The Crucible can be analyzed using many different criticisms. The most applicable forms of criticism for this play are feminist criticism and psychoanalytic criticism. Analyzing the book from different angles can offer the reader a new perspective on the story by encouraging the reader to think more deeply about the characters' actions.
Feminist Criticism:
Since the beginning of time, women have lived in a society dominated by men. Even in the modern world, women and men are not treated as equals. Men dominate many career professions like engineering, business, and finance, and they are usually paid a higher salary than women. Some women in history have tried to prove themselves as equally intelligent and civilized as men. Through the efforts of these brave women, modern women now have the opportunity to recieve an education, join the military, and vote.
The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The society was dominated by men. The men held every position of power, and they worked on the farms to provide for their families. Women were expected to care for the children and the home. They had no reason to leave their homes except to attend church. Many women probably never had the opportunity to vent their emotions because they rarely interacted with people outside their home. As a result, many women and even young children and adolecents took advantage of every opportunity they came across to stir up some excitement in the strict Puritan village. This was the case with the young teenage girl, Abigail Williams. Her character was a compulsive liar who developed such an extreme obsession with her former lover that she was willing to endanger the lives of innocent people to achieve her goals. Abigail learned of the evil that humans are capable of committing at a very young age. She watched her parents be murdered by Indians. Furthermore, Abigail is a woman in the male dominated society of Salem. Therefore, she has been unable to openly express her innermost desires. For these reasons, she began to display her violent intentions through her false accusations of witchcraft. She accused women who stood in her way of being with John Proctor. If oppression against the female population did not exist in Salem, Abigail may not have been driven to make false accusations against innocent women which fueled the witchcraft hysteria of 1692.
Psychoanalytic Criticism:
When analyzing a work of literature from a psychoanalytical point of view, it is important to understand how the psycoanalytic theory developed. Sigmund Frued, the "Father of Modern Psychology" developed the theory which says that a person's personality is composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The three components work together to create complex human behaviors. The id is the only part of the personality that is present from birth. One can think of it as the "me, me, me" stage where if a persons' basic needs are not met, problems may ensue. The next component of our complex human mind is the ego. The ego is the part of our personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. It develops from the id, and it ensures that our impulses are met in a socially acceptable manner. The final element of our personality is the superego which holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from our parnets and society. It provides us with guidelines for making judgements. Essentially, the superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. When these three elements are in equillibrium, they create a complex human being. When they are unbalanced, the person will most likely develop a personality disorder.
Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor are arguably the most important characters in The Crucible. The affair between Abigail and John drives the plot of the play. For example, Abigail begins accusing societal outcasts as witches and gradually works her way up the social ladder until she is able to accuse an upstanding citizen like Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch and having people believe the accusation. She accused Elizabeth of being a witch so that Elizabeth would be hanged. Then, Abigail would have John Proctor all to herself. Abigail's mind is clearly stuck in the id phase of development. She wants her needs satisfied immediately. She does not consider the consequences of her actions because if she did she would not have harmed so many innocent people in the process of ridding the town of Elizabeth Proctor. Therefore, she lacks an ego which would help her consider the consequences of her actions. She certainly lacks a superego which would internalize her moral standards and ideals that she would have learned from her parents. However, she did not have the opportunity to learn morals and ideals because she was an orphan and her uncle was too self-involved to pay her any attention. Abigail is not the only character with a personality disorder, but understanding the unbalance of the elements that comprise her mind can help the reader understand how the witchcraft hysteria began.
Since the beginning of time, women have lived in a society dominated by men. Even in the modern world, women and men are not treated as equals. Men dominate many career professions like engineering, business, and finance, and they are usually paid a higher salary than women. Some women in history have tried to prove themselves as equally intelligent and civilized as men. Through the efforts of these brave women, modern women now have the opportunity to recieve an education, join the military, and vote.
The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. The society was dominated by men. The men held every position of power, and they worked on the farms to provide for their families. Women were expected to care for the children and the home. They had no reason to leave their homes except to attend church. Many women probably never had the opportunity to vent their emotions because they rarely interacted with people outside their home. As a result, many women and even young children and adolecents took advantage of every opportunity they came across to stir up some excitement in the strict Puritan village. This was the case with the young teenage girl, Abigail Williams. Her character was a compulsive liar who developed such an extreme obsession with her former lover that she was willing to endanger the lives of innocent people to achieve her goals. Abigail learned of the evil that humans are capable of committing at a very young age. She watched her parents be murdered by Indians. Furthermore, Abigail is a woman in the male dominated society of Salem. Therefore, she has been unable to openly express her innermost desires. For these reasons, she began to display her violent intentions through her false accusations of witchcraft. She accused women who stood in her way of being with John Proctor. If oppression against the female population did not exist in Salem, Abigail may not have been driven to make false accusations against innocent women which fueled the witchcraft hysteria of 1692.
Psychoanalytic Criticism:
When analyzing a work of literature from a psychoanalytical point of view, it is important to understand how the psycoanalytic theory developed. Sigmund Frued, the "Father of Modern Psychology" developed the theory which says that a person's personality is composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The three components work together to create complex human behaviors. The id is the only part of the personality that is present from birth. One can think of it as the "me, me, me" stage where if a persons' basic needs are not met, problems may ensue. The next component of our complex human mind is the ego. The ego is the part of our personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. It develops from the id, and it ensures that our impulses are met in a socially acceptable manner. The final element of our personality is the superego which holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from our parnets and society. It provides us with guidelines for making judgements. Essentially, the superego acts to perfect and civilize our behavior. When these three elements are in equillibrium, they create a complex human being. When they are unbalanced, the person will most likely develop a personality disorder.
Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor are arguably the most important characters in The Crucible. The affair between Abigail and John drives the plot of the play. For example, Abigail begins accusing societal outcasts as witches and gradually works her way up the social ladder until she is able to accuse an upstanding citizen like Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch and having people believe the accusation. She accused Elizabeth of being a witch so that Elizabeth would be hanged. Then, Abigail would have John Proctor all to herself. Abigail's mind is clearly stuck in the id phase of development. She wants her needs satisfied immediately. She does not consider the consequences of her actions because if she did she would not have harmed so many innocent people in the process of ridding the town of Elizabeth Proctor. Therefore, she lacks an ego which would help her consider the consequences of her actions. She certainly lacks a superego which would internalize her moral standards and ideals that she would have learned from her parents. However, she did not have the opportunity to learn morals and ideals because she was an orphan and her uncle was too self-involved to pay her any attention. Abigail is not the only character with a personality disorder, but understanding the unbalance of the elements that comprise her mind can help the reader understand how the witchcraft hysteria began.