A Feminist Analysis of the Crucible by Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Penguin Books

It would seem that, in the Crucible by Arthur Miller, women having power is painted as a positive and negative idea. Looking through the lens of Feminist Criticism, it would certainly seem that way. In the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, women were silently given unheard amounts of power, with their ability to cast judgments upon other women and men of Salem as being witches and wizards from a hellish realm. Not much evidence was required of these people to prove otherwise – so long as they were condemned a witch, for all that the courts knew, they were a witch. However, with Feminist Criticism in mind, was all this power given to these young girls simply a re-telling of a true story, or a larger comment on the negative effects of women holding power? One can’t assume the feminist point that Arthur Miller might have been making, but from an objective view, there were good things and bad things about women having power in the Crucible.

                The one key, crucial question that is ultimately asked is: how is the relationship between men and women portrayed? The relationship between Elizabeth and John Proctor is the best answer to this question. Elizabeth Proctor is not secure with her relationship with John, seeing as he had this extensive affair with their previous hand-girl, Abigail Williams. She is portrayed as bitter and upset, constantly reminding John of how hurt she was about him cheating on her. It is very easy for John and Elizabeth to start fighting. John always retorts that Elizabeth can never let go of what he did wrong, and how she holds grudges very fiercely despite her religious demeanor. Elizabeth replies that John hasn't dealt with Abigail in its entirety, as she still finds her glancing at John at church and other events. 

Elizabeth Proctor in Hytner's The Crucibile

This picture of a disjointed couple is a picture Arthur Miller portrayed excellently, but what does it speak to in terms of a Feminist Critic? It would appear that Elizabeth has a healthy amount of power. She has feelings about the affair John had, and righteously expresses her distrust and disappointment in him. While passive, Elizabeth holds John’s mistake over his head in a way that puts her in a powerful relationship position.  While maybe not entirely healthy for the relationship itself, she portrays power over his husband in justified situations. It’s when Elizabeth and John are in front of other townspeople that they revert back to the typical husband/wife stereotype. As soon as any other character is introduced within the Proctor’s household, Elizabeth returns to her wifely duties, staying very quiet and observing the men talk.

In this way, Elizabeth technically loses power over her husband. As the figurehead of the family, John is in charge of speaking on her behalf when she is mentioned. She is no longer in power, but submissive to him. However, the point could be made that she has not lost any power at all, since the situation has changed. When John and Elizabeth are in an intimate setting, she has control. When another person is involved that assumes society’s view on how a husband/wife relationship should work, she assumes the position of the stereotypical wife. That doesn't necessarily mean that she loses power. This just means that she suppresses her power for the sake of image and holds her power privately, but not publicly.

Abigail Williams in Hytner's The Crucible

Alternatively however, there is an instance where women have public power as opposed to private power. This instance is seen in Abigail Williams, the instigator for the Salem Witch Trials. The story begins with the mention of her affair with John, and through that affair, she seeks to rid Salem of Elizabeth so that she can be reunited with her lover. The snowball effects of her accusations, however, avert her attention from her original goal of achieving John. She goes from trying to rid Elizabeth to being consumed with the power she has over the town in accusing whomever she doesn't like. With just a cry from Abigail, people are sent to jail. Such power in Abigail’s hands was enormous, but was it the type of power that a Feminist Critic would encourage? No.  

The type of power that Abigail has is enough to conquer a town, but isn't portrayed in the type of light that is ideal. In fact, Abigail is portrayed very negatively, in that she inadvertently sentences people to death through her fake portrayals of possession. This wouldn't be the type of power that a Feminist Critic would encourage. In the Crucible, ultimately, it seems the roles of power have a double standard. Females given power privately is a positive thing, giving Elizabeth a voice within her relationship with John. Publicly, however, women having power is a negative thing, as Abigail’s power sentences people to death through accusations of witchcraft.

             

So what does this say to the question as a whole? Women’s relationship with men in the Crucible has a duality to it that changes depending on the situation. The line of power is blurred – what is correct or incorrect power, when given the two icons of it: Abigail and Elizabeth? Both are very different people given very different situations, but both speak to how women are treated as a whole in the book. In the end, the Crucible is a complicated piece of literature that is harder to understand when one realizes that the Salem Witch Trials actually happened, and people were intentionally sent to their death through such a feeble accusation as ‘witchcraft’. The power that women has over men in the Crucible, however, is one that is ultimately left up to opinion.