Lisa answers “I haven't finished reading this book but...”

Lula Payne asked this question about The Crucible:

I haven't finished reading this book but don't we need to consider the fact that it's writting about a real period in history? By the time this happened in salem, women didn't have power nor respect, we couldn't expect from A.M. to ignore that, he had to stay true to history, to what really happened. If this is not the case, please explain me why

Lisa I'm not sure I completely understand your question, but here is my answer based on what I see. In the Puritan world of the 1600s, no women did not hav…moreI'm not sure I completely understand your question, but here is my answer based on what I see. In the Puritan world of the 1600s, no women did not have any power or voice in the community. Children had even less power than women did, but in Salem, at that time, the children were heard and they were asked for their opinions and given a great deal of power. They chose who was accused and who was not. It was an extremely intoxicating combination. Arthur Miller took a great many liberties while writing the play and often times confused true reality with his own version (as can be seen in his interviews regarding the play). This play needs to be considered Historical Fiction. It revolves around a real time, a true tragedy, and highlights humans who lived through the Salem Witch Trials, but Abigail was a girl of about 12 and did not have an affair with John Proctor, almost all of the girl's ages were advanced for the story, and much of the scandal around Parris was also exaggerated. Going back to history, once the girls (and their parents) realized what accusing neighboring land owners of witch craft could gain them, the accusations ran rampant. Children learned to manipulate situations to garner more attention from their parents, and parents learned to manipulate their children into accusing more and more people for increased wealth. Arthur Miller used this time in history to show a resemblance to the Red Scare of the 1950s. If you were accused of witchcraft in the 1600s, your land was forfeit when you were hung, and your family lost everything, but if you confessed, you essentially got your life back. In the 1950s, if you were accused of being a Communist, your livelihood was destroyed (think Charlie Chaplin), but if you gave up a couple more names, your name got taken off the Black List. My apologies for a very long-winded answer, but I wasn't sure exactly what you were looking for, and I hope this helps.(less)

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