Crucible 4
Crucible 4Trials of Her Sins
Hester Prynne, Nathanial Hawthorne's character from his novel, The
Scarlet Letter, and Abigail Williams, from "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller,
have both committed a crime and they are both hated by their societies.
However, there are also differences between the two characters. Hester
Prynne is the more respectable Puritan woman of the two because she did
not commit as many sins as Abigail did, she was not as secretive about it,
and her actions only affected herself and her child.
Hester did sin horribly but it was not comparable to Abigail's many
sins. The sins that Abigail were guilty of were wrath, avarice, lust, and envy,
while Hester only committed lust. Hester's adulterous behavior was
considered one of the worst sins of the Puritan women. Although that was an
awful sin to have committed, Abigail committed a sin of the same kind and
more. Abigail and Hester both knew that what they did was wrong. Hester
took the blame and did not lie about what happened. Abigail lied and made
her friends lie just so she would not get in trouble for her sin. Abigail's
behavior and involvement of others created a more complex reason to judge
her as less respectable of the two.
Hester was not secretive about committing her crime as Abigail was.
Abigail is even described as "an orphan with an endless capacity for
dissembling" (page 9). This proves that she tried to cover up her actions.
Hester did not try to hide the fact from the townspeople that she was
pregnant; she only tried to conceal the identity of the father of her baby.
Abigail, on the other hand, made sure that the citizens of Salem...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.