Why Is Myrtle Important In The Crucible

“I like your dress,” remarked Mrs. McKee, “I think it’s adorable.” Mrs. Wilson rejected the compliment by raising her eyebrow in disdain. “It’s a crazy old thing”, she said. “I just slip it on sometimes when I don’t care what I look like” (Fitzgerald 35). “He’s so dumb he doesn’t even know he’s alive” (Fitzgerald 30). Infidelity also plays a role with Tom’s character as displayed against his wife Daisy via the affair with Myrtle. When Tom is with Myrtle, he feels powerful because he can get away with verbally and physically abusing her since she is just his lower class mistress. If he were to do those same things to Daisy, it would be looked down upon by his peers within the upper social class given both their financial status and the fact that Daisy is his wife, someone that he should be affectionate towards.

In The Crucible, John Proctor commits adultery with his former young servant Abigail Williams while his wife, Elizabeth, was ill. Proctor’s desire for Abigail stems from her willingness to disobey Puritan social restrictions. Whereas any other Puritan woman conceals her desire for a married man, Abigail does not suppress her desires and goes after what she wants, using any means, such as seduction, to achieve her goal. After Elizabeth finds out about the affair, she fires Abigail. Once Abigail is fired, John puts a stop to the affair, but Abigail continues to pursue it. Abigail jumps at the opportunity to speak with Proctor alone to try to reaffirm their relationship and love for one another. Although Proctor remains unhesitant in his now negative feelings towards Abigail, she and her glaring misconduct still bewitches him. “Proctor: Abby, I may think of you sometimes, But I will never touch you again. Act like it never