“A false tongue will never make a guilty person.”- Susannah Martin, victim of the Salem Witch Trials
Reading up on the accounts of the Salem Witch Hunt, would undoubtedly send shivers down your spine! So, get ready for the horrors of human reality and wrongful persecution to unfold. Fair warning- The sheer extent of destruction and loss of lives is sure to haunt you for days to come!
‘The Crucible’ by American playwright Arthur Miller is a 1953 play dramatized and based on the true events of the ‘Salem witch trials’ that took place in the Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, between 1692-1693.
The word "crucible" is by definition, ‘a container in which metals are heated at high temperatures’; but perhaps more relevant to the play, is also ‘a severe test or trial’ alluding to the mass hysteria brought about by the Salem Witch Trials.
The play is also a metaphorical representation of ‘McCarthyism’, a term that had its origins in the period of the United States known as the ‘Red Scare’ where the government falsely charged and persecuted citizens with accusations of committing treason and communism without any solid evidence. (You could read up more on that later though, we won’t get into that right now.)
The Salem Witch Trials or Witch Hunt as it were, began in the spring of the year 1692 in the Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts when young girls began demonstrating odd, almost supernatural behaviour that forced an entire community into massive paranoia. The girls began having fits, violent body contortions, uncontrollable outbursts of screaming, an overwhelming sensation of being pricked (alluding to voodooism) among other such inexplicable symptoms. After other young girls in the community came forward with their share of strange manifestations, a local doctor diagnosed it as “bewitchment”.
The victims who were just kids at the time, (so totally reliable sources!) claimed to be possessed by the devil or bewitched by ‘local witches’ in the community, who, might I add, drank chicken blood and danced naked in the jungle in the dead of the night! (That’s right! Not completely unrealistic!)
To add to the drama, the alleged victims of witchcraft even put on dramatic displays of their bodies contorting, screaming and pulling at their hair, and even going so far as to writhe and spasm on the floor as soon as their accusers appeared in the courtroom, further adding to the “credibility” of their cases. (Right!) Guess the only things missing are the black cats, boiling pots over fire, and brooms! Oh wait! They too apparently made guest appearances in the victims’ dreams and were submitted as credible evidence in court where the judges at the time even allowed room for “spectral evidence”; a ludicrous form of evidence based upon dreams and visions.
In other words, testimonies submitted that, the accused witch's spirit (i.e. spectre) appeared to the witnesses in a dream or vision which was then admitted as evidence (and to think that with the kind of dreams I’ve been having lately, my friends and co-workers would be behind bars by now!)
Belief in the supernatural and in the “devilish practices” of witchcraft and wizardry had begun to re-emerge in Europe at the time and the burning of witches at the stake was becoming a common sight. Communities were becoming more and more vary of those who didn’t believe in God and so anyone who didn’t have any particular religious belief was called out as being witch and akin to the devil.
Moreover, the overly conservative life of the Puritans, particularly the pastors and reverends in tiny villages like that of Salem, further fueled the anger and resentment within the citizens, pitting them against each other.
Exodus 22:18, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”
And so, soon enough, the “Witch Trials” became an easy way for anyone to rid themselves of their enemies.
Ultimately, the young women and children were brought to a series of trials where the judge falsely and unjustly convicted them, (over 200 men, women, children and even newly born babies!) condemning them as witches, tarnishing their reputations and subjecting them to absolute cruel penalties.
Wanna hear the funny part?
In 1976, a study published in Science magazine cited the “fungus ergot” (found in rye, wheat and other cereals), which toxicologists say could have caused a variety of symptoms such as delusions, vomiting, prickly skin, contortions and muscle spasms.
So, the idea was in all probability a mere hoax! The fact that the lives of innocent people were ruined; that they were deprived of any entitled rights; that they weren’t protected against false accusations and it was all just arrogant scapegoating that managed to send hundreds of people to their untimely graves, is deeply unsettling and an unforgivable crime.
The system at the time failed its citizens but as they say, “Every black cloud has a silver lining.” This entire period gave birth to ‘The Bill of Rights’ that protected the people against any form of government abuse and ruled against all slander and defamation. The courts also finally came out and accepted their ignorance and malicious intent, thereby, publicly apologizing to the families of the deceased and wrongfully executed citizens.
Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ presents a realistic depiction of these horrors sending a chill down your spine.
‘The Crucible’ is easily available online as well as in bookstores and should find its place on your reading lists. If you can’t bring yourself to read the play, a good option would be the 1996 film adaptation of the play ‘The Crucible’ with the screenplay by Arthur Miller staring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder among other Hollywood A-listers; one of the best adaptions and definitely a must-watch.
-Carolann Carrasco
Full-Time Faculty,