Human Nature has always been about survival and self-preservation. We see this repeated over and over in history, literature, and even in our own lives. “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, is a web spun on deceit, lies, fear, and the strong will to preserve one’s self. Set in the late 1600’s, a witch hunt grips the small town of Salem throwing its residents into a state of constant hysteria. Many characters if not all, have been the spider and the fly, some more obvious to one side than others. Mary Warren, however, seems almost to be in a league of her own, not spinning a web, but pulling on the strings of others. She can manipulate people, like a puppet master without a script. Even though Mary Warren can seem at times concerned for the greater good, in the end, she is only concerned about her own fate. …show more content…
Little mind is paid to her until Act two when the court has already been underway. During this meeting of act two between the Proctors and Mary, Mary sends off many mixed messages. First claiming sadness caused by the due hanging and harassment of village women, even going as to saying “we must all love each other now, Goody Proctor” and presenting her with a poppet she herself had sewn. Contradicting her previous sadness, she launches into a tale of Sarah Good choking her and the other girls by sending her spirit out, and she is a witch, with every right to hang. Claiming all the way what ‘weighty work’ they do in the court. Others have already spun their webs, some have already been caught in them. Mary Warren casts her bets on all three choices here, the poppet for Abby, the ‘weighty work’ for the court, and the sadness for the