Social Injustice in Salem
Valeria Gurrola-Mariscal
Carrie Chapman Catt, a women’s suffrage activist, once said, “No written law has ever been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.” This is just the case in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, published in 1953. A group of young women who are inferior in social status create chaos in their town. This causes the young girls to accuse innocent townspeople of witchcraft and creates a quarrel leading to misunderstandings. Hence, rivalries were reopened, causing a fuss in the town. In order to improve their social status, a group of young women, including Abigail Williams, participate in witchcraft and claim to even see the devil.
Despite the respect many of the women in Salem have, they have no authority over anyone or anything because of standards put by society. According to Salem's views, women had two tasks: to reproduce and support their families. Family reputation is important in Salem which is why they always have to be careful with their actions. When they crossed the lines women were punished for their actions. Parris, Abigail’s uncle, starts to question Abigail about why she got fired and started causing trouble, “Abigail, I have Sought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character. I have given you a home, child, I have put clothes upon your back - now give me upright answer. Your name in the town - it is en-tirely white, is it not?” (pg.11-12). Abigail’s parents died and so her uncle Parris took her in. With Abigail relying on Parris, any wrong action can lower their social standing because of the town's beliefs.
Abigail creates a scheme to distract the townspeople from her accusations and true intentions in order to improve her social status and gain power. Abigail threatens Betty and the other girls to keep her scheme alive, “Now look at you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. 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” (pg.19). Abigail shows that she can influence people to do anything even if it means putting innocent people and herself in danger. This also shows that Abigail is willing to harm anyone who is in her way including loved ones and friends because she is so hungry for the power that she has been deprived of.
Abigail understands the different social rankings and uses it for her own gain. For example, Abigail says, “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba . . .”(pg.40). By saying this she blames Tituba (the Black slave) for conjuring with the dead. As Abigail is being questioned she blames Tituba as it is the easy way out. She knows that, because Tituba is Black, people will believe her word against Tituba. Also shown in the text, Abigail blames another woman with low status in the town of Salem because she knows that they won't have townspeople to help defend them. Given that Abigail has more social power than both Tituba and the woman with low social status, proving to others that she is “right” and committed to telling the “truth” improves her own social standing and reputation.
In hopes of raising their power and gaining attention, a group of young women, including Abigail Williams, participate in witchcraft and claim to even see the devil. Everyone in Salem desires a high social status because it would give them more power over the town. This can work towards someone’s advantage or disadvantage. In Salem, which is a small town, having a higher status could potentially get them out of trouble. Despite the fact that many women in Salem are respected, they have no influence over anybody or anything due to societal expectations. Abigail devises a scheme to divert attention from her accusations and true intentions, which indicate that she would harm anyone for power. Additionally, she understands how different social statuses work and uses that knowledge to her advantage.
