, Margaret and Arthur, compare the similar roles of women based on their well being and moral upbringings.
In Act 4 Elizabeth is asked to speak to Proctor in the hope that she
“The Crucible” has many women characters who are looked down on and portrayed as evil,
There are various ways you can portray women throughout, The Crucible. Women are raised with high expectations, morals, and majority are raised in a Christian household. Although there’s the other types of women that are the complete opposite. In The Crucible, women are viewed in many different ways based on their actions and behavior. In Margaret Atwood’s poem, “Half-Hanged Mary,” she views women the same way. The author in The Crucible, Arthur Miller, uses very important women to characterize the certain roles of women. The author of the poem, “Half-Hanged Mary,” also uses a woman to portray the roles of how women were treated in the poem, as well as the story, The Crucible. Both of these authors, Margaret and Arthur, compare the similar roles of women based on their well being and moral upbringings.
In the play `The Crucible` written by Arthur Miller which revisited the witch trials that took place in 1692. Arthur Miller expresses many themes which led Salem to their downfall. A one of significance would be that people who are devoted to Christianity will not lie and would rather kill their own legacy rather than tarnish it. In such a strongly patriarchal society where the rules are strict and your religious principles are a necessity for your reputation.
While reading the Crucible there are several recurring themes, a few of which include sexual repression and patriarchy. Specifically, these themes which are seen so often throughout this play seem to be connected to the downfall of this small Puritanical town. Today I will bring to light the biased views and sexual repression that led this small town to its untimely demise. This paper will delve into the puritans daily way of life and beliefs and expose that sexual repression and patriarchy were the real killers in this play based on real events.
Influence does not equal social or political position, in fact, some of the most common people are the most influential. Rather than being determined by external factors, such as rank, influence is determined by intrinsic characteristics. Elizabeth Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a clear example of this, since Miller sets her as a common, powerless wife in a hostile town full of people with rank and power, but her character sets her apart from this setting. From a superficial point of view, she might appear as another example of powerless women in Puritan society, and it seems that her purpose is to pass through the play surreptitiously. However, she has a much greater purpose than this. The way that women are portrayed in Miller’s play gives the reader no reason to believe that Elizabeth Proctor would deviate
In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller uses the characters Abigail and the three girls as feminists to gain power. “American laws wanted to move women closer to equality through an Equal Rights Amendment that would ban governments discrimination based on sexes”. “Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes.” He portrayed this by women having the power in a positive and negative way. In the town of Salem, women were given less amount of power, with their ability to have judgments upon other women and men as being witches and wizards. There was no need of evidence to prove if a person was a witch or not. This power was given to Abigail and the girls implying larger comments on the negative effect of women holding power. Although there were good things and bad things about women having power, Elizabeth Proctor lost power over her husband because John Proctor is the head of the house, but “she is submissive to him.” Elizabeth is not secured within her relationship with John Proctor because he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Elizabeth is upset and deeply hurt, and constantly reminding John Proctor that she is still hurt because he cheated on her. Society’s view a husband having more power than the woman. Elizabeth began to have the position of a stereotypical wife. She doesn’t lose power, but suppresses her power and holds her power privately. Society view women to be weak, not intelligent, so they deserve to have less power, and
Feminist theory is the advocacy of gender equality in terms of respect, opportunities and social rights. The Crucible by Arthur Miller represents the conventional feminist gender struggle, through the medium of an androcentric patriarchal society built on the ideals of religion. In Salem, woman are portrayed as the lower class of society, patronised by men such as Proctor “I am looking for you more often than my cows!" comparing Mary to a farm animal is indicative of their perceived place. Furthermore, the violent way the men within Salem converse with woman “You will confess yourself or I will whip you to death, Tituba! demonstrates the lack of impartiality and feelings that theyhave on a woman’s fundamental rights. Miller’s use of
The roles in which women play in the drama are very significant due to the fact that they are able to shape the story and give an idea of the nature of one of the strangest events which we call the witch trials. In the play, women are depicted as weak creatures who are expected to submit to men, and whose only access to power is through dishonest means which we see a lot through certain characters. No women in the Crucible possesses extreme power and with the lying and dishonest females having the most power through despicable acts, only means for the truthful, pure-hearted, and family orientated women to be the least powerful. More specifically, women from the drama who fit into these archetypes are Mary Warren,
The outlook on gender roles in today’s advanced society is in drastic contrast to the views portrayed in The Crucible, set in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, depicts women as weak creatures, who are expected to submit to men, and whose only access to power is through dishonest means.
Elizabeth is the wife of John Proctor, a farmer who for the most part is also in good standing with the community. Before the Crucible opens, it has been hinted that John had been involved in lechery with the previous house maid, Abigail Williams. For the extended period when she is introduced, she is portrayed as a cold and distant wife, showing little or no affection for her husband. Towards the end of the play, Elizabeth gives reason for the way she has been acting, “I have read my heart this three month, John...It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery (Miller 1269).” Basically, the