Rumpp !

Abigail Rumpp

Mrs. Norton

English III

October 21, 2016

The Crucible and Power

Power inevitably changes people with its alluring, yet dangerous qualities. When someone

has just a taste of strong authority, they can change into a completely different person, with their

head taking charge rather than their heart. No other book demonstrates this as artfully as The

Crucible by Arthur Miller, which shows the consequences of power and greed falling into the

hands of threatening, villainous characters.

It is absolutely essential to make note of the scales of control and power when viewing The

Crucible critically. In the town of Salem, the two authoritative figures are the males and the

Church. Husbands control their wives, and the church controls the law. While the church cannot

be openly defied or accused, it can be easily manipulated if the situation is executed correctly.

One primary example of this occurring is Reverend Parris, who manipulates the power of the

church to place himself in a high seat above the community of Salem, as well as gaining raw

power in the process.

PARRIS: (studies her, then nods, half convinced ). Abigail, I have fought 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
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home, child, I have put clothes upon your backnow give me upright answer.

(1.1.121-127)

While his rise to power is not fully explained and is executed on a much smaller scale, it is

clear that he has worked the system to earn his position in the church - ultimately, his actions

foreshadows the events that unfold later on in the play with Abigail Williams.

The Crucible poses an interesting setting for a historical play - what occurs when a sinner

transcends the power of the church? Enter Abigail Williams, a cunning, beautiful young woman

who single handedly leads 19 innocent people to their death. In order to protect the secrecy of

her affair with John Proctor, she shifts the focus of her committing the sin of dancing in the

forest to accusing others of witchcraft. This desperate maneuver to protect herself soon leads her

to a well of power, along with a clan of girls to protect her story. Abigail is the shrewd

embodiment of repressed Puritan ideals - she holds both sexual and material desires, including

lusting after John Proctor and keeping the power over the church. She creates a detailed plan in

order to eliminate Proctors wife, Goody Proctor, so that she can replace her to be with John.

Each accusation she makes is cold and calculated in order to gain credibility with the church,

ultimately leading up to the point where she can accuse Goody Proctor of dancing with the

Devil. With each arrest she makes, her power within Salem grows exponentially.

ABIGAIL: I want to open myself! (They turn to her, startled. She is enraptured, as

though in a pearly light.) I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced

for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw
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Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop

with the Devil! (1.1.1050-1056)

All empathy leaves her heart as the alluring prospect of power and Proctor go to her head -

she thinks nothing of the fact that she has condemned innocent people to their deaths, but that

instead they serve as mere instruments to her grand scheme. She manipulates the paranoia to gain

power that Salem has denied her, and even becomes more powerful than the church in Salem.

ABIGAIL: I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin out! I have been

near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devils people - and

this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, question like a -

DANFORTH, weakening: Child, I do not mistrust you -

ABIGAIL, in an open threat, Let you beware, Mr. Danforth. Think you be so mighty that

the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it! (3.1)

Essentially, Abigail Williams becomes so powerful that not even the church can deny her

testimony - facts are useless to the child that saved the town from the supposed cold grip of

witchcraft.

Another interesting example of someone rising to power is Mary Warren. Essentially,

Abigail Williams gives the girls in the witch hunting group something they have never tasted

before - raw power. Because of the society and environment they live in, it is not surprising that

the girls will do anything and everything Abigail says to keep their stance in Salem. Through
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Abigail's guilt trips, lies, and manipulative nature, all of the girls receive not only safety in the

town of Salem, but the power to accuse and kill in the court. At the beginning of Act I, Mary

Warren is one of the most spineless characters in all of literature - she is whiny, cowardly, and

wholly dependent on what Abigail says and does.

MARY WARREN: Abby, weve got to tell. Witcherys a hangin error, a hangin like they

doin' in Boston two year ago! We must tell the truth, Abby! Youll only be whipped for

dancin, and the other things!

ABIGAIL: Oh, well be whipped!

MARY WARREN: I never done none of it, Abby. I only looked! (3.1.316-322)

Marys reaction to Abigail and the girls speaking about their approach to the dancing

situation highlights Marys character, as well as who she is as a person. She cowers in fear at the

mere thought of being accused of witchcraft, and wants the group to confess immediately to

avoid conflict. Miller writes off Mary Warren as a sort of pansy, as she becomes nothing more

than a puppet when confronted. This begins to change however, in Act II of the play. By this

point, she has grown somewhat of a backbone, as she has become an official of the court due to

Abigails lies and deception. Mary Warren is on the path of having this power go to her head -

she speaks rashly against John Proctor, neglects her duties, and begins to share some cunning

traits with Abigail.

PROCTOR, in horror, muttering in disgust at her: Go to bed.

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MARY WARREN, with a stamp of her foot: Ill not be ordered to bed no more,

Mr. Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman, however single!

PROCTOR: Do you wish to sit up? Then sit up.

MARY WARREN: I wish to go to bed! (2.1)

For the first time, Mary Warren feels accepted, noticed, and important to the town of

Salem. She has done the unthinkable to her character - become confident in herself and her

actions. Because of this shift in character, she begins to speak for herself, and demand equal

treatment from those around her. She even stands up to John Proctor threatening to whip the

devil out of her, an act that would have sent her trembling before her admission into Abigails

witch hunting clan. She feels a sense of righteous duty, which unfortunately aids in the downfall

of Salem.

Through a shift in power, the town of Salem quickly becomes a town of deception and

manipulation. When someone has just a taste of strong authority, they can change into a

completely different person, with their head taking charge rather than their heart. The Crucible

artfully demonstrates this, as the sinners rise in the ranks above the word of God and the church.

The alluring nature of greed and power have deadly consequences, which ultimately lead to the

death and destruction of Salem.