Introduction
In Arthur Miller’s book, The Crucible, puritans live under a culture of fear, rigorous rules, and supposed righteousness. Every violation leads to punishments, and as a result, unscrupulous people twist the rules of law towards their own personal gain and advantage, threating with whippings and hangings to force the weak to become submissive and servient. But how does this happen?
The Manipulation of Fear
To understand this, one may look to Abigail Williams, someone who has spent her life under the authoritative rule of her Uncle and of the Church. The authority’s power comes from punishments and hurt, and growing up under such an environment and culture results in Abigail using this very power to her own advantage as she tries to avoid the responsibilities and punishments by redirecting it towards others, threatening Mary Warren and Betty with curses and spells if they too, fail to stay in line and follow Abigail’s orders.
“ABIGAIL: Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you (19).”
The more power Abigail gains, the more she uses fear to get others under her rule, such as in Act 3 in which she lies and indirectly threatens Mary Warren with hanging by pretending to have seen malicious spirits sent out by Mary Warren, putting more and more pressure until she finally gives in.
“ABIGAIL: Oh, Mary, this is a black art to change your shape. No, I cannot, I cannot stop my mouth; it’s God’s work I do (107).”
Everyone’s afraid of what could happen to them, afraid of what would be done if they do not follow the orders of those who command them, and consequently, they give in to lies of unscrupulous people, which is exactly what people like Abigail wants. Danforth’s words certainly make it clear to Mary Warren the fearsome stakes.
“DANFORTH: …It may well be that Mary Warren has been conquered by Satan, who sends her here to distract our sacred purpose. If so, Her neck will break for it.”
Knowledge and Ignorance – Connections
Every time I think of the subject of fear, I can’t help but make a connection to what Jim Butcher, an American author, said:
“Fear is bred from ignorance. So knowledge is a weapon against it, and reason is the tool of knowledge.”
Fear often stems from the threats of the unknown, creating paranoia, stress, and desperation for any answer. The townspeople of Salem are so desperate for a sense of safety that they’re willing to blindly hang anyone who was accused to save themselves from danger, and the authority has so little factual evidence and so much faith in thin beliefs that they’re willing to follow through with whatever ends the problem, even if the one at hand is non-existent.
Citations:
- Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play In Four Acts. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. Print.
-
Hi William.
You have a very interesting take on how Abigail uses her deceptions to manipulate and threaten her power. I certainly do agree that Abigail did develope her tendency to use aggressive methods to manipulate the girls who then helps Abigail to gain power in the court and eventually manipulated the whistleblower Marry Warren. But in my opinion, Abigail’s violent and manipulative did not only come from the harsh punishments from his uncle and society, but it is also her response to such punishments that drove her into doing what she did. Under similar stress from society and her peers, Marry Warren has also been punished and lived under authoritative control. However, she did not become the manipulative person that Abigail is, she attempted to stand up and overthrow the manipulation Marry Warren herself has endured and hated. How are Abigail’s manipulations similar to events today? And did Hale stood against Abigail because he was knowledgable according to Jim Butcher’s quote?
Hi William,
Thank you for your insightful post. I found your analysis on Abigail very intriguing when you said, “The more power Abigail gains, the more she uses fear to get others under her rule.” Indeed, Abigail’s character has surrounded on power, and her misuse and manipulation of it. Abigail is a character of dominance, a person that exerts confidence even if they don’t mean to. Her dominance is sometimes so automatic that, she doesn’t even have control over it. Because of her assertiveness, she is not willing to back down, even if she knows she has made a mistake. In one way, her automatic dominance does overpower her ultimate weaknesses, like in Act 4 when Abigail asks for Marry Warren’s forgiveness when she herself has done the same exact thing if not worse. Abigail knows deep down that it is hypocritical of her to continually do these things, but because her instinct directly leads her to be so presiding, she has nothing to do other than follow the persona, in making her reputation to be this highly authoritative character. Her obsessive mind of NEEDING to be in control forces these behaviours to come out of her, all because she needs to pre-establish her fate, and ultimately, her life. This is why she is so obsessive with creating fear out of her opponents, since by creating fear in her opponents, it makes her to believe to be this powerful character, and a character that deems respect out of everyone.
I know justifying Abigail’s thoughts may be controversial, but to me, it’s just like emphasizing with the bully. Are bullies born bullies? No, all actions are learnt whether liked or not. All bullies are only mean because they want attention, or because they are so hurt inside that they believe tearing others down will boost their confidence. This might be an unpopular opinion, but do you also believe that there is a good side in Abigail’s heart? Knowing that Abigail was an orphan, does that create more empathy as Abigail herself has been through the same situations? Or does that make her actions even more unjustifiable? Summarizing all the points above, I do believe that there is a good side in Abigail, but to what extent can her actions be forgivable?
Thank you for writing this post that opened up my mind on The Crucible as a whole, it really allowed me to think outside the box!