Thirst and Dehydration: Power and Uprising in the Salem Witch Trials
By Arishka Jha
In situations of crisis, those who are the least likely to have power often end up holding it. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, an allegorical play about the Salem witch trials, the effects of accusations of witchcraft were exacerbated by the rivalries that plagued the town. Dissatisfaction and the thirst for power are main themes throughout The Crucible, and the witch hunts were often fueled by revenge and society’s vulnerability to religion. More specifically, the men of high status had almost unlimited and infinite authority over the women especially because they claimed they had a stronger connection to godly powers. The young women in Salem originated rumors of witchcraft because they were dissatisfied with the way they were regarded in the community.
At the time at which the witch trials were held, the way young women were supposed to carry themselves in society was very limiting, especially by the town’s strict interpretations of religious duty. For example, while arguing with his former mistress, Abigail Williams, John Proctor yells, “Do you look for whippin’?” (pg. 22). On the next page, he goes on to say, unnerved, “What’s she doing? Girl, what ails you? Stop that wailing!” while Betty pretends to be possessed by the Devil (pg. 23). Proctor’s attitude toward these characters exemplifies how young women were subjugated and silenced as a regular part of life, and it was almost never questioned or disapproved of by society.
The witch trials gave a different kind of authority to the young women who originally did not have as much standing in a patriarchal community, and it proved to be empowering. In the introduction of The Crucible, the author states that “those usually deprived of power—the black slave Tituba and the young children—[...] suddenly gain access to an authority as absolute as that which had previously subordinated them”(pg. xvii). Throughout the play, religious beliefs and taboos have been weaponized to fit the personal agendas of certain people such as Abigail, John Proctor, Putnam, and Danforth. As a seventeen-year-old, orphaned, and unmarried girl, Abigail Williams has a lower social standing when compared to powerful, authoritative men such as John Proctor, Danforth, and Reverend Parris. In this situation, if it weren’t for her strategic use of witchcraft as a defense, Abigail could have very easily been made a victim. By accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, she sought to remove Elizabeth, John Proctor’s wife, as a barrier between her and John, and ultimately get closer to John. The prosecutions involved in the witch trials give a unique form of power to the young women of Salem, who before were seen as subordinate and unworthy.
Many people in Salem see accusations of witchcraft as a way to achieve personal revenge, as well as deflect suspicion from themselves onto others. Early in the play, the author states, “Old scores could be settled on a plane of heavenly combat between Lucifer and the Lord; suspicions and the envy of the miserable towards the happy could and did burst out in the general revenge” (pg. 7). From this we see that religious conflict can be used as a proxy for more concrete rivalries. This can be seen throughout the play in Abigail’s quest to win the affection of John Proctor, and the arguments that Putnam, Proctor, and Parris had over property and land. It was easy for someone to justify their actions and hatred for others if they used something as agreed-upon as religion.
Overall, the witch hunts detailed in The Crucible were motivated by many things, however, a common theme was the everlasting thirst for power that was perpetuated by a system that dehydrated its citizens. After reading or analyzing The Crucible, one can see how oppressive societies often inadvertently cause crises such as the Salem witch trials, and how if people exploit them enough, they can find ways to become influential and get the upper hand.
