The Man Behind the Hysteria - Who Triggered the Mass Hysteria in the play The Crucible?

The term “hysteria” could be most prosaically defined as the greatest degree of panic incited, by any individual, in a specific place and time. In the allegorical tragedy The Csrucible by Arthur Miller, mass hysteria in Salem has been unleashed as a result of some characters’ delusional nature and intolerance. Above all, however, a single character has had the most malignant influence: Reverend Parris. Instead of maintaining calm behaviour when most necessary, Parris chose to go about capriciously regarding his position and unintendedly led himself and his family into an ever-ending loop of panic –and presumably, danger.

Parris’s overall attitude has helped him act as a torch, kindling up the stick of delirium in Salem. He, first of all, grasped radical awareness to the predicament, the so called “dance”, by not keeping it to himself, and as agitation spreads much quicker between those who are confused, this, in turn, caused the villagers to become even more agonized than they were before, planting the very first seeds of an upcoming frenzy as revealed by this quotation “The town’s mumbling witchcraft.” (Miller, 28). Alternatively, if Parris had behaved more tentatively since he was the only one who had “discovered” the girls “dancing like heathen in the forest.” (Miller, 19), his “discovery” could have been kept as a secret between the two sides. Moreover, as described by Abigail Williams, the girls’ dance and the “abomination” (Miller, 19) could have all been nothing other than “sport” (Miller, 19); precisely, one done as a result of common superstition or maybe even complete boredom merged with teenage fantasies, bias and ignorance. Though, thanks to Parris, it is never unveiled. The second factor is, it is evident enough that Parris could not evaluate what the outcomes of his newscast would be. And even after some extent, he lost the grip of the events too, putting his own place under peril; this quotation from him gives an idea about his precarious situation: “They will howl me out of Salem…” (Miller, 22). Despite the aforementioned remarks, it should not go without being mentioned that Parris still tried to take action so as to throw himself out of his quagmire. Most importantly, he sent for a religious authority, other than himself (Miller, 18) –Reverend Hale, a religious minister about whom there is a general agreement to be “sensible” (Miller 41). Regardless, this pre/postcaution he initiated caused nothing but to make things worse as the presence of a well-known and looked-upon person like Hale drew more recognition to the case, resulting in the upper class and the likes of Putnam to intensify their interference.

The hysteria Parris has inadvertently brewed showed its effects not only on the “random folk” of Salem but also on himself and his family. Accordingly, Parris’s uneasy and manic behaviour can be mostly examined through his dialogues with his daughter, Abigail Williams, where he repeatedly refers to a fraction of people, namely “my enemies” (Miller, 20). Notably, he does not point out to this once, but many times which bolsters the possibility that this expression contains no hyperbole, but solidity. Another point is, Parris’s emotions differ in a volatile and an unstable way, referring, again, to Parris’s angst. For instance, he goes from “through sobs” (pg. 18) to “pressed” (pg.18) and “with anger” (pg. 20) in only two pages in which little contribution to the plot development is made. The second positive is, in his dialogues with Abigail, his distraught state of anticipation can be further identified through his everlasting tempered manner. “[with anger]: I saw it!” (Miller, 20), and as the words “[with anger]” qualify for, this quotation mainly accentuates that Parris’s vexation reflects itself not only on strangers but also on his relatives, like Abigail, advocating to the far-reaching extent of his anxiety. However, in contrast with the overt, the prime cause of this delirious conflict between him and Abigail is not the “dance”, but the final member of the family’s, Betty’s, blackout. “at the stake… perhaps your cousin’s life” (Miller, 20), equally, this vivid and open remark from Parris alludes that Betty’s blackout could be the most plausible explanation for his nervousness. In other words, Betty’s blackout constitutes one of the main aspect of Parris’s derailed and unstable pack of emotions.

On the whole, Reverend Parris plays the superior role in arousing hysteria in Salem. Parris could have ignored the dance, or overcame it in a much more covert way for the sake of maintaining tranquillity in town. However, he instead chose not to ponder about what the consequences could be and tolled the bells of hysteria in Salem. Not only that, but he also created dilemmas in his own household and his own mind, which have multiplied the overall anxiety. For the above given deductions, it will be the most appropriate, labelling Reverend Parris as the prime founder of the mass hysteria in Salem.

     -Bora