The Crucible Feminist Analysis

During the spring of 1692, a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. These claims of witchcraft soon led to events known as the Salem Witch Trials. At this time, there were many other things happening in America, such as the harsh realities of life in the Puritan community of Salem Village, the after-effects of the British War with France in the American colonies, and the epidemic of smallpox, that contributed to this time of fear, suspicion, and accusations. Originating from these events came the play, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. This play is based on the Salem Witch Trials, following the lives, relationships, and dilemmas of various fictional individuals involved in the witch hunt. Throughout this story, women are marginalized as they are pressured to meet male expectations in regards to purity and gender roles in relationships.
These women were silenced because the high demands to maintain decency and the consequences of not doing so were all made by men, shutting out the women’s opinion. When Reverend Parris becomes suspicious of his niece’s affair with John Proctor, he says to her, “I have given you a home, child, I have put clothes upon your back-- now give me an upright answer. Your name in town-- it is entirely white, is it not?” (Miller 12). Being so concerned in this matter proves that Parris is challenging Abigail’s reputation and that there is such a tremendous pressure for women, in this case Abigail, to keep up with these standards. When Parris addresses Abigail as a “child”, even though she is not, it informs the readers that Parris holds himself superior to women and deprecates them to show that he is more knowledgeable and experienced than they