Hysteria, by definition, is a situation in which many people behave or react in an extreme or uncontrolled way because of fear, anger, etc.
As we have read in class the past week, The Crucible contains many cases of hysteria, whether it be the townsfolk, the people loyal to the court, or the young girls. In this story, you could say that there is a Domino Effect of hysteria. As the play begins, Abigail and the other girls are the first to exhibit hysteria. While in bed, Betty pretends to be in a coma, only waking to pretend to fly and show pain when hearing Jesus' name. With these antics, she, along with the other young girls, tries to convince the adults that there is witchcraft in the city. Eventually, the hysteria among the girls results in hysteria among the town as well. The first domino has fallen.
The girls have influenced the court, which has already hanged multiple citizens of Salem for conspiring with the Devil. Based on today's standards, the court in the play seems to be very harsh in manner. The only real evidence of witchcraft are through false witnesses and false confessions. The hysteria of the court forces the defendants to either confess or die, which doesn't seem very moral. With the accused being in a quagmire, their loved ones must fight for vindication; however, with the dominos toppling, more and more start to fall to hysteria.
Mary Warren, Proctor's servant, is a prime example of how hysteria can be "contagious." During Mary's questioning, Abigail and the girls all pretend to see Mary's spirit attacking them. Being emotionally fragile, Mary eventually breaks down in front of everyone in the room because of the girls' hysteria. Proctor's last domino has fallen.
Not only did hysteria exist back then, but it surely exists now and through all of history. During the Red Scare, hysteria still dominated the minds of many. America, at the time, was in chaos. Word of communists instilled fear in everyone. The lives of many innocuous citizens were on the brink of disaster. Despite the many accounts of hysteria, society still has not found the "cure" for it. We can only hope to avoid its consequences.
As Elia Kazan once said, "Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it." If only we had more of these facts.
The domino effect really describes the situation well. I didn't even think of it before I read your post, but it does fit. People use the trials as a way to get even and are reluctant to stop for fear of harming their reputations. Once the first domino falls, the chain reaction is very difficult to halt.
ReplyDeleteWow. I did not think about the domino effect at all. Your post is very well put together and I liked it.
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