How Does Arthur Miller Present The Characters of Abigail and Elizabeth and Shape Our Responses To Them?
GCSE English Literature
The Crucible
How Does Arthur Miller Present The Characters of Abigail and Elizabeth and Shape Our Responses To Them?
The play 'The Crucible' is set the town of Salem, Massachusetts towards the end of the seventeenth century. The town of Salem was founded by the Pilgrim Fathers who followed the Puritan beliefs and practices. The Pilgrim Fathers fled from England so that they could practise their strict personal habits and morals in freedom. Amongst the many things the Puritans prohibited, the inhabitants of Salem believed in the Devil and that any sources of Witchcraft should be eradicated from their society.
The main influence on Arthur Miller to write a play illustrating the malice madness of the Salem Witch-hunts in 1690 was the American fear of communism that swept the nation after the Second World War. Arthur Miller, himself, was directly accused of possessing communist links which were looked down upon and was fined and given a suspended prison sentence. A year later, a court acquitted him and cleared his name, shortly before the first performance of 'The Crucible' took place. The story of 'The Crucible' has therefore been based on historic American events both in the 1960s and more recently in the 1950s.
Arthur Miller has presented the non-fictional characters in his play with different and significant character traits. This contradicts the stereotype that individuality was extremely rare within the Puritan community of Salem. Yet, the contradiction to this point is probably one of the main causes for how the small community became stirred into madness, superstition, paranoia and barbaric accusations.
In this essay I will discuss how Arthur Miller presented the different character traits of Elizabeth and Abigail to his audience to shape their responses to both the women.
I have already established that Arthur Miller has set 'The Crucible' in a small Puritan society which follows extremely strict laws and practises where individuality is unheard of. The intensity of the Christian religion of every inhabitant of Salem is shown by miller in the line 'I see no light of G-d in that man'. Yet, Miller has presented two of the main characters in his play as two extremely different women living in the constrained hierarchy which is the back bone of life in Salem.
Arthur Miller has presented Abigail as an orphaned child living with her Uncle Parris who has recently been appointed the Reverend of the Church and his daughter of similar age to Abigail, Betty. In the obvious hierarchy of Salem, children as well as slaves fall into the same category, at the bottom of the triangle. This hints that a seventeen year old girl is of little status within the community. Miller has presented this in the play by Danforth's repetitive referring to Abigail as 'child' especially in Act 3 in the court room.
'She is blackening my name in the village': Although Miller only portrays to his audience from the beginning of the play that there has been an unlawful affair between Proctor and Abigail he withholds any other sins that Abigail may have committed. Yet, it is obvious from the beginning that Miller does not want to present Abigail as an innocent and harm free girl to his audience and so allows his characters to hint of past events without exactly telling his audience full details displaying her deceitful and untrustworthy traits.
Miller, however, shows rather different qualities in Elizabeth. Miller presents these qualities through her Husband's opinions of her in Act Two: 'That goodness will not die for me'. She has been presented by Miller as a Farmer's wife as well as a mother to three young boys with strong Christian values. This is shown in her response to Hale's question as to whether Elizabeth has no belief in witches in the world, which would be considered a sin in Puritan beliefs.' I cannot think the Devil may own a woman's soul, Mr Hale, when she keeps an upright way, as I have. I am a good woman, I know it; and if you believe I may do only good work in the world, and be secretly bound to Satan, then I must tell you, sir, I do not believe it.'
She is presented as a well respected and authoritative member of the community for her higher position in the hierarchy than Abigail. Miller shows his audience that her husband, Proctor, owns a vast amount of land which would consequently mean that the Proctor family are rich within the Salem community. The richer a family was the more authority and respect it would have within a Puritan society proving again the significance of Elizabeth within the play. Even though Elizabeth as an individual would be considered inferior due to her gender in the 1690s her husband still gives her a high status within Salem.
Miller's presentation of both these characters and their respective positions in Salem influences the way Miller portrays their behaviour and outlook throughout the play.
As Abigail has been dismissed from working in the Proctor household as a result of Proctor's lechery with her it could be suggested that this is the reason why Miller has created her to own the traits of a power hungry child, and perhaps this is why Miller makes her do what she does. Abigail knows that she was successful in having and powering Proctor's love which is shown in the conversation they shared in Act One where Abigail says 'Aye but we did' in response to Proctor's denial that they never touched and this could have been a trigger into making her think she deserves and could easily get the same attention and power again.
It seems to the audience that Miller has presented Abigail to be two faced, desperate, deceitful and a liar to allow her status to grow within the community as the play proceeds as her innocence as a child seems to never be questioned by her elders. Miller has presented these character traits successfully for example, in Act One a stage direction says that Abigail spoke (with a bitter anger) after she (clutches him desperately).
Miller has presented Abigail as a stubborn and selfish girl in that she'd hurt anyone and jeopardise the well beings of her fellow Puritans for a little more power and respect within Salem by accusing anyone of being seen with the Devil. She has been presented to the audience by Miller to confront her respected elders with no fear and lead her peers into following her lies and by doing this Miller shapes her lies throughout the play so that she gains the rewarding and expected treatment from certain elders such as Danforth and especially Proctor. In Act One she snaps (with a flash of anger) and says to Proctor 'How dare you call me child!' which influences the audience into thinking she isn't a seventeen year old girl and therefore makes us respond to Abigail the way she wants Danforth and Proctor to, with respect and appreciation for her views throughout the play.
Miller reveals to the audience from the beginning of the play of Proctor's and Abigail's ended affair. However, Miller has presented Elizabeth to still be Proctor's wife and this shows the audience that her ever loving and forgiving attitude and character reflects on her Puritan lifestyle and beliefs. 'As you will, I would have it. I want you living John. That's sure'. In doing this, Miller has shaped his audience's responses to Elizabeth to be of respect and admiration, quite the opposite of the audience's response to her husband's ex-lover, Abigail.
Throughout the play, various significant ...
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Miller reveals to the audience from the beginning of the play of Proctor's and Abigail's ended affair. However, Miller has presented Elizabeth to still be Proctor's wife and this shows the audience that her ever loving and forgiving attitude and character reflects on her Puritan lifestyle and beliefs. 'As you will, I would have it. I want you living John. That's sure'. In doing this, Miller has shaped his audience's responses to Elizabeth to be of respect and admiration, quite the opposite of the audience's response to her husband's ex-lover, Abigail.
Throughout the play, various significant actions of each character, especially Elizabeth and Abigail, intensify to build a climax. Yet the way Arthur Miller presents these actions reflects strongly on how the audience responds to each character.
Towards the end of Act One Miller presents to the audience just how deceitful and selfish Abigail can be. Once Tituba has accused Goody Good of being seen with the Devil, 'And I look-and there was Goody Good' and is praised for coming forward and no longer oppressed in the eyes of Hale, Abigail immediately joins in with the accusations 'I want to open myself' Abigail says after Hale declares all the names of people seen interacting with the Devil must be given. Miller presents Abigail to be power hungry in her actions as she continuously reels off a list of names that she had apparently seen worshiping the Devil. This slight action of even the smallest lie to begin with has dramatic effects as Miller presents Abigail to be the leader of the girls and almost automatically Betty joins in with the name calling. From this one significant action of Abigail accusing innocent girls to Hale, the whole village will run into mayhem.
However, that lie was miniscule in comparison to her accusation of Mary Warren's spirit haunting and attempting to attack her in the court room in the form of a yellow bird. The first stage direction: (Abigail, with a weird, chilling cry, screams up to the ceiling.) shows the audience what a good pretender she is and how influential and controlling her lies are to her peers. At this action she instantly grabs Danforth's attention and fear. She knows that he believes her and her power hunger makes her want to make this belief stronger. Miller makes it clear from his stage directions Abigail is lying, yet again, to the court: (to the ceiling, in a genuine conversation with the "bird, as though trying to talk it out of attacking her).
Miller makes all actions of Abigail very dramatic to reflect the rate at which tension is building up in the court room and to mesmerize her fellow characters. The audience, however are far from convinced Miller's presentation of Abigail's devious ways as are Proctor and Hale. This is shown when Hale exclaims, indicating Abigail and the girls 'You cannot believe them!' and the gullibility of Danforth only intensifies their rage at the way the situation is turning out.
Miller shows his audience how the impact of just one lie has a domino effect on the rest of the village: 'That entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?'. And this works because of the context of suspicion in the society of Salem in the 1690s. The audience's response to Abigail's first lie is frustration and anger as she has gained so much power without any substantial proof of her accusations and their response to her second lie is of disbelief as to how a judge of the court can still be so gullible to a child's word, when even the Reverend doesn't believe her.
Miller makes Abigail lie so that she can gain power within the community, yet when Miller makes Elizabeth lie in Act Three for the first time in her life, she manages to lose power within the community both for her and for Proctor.
Proctor confesses with enormity to the court of his affair with Abigail, 'I have known her, sir'. The stage directions indicate just how effective this confession is (trembling, his life collapsing around him). Proctor told the court the truth as his final strategy to convince the court of his wife's innocence and that Abigail is lying to kill Elizabeth, but unfortunately this action backfires on Proctor as Abigail refuses to support his confession.
This could be the point in the play where Danforth becomes aware of Abigail's lies but his integrity has an impact on him that he cannot voice his opinion as it would damage his reputation the court. For this reason, Elizabeth is summoned to the court room where she is to answer the judges as to whether or not her husband committed the crime of lechery. Elizabeth, unaware of her husband's previous confession lies for the first time ever in her life. This is shown in her approach to the lie in the stage direction (in a crisis of indecision she cannot speak) and says that the reason she dismissed Abigail from her household was because 'she dissatisfied me'. She then later denies that her husband is a lecher and this unfortunate action has an enormous dramatic turn as well. The court automatically believe Abigail's lie that Elizabeth has been interacting with the Devil and Proctor is left in despair, following the array of Abigail's power, as he is unable to defend his wife anymore due to her lie.
If Elizabeth told the truth, like her character would have under normal circumstances, Abigail's lies would have been questioned by the court. Yet, as her husband swore to the court that his wife is an honest woman who has never uttered an untrue word before in her life, the court think that Elizabeth is telling the truth when claiming her husband is not a lecher. This one significant claim unfortunately diminishes Proctor's final strategy to save his wife as Abigail still has an immense amount of power within Salem.
On the contrary to the response the audience has to Abigail's lie, Miller presents Elizabeth's significant lie to be selfless yet weak. She was not able to gain the same amount of power that Abigail had through her various lies and the audience pities both Elizabeth and Proctor for the consequences of her action. Yet, Arthur Miller does create the same sense of frustration amongst his audience by cleverly using the tool of dramatic irony as Elizabeth was unaware to tell the truth to the judges to save her husband and herself from losing power in the court and in the community of Salem.
Another key action that Elizabeth underwent that had a resultant dramatic effect on the audiences' response towards her was in Act Four when she selflessly did not urge Proctor to lie and confess to the court to free himself from death nor to admit the truth and save his name. This highlights Elizabeth's gentleness as she obviously didn't want her husband to hang but knew only he could make the right decision to redeem himself from his sins. She confides to John: 'John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you'll not forgive yourself. (Now he turns away a little in great agony)It is not my soul, John, it is yours. (it is difficult to say and she is on the verge of tears) only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it.' In giving Elizabeth no power to control her husband's decision, Miller has shaped his audiences' response to her to be of pity and sympathy. The audience tries to empathise with her agony of giving her husband free choice and resultantly watching helplessly as he chooses to hang rather than live with a shameful name.
Abigail's apparent growth of power throughout the play is destroyed in Act Four, when as consequences to her previous actions Miller presents her to have no other alternative but to flee from Salem and the tragic mess she had caused. Miller has Abigail steal all of her Uncle's money at the end of the play so that she can vanish from the destroyed town that was once her home. Parris says to the court: 'There is news, sir, my niece, I believe, has vanished.' To which Danforth replies in a state of shock and disbelief 'vanished!'. Here, Abigail has been presented by Miller to be deceitful and selfish again and contradicts one of the Puritan beliefs, to never steal which originates from the Ten Commandments. The last action that Miller has presented Abigail to do has no resultant dramatic effect on the play as no characters are affected by it. Yet, it has a significant effect on the way Miller shapes the audience's responses towards Abigail in that it can see that her character traits are so different from Elizabeth in the way that her crave for power will never disappear.
Not only does Miller portray the personality of each character to shape his audience's response to them, but he also presents their relationships with other characters within 'The Crucible' to impact upon his audience's response too.
Each of Abigail's personality traits: deceit, pretence, desperation, aggression, controlling and threatening are shown by Miller to his audience mainly through her relationships with three significant characters: Proctor, Danforth and her peers.
From the beginning of the court cases in Salem, Abigail has a strong bond with both of the judges, Hathorne and Danforth, as they are the two main victims of her control. The accusations of witchery within the town have started because of one girl, Abigail, and for this reason as well as the tense and suspicious attitudes of the inhabitants of Salem the two judges have no other option but to place all aspects of their faith in the seventeen year old girl. However, as the play proceeds and the accusations increase it is presented to the audience that Danforth begins to lose trust in Abigail and doubts what she is saying is true and this could determine the fate of their relationship. If Danforth does lose faith in Abigail, she will lose all the power she has in Salem at that precise moment. In Act Three, especially, the stage directions shown by Miller present to the audience the doubts within their relationship. Danforth says :(weakening):'Child, I do not mistrust you' and as the scene goes on more stage directions follow which illustrate the decline of trust within the relationship(blanched in horror), (Danforth seems unsteady), (Danforth cannot speak). Miller has presented to the audience the fact that Danforth's integrity is on the line with every one of Abigail's lies he believes. The court has hung so many people as a result of the accusations and each of these taken lives lie on Danforth's and Hathorne's conscience. Act Three highlights a possible turning point in the Abigail's and Danforth's relationship as Danforth begins to realise that, maybe, Abigail could be misleading the court with her accusations, yet his concerns of her accusations and their relationship could damage his reputation if they came out into public.
Miller presents each of the many character traits Abigail has to different characters she interacts with in 'The Crucible'. From the start of the play Abigail is idolised by the rest of the girls, perhaps through envy or fear as to how much power she gains within Salem in such a short space of time. In Act Three, Abigail claims to become cold in the court room, and stares at Mary Warren as if to accuse her of making her feel this way and almost immediately after Abigail makes this accusation Mercy Lewis follows by saying:' Your Honour, I freeze!', who is shortly followed by Susanna Walcott's allege of freezing too. And later on in the scene when Abigail claims to see Mary Warren's spirit in the form of a bird in the ceiling, instantly Mercy Lewis shouts 'It's on the beam!' Susanna Walcott follows again by saying 'Her claws, she's stretching her claws!' Miller uses Abigail's power of leadership she has over her peers to not only show hr power to lead and bully, but also to illustrate the effect of hysteria in such a small community. This is shown again to the audience, when in Act One, Miller presents Abigail to start reeling off the accusations of witchery in Salem. 'I want to open myself' Abigail claims to Hale. Betty later follows with the accusations:' I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!' these accusations continue until Miller lets the curtain fall at the end of the act.
This particular relationship portrayed by Miller to his audience through the accusations of witchery that Abigail shares with her peers is the reasoning why she has so much power and status within the court, and consequently everyone's faith and belief. If Miller didn't present this relationship so that the girls hang on to every word Abigail says and follows then they wouldn't have joined in with the accusations and Abigail would not be the monster Miller presents her to be.
At the beginning of Act One, Abigail and Proctor accidentally meet when he enters Parris's home. When they are alone, the words they exchange with each other illustrate clearly the structure of their relationship. Miller makes it evident to his audience from the start of this scene that Abigail's feelings for Proctor are much stronger than his feelings for her. Miller presents Abigail as feeling that Proctor is only denying his love for her because he is married and that he is trying hard to control the situation between them by preventing it from never happening again. This could be true, yet Miller does not show this. He represents a life of stability and pride that Proctor shares with his wife-one that Abigail can never have, and in this way, Abigail, too, is a victim of Salem's harsh system.
Miller shows to his audience Abigail's sheer desperation and longing for pity from Proctor through the stage directions (He takes a step to go and she springs into his path) as well as Proctor's desperation to escape from Abigail's wanting which is shown through Proctor's harsh words: 'I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of my mind.' Miller's portrayal of the complete opposite approaches to their relationship from both characters influences and shapes his audience's response to Abigail by highlighting, once again, her child-like craving for power she wants over her ex-lover.
Miller has therefore presented again to his audience, through Abigail's relationships with a judge, her ex lover and her peers that Abigail's ruthless power and utter control within Salem affects everyone, and for this reason, the audience has no other response to her but hatred and annoyance in that she could be so selfish and yet get away with it.
Due to her previous affair with Proctor, and his betrayal to her when remained to be with his wife when it ended, it is clear to the audience that Miller has presented Abigail's and Elizabeth's relationship with each other to be one of hatred and jealousy over the fact that both women are in love with the same man and that only one woman has his love and is with him, Elizabeth.
Although Miller never makes the two women directly come together in the play he still succeeds in showing his audience just how much hatred there is between Abigail and Elizabeth by what he presents them to say about each other. In Act One when Abigail and John meet, Abigail is harsh and bitter towards his wife when she comes into the topic of conversation: 'She is a cold, snivelling woman'. Abigail then proceeds to describe her as 'A sickly wife'. Yet, Miller presents Elizabeth to be aware of the revulsion Abigail, understandably, holds towards her. In Act two, when Elizabeth learns of the accusations Abigail has told that day in court, Elizabeth does not hesitate in realising what Abigail is trying to do: 'She wants me dead...she will cry me out until they take me'. Miller has presented Elizabeth throughout the play to be a gentle and rational Puritan, and for this reason he has not presented Elizabeth's dislike of Abigail to be as obvious as Abigail's' hate for Elizabeth. However, the detestation present within their relationship is obvious to he audience
In Act One, when Abigail is bad-mouthing Elizabeth to Proctor, John defends his wife instantly: 'You'll speak nothing of Elizabeth'. But when the audience witness the couple's relationship at the beginning of Act Two, Miller portrays that the relationship still is fragile and tense. At this point in the play, Elizabeth is still very hurt after her discovery of her husband's lechery with Abigail. Their sentences are very short which builds up the tension and causes an awkward atmosphere. John mentions the coldness between them when he says: "It is winter in here yet". The stage directions imply that Elizabeth is watching him frequently to see his reactions: (She sits and watches him taste it), ( He eats, she watches him). Elizabeth is short and cold with Proctor at the beginning of the scene, however, the relationship between them has changed considerably by the end of it when Elizabeth arrested for being accused of witchery by Abigail. The tension between them has been forgotten as John fears for Elizabeth's life. His speech and stage directions show his anger and distress at the treatment of his wife. ( He cannot bear to look at her) 'I will bring you home. I will bring you soon', 'Fear nothing, Elizabeth.' This is Miller's way of showing the audience that even though John has been unfaithful to Elizabeth; he still loves and cares for her.
Elizabeth and John's last scene together is at the end of the play when John has been told by the court that if he confesses to being with the Devil his life will be saved. The two characters have both been in prison for a while and have therefore not seen each other through the traumatic experience. Miller's stage directions portray their eternal love, (He halts inside the doorway, his eye caught by the sight of Elizabeth. The emotion flowing between them prevents anyone from speaking for an instant) This last scene between them is deeply moving and the audience is definitely moved by it. The last line of the play is spoken by Elizabeth after John's death, 'He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!' This distressing line from a heartbroken Elizabeth makes Miller show his audience juts how strong both Elizabeth's love for John and Elizabeth is at the hardest part of the play for Elizabeth.
Even though Miller presented Elizabeth to be the victim of betrayal at he beginning of the play, he has portrayed to the audience how loving, kind and respective Elizabeth can be by showing the many different aspects of her and her husband's relationship.
Miller presents throughout 'The Crucible' the impact of Abigail's language and how one lie she tells has a domino effect on the status and livelihood of other characters within the play and how just one lie can grasp the belief and faith, as well as fear, of the judges of the court.
It is obvious to the audience that Miller presents Abigail as a liar and an untruthful Puritan purely to make her appear more desperate and childlike in the play. Her desperation presented to Proctor in her language impacts dramatically on his feelings towards her. In Act One this desperate language that she uses is portrayed strongly by Miller to his audience: 'John-I am waitin' for you every night.' However, this impulsive tone does not have the impact on Proctor that Abigail intended it would. Abigail wants Proctor to see her as an adult, an ideal lover to have again, yet, at the end of this scene Proctor refers to her as a child when retaliating to her cries. The dramatic impact of Abigail's desperation in her language towards Proctor is one that she has lost control over, as no matter what she pleas or says, Miller presents Proctor to despise her more and more throughout his play. Miller uses this dramatic effect to shape his audience's response to Abigail, as it is shown to them that Abigail is actually a seventeen year old girl, even though her power makes her appear like she is an adult in the play.
As well as using a desperate tone in Abigail's language as a device for Miller to portray Abigail's hunger for power along with love, he also uses the extremes such as violence and aggression in her language to show this to the audience. Abigail is presented by Miller to be especially violent and abusive when communicating and interacting with her peers. The stage direction for Betty in Act One shows this as Betty is (frightened of Abigail) which then was followed by Abigail who (smashes her across the face) and says 'Shut it! Now shut it!'. The words 'smashes' and 'shut it' that Miller chooses to use to display Abigail's terrifying violent side are appropriate as these words are much more aggressive than 'hit' or 'silence'. By using more aggressive diction in Abigail's language, Miller shows to his audience just how extreme her violence can be.
She lies with confidence to the court and isn't afraid to be looked down upon. She approaches most questions with a sharp response 'If I must answer that, I will leave and I will not come back'. By using these techniques in presenting her different communication skills Miller allows a dramatic impact of fear to sweep over the stage as most characters are too afraid to argue or question Abigail's accusations, the accusations of an inferior child who would once have been looked down upon by Salem. This fact frustrates the audience even more as certain characters have been absorbed into the way in which she speaks to them and confronts them and therefore, fall into the dramatic impact of fear.
However, the language Miller presents Elizabeth to use in the play frustrates the audience more than Abigail's language and Elizabeth's honesty is less powerful than the lies Abigail declares, even though Elizabeth is of a higher respected position and status within the community. Miller has presented Elizabeth to be a quiet and selfless woman by nature and this is reflected in the language he chooses her to use. For example, in Act Three she is apprehensive when she feels she has to lie to save her husband's name of lechery, but due to her language skills she did lie and didn't save her husband. She attempted on many chances to steal a glance at him for support of the decision she was faced with, whether to speak the truth or not. This is a sign of her love for John and is a key moment in their relationship as they are anticipating their reconciliation at the end of the trials. 'She glances at Proctor for a cue' and the impact of the instability of this significant lie determines the response of the audience to her massively. The response is of pity and some strands of anger towards the Puritan woman as she was unaware of her Husband's confession, something that if she knew, would have affected the impact of her language in the Court Room.
The gentle tone that Miller presents Elizabeth to use in the play shapes the audience's response to her as perfectly as Miller intended it to. Elizabeth is brave to be supportive towards her Husband after his betrayal of lechery and this is shown in her tone of language Miller chooses her to have towards him. In Act Two, Hale requests for Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments, like every true Christian should be able to, yet the dramatic irony that the one commandment Proctor forgot was the one on adultery did not panic Elizabeth, instead she spoke (delicately)'Adultery John'. Later on in the play, Miller uses Elizabeth's language to help her open up o the audience as well as to other characters. 'It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery' she tells her Husband to which he reacts (in great pain);'Enough, enough.' As if he was trying to erase such a depressing thought from his wife's mind. Yet, she continues 'John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come home! Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept!'. Even though Miller presents clearly to his audience that their partnership was genuine from the language Elizabeth uses to communicate with and show her love to Proctor. She never rushes him or orders him what to do. Even at times when Proctor's life is on the line or through frustration she talks softly to him (her voice quaking). Miller shapes the audience's response to Elizabeth through her language and the dramatic effect of it, his death to be of admiration and pride for her controlling approach to the most difficult situations.
Miller has created such a piece of compelling drama in his play 'The Crucible´ due to the range of moods and emotions such as love, anger, hatred, passion, denial, confessions, jealousy and betrayal that he presents to his audience through his characters. He has also illustrated the distribution of power throughout a small community. 'The Crucible´ displays the powers of human natures and how they reflect on certain character traits. However, what makes 'The Crucible' more dramatic is the fact that The Salem Witch trials did actually happen in 1962. And even though the Witch Trials as well as the fears of communism have passed throughout history, the events that happened in Miller's play could happen again not just with witchcraft but with any issue where suspicion is at the centre of a community. If you look back in history you would possibly come across thousands of innocent people who have been swept up by hysterical suspicion due to vulnerability of people.
The play illustrates many stories within one community but all characters in the play are ordinary people who have the opportunity to achieve greatness in the face of adversity and Miller has shown how human condition can affect the way in which people deal with the adversity.
A piece of drama can either be categorised as a comedy or a tragedy and a tragedy requires a hero, who in this, Miller has presented to be Proctor. This hero must have faults which would be Proctor's previous affair with Abigail. However, the hero is always redeemed and Proctor was redeemed through death.
'The Crucible' has not only been written to shape the audiences responses to different characters but also to raise awareness to the audience that extremism, hysteria and suspicion can all end in a tragedy, even in real life.
Miller has for this reason presented the characters of two Puritan women, Abigail and Elizabeth differently to shape our responses accordingly to the tragedy genre of plays.