Saturday, October 31, 2015

What is the significance of the poppet scene in terms of what it reveals regarding Abigail and Elizabeth in The Crucible?

I think that the poppet scene truly reveals the level of
antagonism that Abigail has towards Elizabeth.  It is also the moment when Elizabeth's
suspicions are no longer paranoia.  The poppet reveals the extent to which Abigail wants
Elizabeth gone, in order to accomplish her own ends of snaring John Proctor for
herself.  The significance of the scene reveals much about both characters.  For
Elizabeth, the poppet scene brings to light the fundamental "crucible" that she and her
husband must face.  Due to his own transgressions, John has endangered Elizabeth.  He
comes to recognize this as she is being arrested, as it is the first moment where we
start to see him take an active role in defending his wife and his own state of being in
the world.  The poppet scene is also significant because of Abigail, herself, and what
it shows.  There is a level of deviousness that is evident in Abigail's planning and
machinations in order to accomplish her desired end.  She planned the poppet, was able
to manipulate Mary Warren in order to accomplish her end, and proved skilled and being
able to take random events and link them in a sequence to make her the victim and
Elizabeth the aggressor.  It is through the poppet scene where Abigail's personality is
reflected to be quite an intense one, and one where she is quite
dangerous.

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