Crucible Is a Play by Arthur Miller

Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller with layers of meaning and subtext. Miller's mission was to draw a direct analogy between the social and political themes of the 20th century with those of pre-Revolutionary America. Setting the play in Puritan New England, in the town of Salem, allows the playwright to explore the thematic connections between the witch trials and McCarthyism. Doing so seems seamless, as the audience perceives three main themes that remain salient in American culture. Those three themes include that of social conformity; sexual repression; and religious rigidity. Miller explores social conformity, sexual repression, and religious rigidity throughout The Crucible, to warn of the cyclical nature of history and the resistance to change that permeates American society.

One of the primary themes of Miller's The Crucible is the ways social conformity and mob mentality manifest in American society. The Crucible remains primarily concerned with the ways personal psychology interface with social norms, values, and expectations. The Reverend Parris, for example, has internalized the Puritanical values and mores to an extreme extent; surrendering his desire to think creatively, critically, and independently. When he states to Abigail, "if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it," his self-centeredness in the matter is extraordinary (p. 10). Rather than be concerned for Abigail, Reverend Parris is more concerned about himself and his own reputation. He also relinquishes responsibility, blaming Abigail and telling her that "punishment" will come from on high: "your punishment will come in its time," (p. 10). Here, Reverend Parris is attempting to instill the Puritanical values and norms into Abigail: in order to mold her in his idea of what a Puritan female should be like. The very idea that Abigail and the other girls would consider developing their own worldviews is preposterous to the religious right in Salem. Social conformity is achieved via psychological intimidation, persuasion, propaganda, and violence.

Given that the persecuted members of society comprise a vast underclass based almost entirely on gender, Miller makes a broad statement about the way gender roles and norms play out in American society. Sexual repression means not just the prudishness for which Puritans are well-known; sexual repression also entails the suppression and oppression of women. Women's sexuality is demonized in Salem; just as it was certainly demonized also in Miller's milieu in the middle of the 20th century in America. Abigail's budding sexuality, for example, has been demonized by Proctor. Proctor in turn cannot bring himself to take responsibility for his own moral transgressions and lays blame on Abigail for her seductiveness. Even if Abigail is manipulative, it is likely because women in Salem have few options in terms of how they can express themselves and their creative energy. All the women in Salem conform to rigid roles for women: wife and mother is all there is. Women have a lowly social status, as they are perceived as witches and evil seductresses subverting the ideal religious purity.

Miller makes fun of the very notion of religious purity in The Crucible; religious rigidity becomes an example of the inflexibility inherent in conservative American society. Religion provides a blanket framework for Puritanical worldview. References to Jesus and the Bible are juxtaposed with those of witchcraft in a way that draws attention to the meaninglessness of all religion. For example, Abigail throws Sarah Good under the bus by crying out: "I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand," (p. 48).

The accusations speak to the ways religion is used as a means of psychologically imprisoning individuals, by instilling in them fear of eternal damnation or social isolation. Religion is a means of social control as evil as any other. Miller's primary concern is to show how the theme of religious rigidity parallels the political rigidity that defined American society after World War Two. The fear of communism became as irrational as the fear of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. American republicanism is set forth as a Biblical truth. The hypocrisy of championing rights and freedoms by taking away rights and freedoms is as troublesome as burning women at the stake for their presumed religious deviance.