ipl-logo

How Did Women Gain Power

752 Words4 Pages

Teyanah Cleve Women searching for opportunities to gain power in an oppressive society led to the gender-skew towards women that we see 1692 . Because women were assigned to certain roles, those who attempted to break the mold the Puritans had shaped was at a greater risk of being accused of witchcraft. Although there may have been other factors involved, the power play between the female accused and accusers in a culture that otherwise aimed to restrict women’s dominance led to the potential of increased power for both parties. The afflicted girls transformed from passive adolescents to a massive authority wielding party. During this period, women were stereotyped as frail and weak-minded. They were thought to be more open to sinister forces …show more content…

Women who were accused of witchcraft had the the opportunity to gain influence. Because there was not a lot of options for individuals to escape once convicted, the best action that could do to avoid execution was to confess to being a witch/wizard. “Confessing witches weren 't executed. Instead, they were kept apart from other prisoners, to be called upon in trials when their testimony might be helpful to the prosecution,”(You 're Accused). By doing this, they added credibility to the accusers and put more innocent lives in jeopardy in order preserve their own. Those that helped to enable the opposing part of accusers benefited, at least selfishly. On the other hand, anyone who questioned the honesty of the afflicted girls could potentially put their lives in danger. John Proctor was openly skeptical to the afflicted girls’ accusations. He was quickly arrested for assumed witching but vehemently denied any association. “Such a strong will to oppose the trials proved catastrophic for Proctor and in August of 1692, he paid the ultimate price.”(Essay on John Proctor, Sr.) Others that spoke out on similar beliefs regarding the accuracy of the accusations could suffer a similar fate and Proctor’s execution served as an

Show More
Related

Similarities Between Proctor And Giles Corey In The Crucible

139 Words | 1 Pages

At the beginning, outcasts, slaves, and those disfavored by the public were incriminated. But as the panic rose, several straightforward and prayerful women were held for questioning. For example, Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. Men were not immune either. John Proctor denied to forget his sincerity in acknowledging

Read More

Review Of Outspoken Women And Witchcraft Accusations By Jane Kamensky

822 Words | 4 Pages

“The American Promise” claims the amount of men accused was about twenty percent leaving eighty percent of the accused being women and most of those women were “past the normal childbearing age”. Although the amount of women charged with witchcraft compared to men is considerably larger, it shows that outspoken women were not only the targets of the Salem witch hunt. With speculation, one might say, that the age of the women could have played a role in the decisions of who was accused of being a witch. Especially since the sentence for being found guilty of being a witch was death.

Read More

Summary Of A Delusion Of Satan By Frances Hill

1532 Words | 7 Pages

As Whitney mentioned, the witch hunts occurred in the 17th century were due to the fears of women becoming “economically and psychological” independent, and threatening the male control of property and social order. Those women were viewed as “discontent” meaning the refusal of accepting their predetermined social status (Whitney 85). In contrast, men who had high authority and social status like the Putmans and Parris could purposely manipulate women and instigated the public resentment to falsely accuse, and cruelly eliminate their enemies such as Rebecca and other accused witches. Certainly, the girls and women in the Putman and Parris’s families who made the false accusations of witches and witchcraft were wielded by

Read More

Japanese Internment Camps In The Crucible

984 Words | 4 Pages

They lied and manipulated the court into believing their stories. They did this for lots of reasons. One was because females were not allowed many rights let alone any power in their city. Through the witch trials and lies they gained power in Salem. Also, they were trying to win over lovers by accusing their wives and getting them hung.

Read More

The Causes Of Passions In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

708 Words | 3 Pages

In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, passions turned into problems. Witchcraft in Salem Massachusetts became a remembered event since 1692. Three girls were said to have interactions with the devil. When they were confronted about it they denied every interaction the people who were convicted they would say they weren’t a witch and would bring someone else’s name into the equation. Those who would admit to being a witch would go to jail, but for those who denied having interaction with the devil would have been trialed and hung, so really, anyway you put it

Read More

Continuities Between 1450 And 1700 Women

663 Words | 3 Pages

Major continuities and changes regarding various views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 include both the continuation of disdain towards women and the emergence of the idea that women are equal to men. Women were often thought to be of less value than men, an idea that originated early in history and progressed throughout this time period. Some men and women began to speak out against inequality and, whether directly or indirectly, influenced new ideas causing others to believe in the power of women. Many views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 continued to show the age old idea of women being seen as the inferior gender. James Sprenger and Henry Kramer wrote that women are more likely to be attacked by the devil because they are more naive than men (1).

Read More

Proctor's Crime Of Adultery In The Crucible

614 Words | 3 Pages

Certain crimes such as: Adultery, Murder and Theft, during the Puritan era were always diagnosed as inhumane and ruined a person's reputation, despite any attempt of redemption. Proctor’s crime of adultery is a key element in the starting of the salem witch trials and the devastating end. Proctors situation alternates throughout the novel consistently by other villagers and even Proctor himself. His crime at first is tried to be subdued by himself then it is later used as evidence in a trial and finally it is used as a confession however it ultimately is not believed. To begin Proctor first tries to hide is crime from the other villagers however Abigail seems to want to expose their relationship.

Read More

John Proctor Speech

589 Words | 3 Pages

Look at the blasphemy! We are killing our generation, and you all refuse to believe that maybe this was a mistake! But instead we say we are curing Salem! John Proctor only wished to stop the killing and save his wife from prosecution, and so we pointed fingers at him next. Now John Proctor stands before you, an innocent man.

Read More

History Of The Salem Witch Trials

1080 Words | 5 Pages

Once they were put on trial, they were given tasks to complete to try and prove to the others that they were not bewitched, such as reciting the Lord’s prayer. Nonetheless, during the time the individuals were reciting the prayer, it is said that the young girls would begin to act out even more. With those actions being placed in the middle of the court case, almost everyone tried was convicted of witchcraft. Many turned to dealing with the accusations by confessing to being a witch. Once the individual confessed they were no longer facing execution, but they still faced imprisonment.

Read More

Theme Of Conscience In The Crucible

1100 Words | 5 Pages

John has the conscience of an honest man even though he has committed a severe sin, which he hides, adultery. Because of this his name is tainted, making the reader doubt the goodness in him. When Proctor reveals the truth in court, we are surprised because he has confessed knowing it will blacken his name, and he has done this in order to save his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. Because of this we are able to see that Proctor bears responsibility for what has occurred. However when he confesses, Abigail turns against him and accuses Proctor of being a witch.

Read More

Carol Karlsen The Devil In The Shape Of A Woman Analysis

1059 Words | 5 Pages

Carol Karlsen 's The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England provides a sociological and anthropological examination of the witchcraft trends in early New England. By examining the records, Karlsen has created what she suggests was the clichéd 'witch ' based on income, age, marital status, etc. She argues that women who had inherited or stood to inherit fairly large amounts of property or land were at particular risk, as they "stood in the way of the orderly transmission of property from one generation of males to the next." These women, Karlsen suggests, were targeted largely because they refused to accept "their place" in colonial society.

Read More

The Qualities Of John Proctor In The Crucible

835 Words | 4 Pages

The first impressive characteristic of John Proctor is his bravery. Speaking out against the “afflicted” girls in the way he did could cause serious question of him as a person. From the court’s standpoint John could be seen as directly opposing the court, which would have him jailed, or could even have him be accused of witchcraft. Also, he would have had to have known that Abigail Williams would have immediately accused him of being a witch once he spoke out against them. However, that did not stop him from delivering the truth to the court.

Read More

Examples Of Reputation In The Crucible

964 Words | 4 Pages

During the hysteria of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, many people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, their reputation, was ruined. Other people committed many sins in order to keep their reputation clean in town. For instance, some characters had to lie, fight, and accuse other people of witchcraft which could get the individual out of trouble and keep their hands clean. when a person got accused of being a witch, the person’s reputation would get ruined and the person would go to jail or be hanged.

Read More

John Proctor Honest Analysis

566 Words | 3 Pages

In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor was accused of witchcraft. John Proctor was a man of great integrity and knew he did nothing wrong. He was given the choice to confess and lie or be hung. Being the honest and stubborn man that he was, he decided his name was more important than his life. John struggled both internally and with others while trying to fight for what he thought was right.

Read More

Theocracy In The Crucible

984 Words | 4 Pages

Arthur Miller utilizes John Proctor to prove that one is either with or against the court. The court wants Proctor to confess of witchcraft in order for him to live, but he is reluctant to do so. He is hanged because he stood up for his moral rights, and he does not say what the court wants to hear from him, a confession. Proctor might have been right in denying the

Read More

More about How Did Women Gain Power

Open Document