Carrie Boike’s Reviews > The Crucible > Status Update

Of course the one commandment John can’t remember is the one about adultery! I feel bad for Elizabeth, she seems like a decent person and John hates to face the reality of his sin. The scene unfolded in an interesting way - them tiptoeing around each other and trying to please one another, then it deteriorates into resentment and argument, then they have to unite again to defend their family name.

It makes sense that these young girls like Mary Warren would relish their newfound power, despite the fact that violence and punishment doesn’t seem to be in her nature. But in this society young girls are expected to be obedient and submissive, perfectly faithful to God, and even endure whippings from their employers. For the first time, Mary Warren has a sense of authority, only at the expense of other women.

Act 1 is over & they’ve named names! I wonder if the names are people that the girls already resent or dislike. Some of them seem to be people that the Putnams already dislike, so the girls thought they would be easy targets. I felt so bad for Tituba, she really had no other choice because her life is valued even less than the girls, she definitely would have been hanged. Will Abigail name Mrs. Proctor?

“I never called him! Tituba, Tituba…”
It’s funny how Abigail was threatening to kill the other girls if they gave up anymore information about what they were doing in the woods and yet she keeps letting more information slip 😭 Girl is not very good under pressure and can’t resist interrogation at all. I suppose they’ve probably instilled a lot of guilt and shame in her about lying though.

“She goes out; they feel resentful of her note of moral superiority.” It makes sense that there are political conflicts and land ownership disputes that have been brewing in the community. Especially since Rebecca will be one of the people accused of witchcraft. She holds a position of respect and authority in the community, only this frenzied string of events allows them to take their grievances out on her.

These excerpts that provide context, character backgrounds, and, in this recent case, the political and psychological theory of witch trials, are very interesting, but I'm a bit confused by them. Specifically, how would they function in the context of a play? Is dialogue paused and a long monologue given? This doesn't seem very practical when you have an audience. But I think it works well in the medium of a book.

I’m glad I watched Robert Eggers’ The VVitch because it’s helping my imagination when it comes to the accent, rhythm of speech, the costumes, and even the characters appearance. I can’t help but imagine Anya Taylor Joy as Abigail and the actor who played her father as Parris. It makes perfect sense to make your own cast when reading a play anyways! I imagine this play had to have influenced Eggers somewhat.

“It is a study of a society that believes in its unique virtues and seeks to sustain that dream of perfection by denying all possibility of its imperfection. Evil can only be external, for theirs is a city in a hill.” I haven’t even read the play yet but I see how perfect the story is for theater because it’s so universal. I love the comparison to Greek tragedy - stories that have a universal humanness.

“I had known this story since my college years and I’d never understood why it was so attractive to me. Now it suddenly made sense. It seemed to me that the hysteria in Salem had a certain inner procedure or several which we were duplicating once again, and that perhaps by revealing the nature of that procedure some light could be thrown on what we were doing to ourselves.”

I had wondered if Miller was influenced my the McCarthyism of his time or even if he intended the play as an allegory. The witch trials are almost like the perfect example of a historic event that can be so frequently referenced in modern times. The way it’s made its way into our modern lexicon with politicians calling investigations “witch hunts.”