The Crucible and The Dressmaker SAC
retype.
Compare how ‘the Crucible’ and ‘the dressmaker’ explore the dangers of asserting
one's identity.
Individuality is not something we see much of in Arthur Miller's the Crucible or Rosalie
ham’s the dressmaker. Birth societies of Salem and Dungatar are rooted in faith and
conformity. Reputation is all that matters. People are more likely to have secrets but less
likely to tell anyone. Your identity lies not in how you see yourself but in how others see
you.
birth texts implied to the audiences that looks can be terribly deceiving. In the Crucible,
Abigail Williams finds herself an unbelievable character with a less than "white” reputation .
Though a child , her reputation for being a “whore” precedes her . The idea that she could
“somewhat mention” Elizabeth's name in connexion to witchcraft and end up as proctor's
wife was an opportunity that she could not pass up. Abigail's grandiose sense of self saw her
attracted to Proctor not because she loved him, but because he was “ungodly. John
represents a freedom she longed to have, where her reputation was accepted and not
exploited. Her need to establish herself as somebody who was worthy of John ultimately
leads to her downfall. Similarly Gertrude Beaumont shows herself to be obsessed with
prestige and wealth. Although not poor, her family doesn't prove to be what she feels like
she deserves. By marrying William, despite not loving him, her true intentions are made
clear. She views herself as much more than she is ultimately worth. The motif of her
wedding dress proves this. She is able to put on a facade and hide who she truly is while
wearing it. But once it is taken off, she and everyone around her understand that it was
merely our “costume”. this is once again proven by the intertextual link to Macbeth . She
herself playing lady Macbeth is able to become just like the character and enjoy a similar
fate. All while not wearing the facade of Tilly's dresses. She is ultimately unable to contain
her true identity and is ended for it. Both Abigail and Gertrude use their innocence to
manipulate those around them. However they are eventually unable to keep up the
charade.
although both texts explore the idea that your identity is everything , they also demonstrate
that your social identity is easily controlled through fear governor danforth begins his time
in Salem quite late in the Storey and in Sir, is not responsible for the on coming of
accusations however, he is responsible for perpetuating the mess that was the witch trials.
1690s New England thrived off of faith and the belief that the patriarchy is connected to
God and therefore, never wrong. This belief is highly reflected in 1950s America and in the
portrayal of danforth, the “malevolent” onslaught led by danforth and Joseph McCarthy,
resulted in the same hysteria as the real witch trials. Birth danforth and Joseph McCarthy
are strong, male figureheads who put themselves before others and “aided” in two of the
largest portrayals of mass hysteria. Danforth knew that Abigail was lying and because of the
“riots in Andover” knew that he was unable to go back on his past rulings as his reputation
would be shattered . Although personally he may have “cared for” the women accused ,
professionally, it could not have mattered less. Conversely Evan pennyman understood
what he was doing was wrong yet, didn't care. Evan “tormented” not only marigold, but Tilly
and Molly. Corruption was an old song sung by the men in power during the 1950s but
nowhere was it stronger than in Dungatar. Evans whole political standing was built on the
fact that he “followed” Molly until she was left with nowhere to go and his stealing of
money marygold had “set aside”. Evan, the antagonist is proven to be the root cause of evil
in done guitar . This is further proved by the use of medicine to subdue his wife while other
“naturally good” characters like Tilly, use medicine to help others. The power over the town
led to an unspoken fear of him. The identity that he had slyly created inside himself was
merely accepted and perpetuated by town gossip. Both Evan and danforth failed to
understand that power is not identity and identity is not power. conscience is what matters.
The lack of consequense displayed by these men later the acceptance of ostracization and
the uncoming downfall of birth towns.
John Proctor and Tilly dunnage represent the conscience and goodness that is missed by
danforth and Evan. We begin the Crucible in spring representing hapiness. This happinesses
probably fated however, as “ungodly” people like Proctor demonstrate many are unhappy
with the social norm. It can be argued that the Crucible depicts proctor's journey. Unlike
danforth and Abigail, John does not let himself sink to “a whores vengeance”. he represents
the true moral reasoning and fights against the “common vengeance of the courts” and
does all that he can to defend his wife and his friends. His act of destroying his confession
“because I cannot have another in my life” - while brave, seals his fate. John understands
that the justice system of his time is weak and would use his confession to condemn the
ones he loved. His own identity and moral code killed him. Similarly while not resulting in
her death, Tilly dunnage’s conscience and personal identity leads to extreme behaviour .
While in the Crucible, the weather reflects the mood of Proctor and those around him,
molly's garden Anne house reflects Tilly's. When she returned to Don guitar she was in
shatters and worn down from the death of her son and the loss of her husband this is
reflected by the state of the house and molly's mental state. Tilly, being “hard working” and
“a light” is able to rise above prejudice and fix the house , garden and her mother. This
further implies that “love is stronger than hate”. Yes, when Tilly finally discovers that
“revenge is our reason” she destroys the house in the garden. The act of burning Dungatar
to the ground and the subsequent agitation proves that years of being isolated and
ostracised don't fare well . Both Miller and ham represent Tilly and John in a cautionary
way. They succeed in showing that identity is created by traumatic events and mistakes and
that if we are not careful, even the best of us will break.
Both Arthur Miller and Rosalie Ham portray the building and destruction of 1's identity while
also teaching the reader clear and unmistakable lesson about fear and reputation. Your past
always comes back to haunt you even if you don't want it to. It is clear all the characters in
both the Crucible and the dressmaker learn that words are powerful , and with great power
comes great responsibility.