Samuel Parris was originally from Barbados where his father was a wealthy plantation owner. Samuel Parris was attending Harvard College when his father died. He returned to Barbados and was a fairly successful businessman before moving to Boston with two South American slaves: Tituba and John. In Boston, Parris married and had three children. He continued life as a businessman for a while but gradually began preaching and eventually negotiated a post as minister in Salem Village 1689. He was the fourth minister to hold this position since the parish was formed only eighteen years before in 1672. In the winter of 1962, his daughter, Betty (9), and niece, Abigail Williams(11), became afflicted with symptoms the local doctor could not explain.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Real Putnam Family
The Putnam’s were one of the most affluent families in Salem. They were also connected in several ways to the Salem Trials. Ann Putnam Jr. (Ruth in The Crucible) and Mercy Lewis, the Putnam’s servant, were the first afflicted girls after the Parris household. Ann Jr. and Abigail Williams were the two most vocal accusers throughout the trials. Eventually, Ann Putnam Sr. became afflicted as well and joined the younger girls as an accuser. Years after the trials, Ann Jr. issued a formal apology in the church for her participation in the trials; she was the only one to do so.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Real John and Elizabeth Proctor
John Proctor spoke out against the witch hysteria from the beginning. It was rumored that he attempted to beat his servant, Mary Warren, to stop her "afflictions." Many people in John's family were also accused including his wife, Elizabeth, sister-in-law, and children.
Before his trial, John wrote to ministers in Boston, describing the horrible torture going on in Salem. Though he was convicted and executed before there was any result, his letter helped convince the ministers to reconsider the nature of spectral evidence, the primary evidence used against witches in the Salem Trials. They decided that it was possible that the devil could take on the shape of an innocent person; previously, a victim's claim that they saw a "specter" of the accused attacking them could lead to conviction. John's letter, and this resulting claim, were contributing factors to the end of the trials.
Before his trial, John wrote to ministers in Boston, describing the horrible torture going on in Salem. Though he was convicted and executed before there was any result, his letter helped convince the ministers to reconsider the nature of spectral evidence, the primary evidence used against witches in the Salem Trials. They decided that it was possible that the devil could take on the shape of an innocent person; previously, a victim's claim that they saw a "specter" of the accused attacking them could lead to conviction. John's letter, and this resulting claim, were contributing factors to the end of the trials.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Questions from the Cast
Last week I got a few questions from cast members. Here are those questions and their answers so you can return to them and in case anyone else would like the same information. I'm really happy with how involved the cast has been with researching their roles and how responsive you've been to my help and suggestions. Please keep the questions coming, I'm happy to help!
Resources in general: The library at IUP has a great collection to help with researching your character. A lot of these books get pretty specific but you can find broad topics too. In the section on witchcraft you can narrow down to New England witchcraft, Salem Witch trials, and specifics within that. Our actress playing Tituba was able to find a book on the real Tituba which she says has been a great help. Since we're all poor college students in this project, I recommend checking out the library before going out and buying anything. Also, some of the sources in the links on the side are in public domain which means you can find many of them online for free. I've been using Amazon.com which has a great selection of these books in their Kindle store to find free ebooks but there are other sites with similar collections. Try Project Gutenberg and Sacred-Texts.
What Bible did Puritans use at this time? Although the King James Bible had been published by this time my research shows that the Geneva Bible was still being used my Puritan ministers in New England. The Biblical quotes found in John Hale's book match best with this earlier translation. Although this question was brought up by the actor playing Samuel Parris, Puritans highly emphasized that every good Christian should be able to read the Bible so much so that all towns were required to have a school and teach their children (including girls) to read.
Where did ______ live? The University of Virginia has a nice collection of maps of Salem and surrounding areas dating from the trials. Some are originals from the period though a bit easier to read are the interactive maps they've made which highlight accusers and the accused over time and point out the homes of those involved.
Resources in general: The library at IUP has a great collection to help with researching your character. A lot of these books get pretty specific but you can find broad topics too. In the section on witchcraft you can narrow down to New England witchcraft, Salem Witch trials, and specifics within that. Our actress playing Tituba was able to find a book on the real Tituba which she says has been a great help. Since we're all poor college students in this project, I recommend checking out the library before going out and buying anything. Also, some of the sources in the links on the side are in public domain which means you can find many of them online for free. I've been using Amazon.com which has a great selection of these books in their Kindle store to find free ebooks but there are other sites with similar collections. Try Project Gutenberg and Sacred-Texts.
What Bible did Puritans use at this time? Although the King James Bible had been published by this time my research shows that the Geneva Bible was still being used my Puritan ministers in New England. The Biblical quotes found in John Hale's book match best with this earlier translation. Although this question was brought up by the actor playing Samuel Parris, Puritans highly emphasized that every good Christian should be able to read the Bible so much so that all towns were required to have a school and teach their children (including girls) to read.
Where did ______ live? The University of Virginia has a nice collection of maps of Salem and surrounding areas dating from the trials. Some are originals from the period though a bit easier to read are the interactive maps they've made which highlight accusers and the accused over time and point out the homes of those involved.
Resources
I'm finding that this topic is a researcher's dream. There are so many sources that it's hard to know where to stop. I have especially found a number of primary resources which you will find links to in a new section on the side bar. These sources will be especially useful to the actors playing ministers and judges. I won't have time to relay all the great information in these sources to the actors but I want to share these links so you will have the chance to explore them on your own.
Malleus Maleficarum: The Hammer of Witches by Heinrich Kramer was written in the 1400s and served as a guide for witch hunters.
A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft... is John Hale's book about his participation in the Salem Witch Trials.
The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather and Increase Mather. Increase and Cotton Mather were widely known and respected ministers in the 1600's and 1700's (Cotton Mather was a sort of role model to Benjamin Franklin when he aspired to be a minister in his early life before turning to politics). Their religious authority would have influenced the actions of the ministers and judges in the Salem Trials.
Malleus Maleficarum: The Hammer of Witches by Heinrich Kramer was written in the 1400s and served as a guide for witch hunters.
A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft... is John Hale's book about his participation in the Salem Witch Trials.
The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather and Increase Mather. Increase and Cotton Mather were widely known and respected ministers in the 1600's and 1700's (Cotton Mather was a sort of role model to Benjamin Franklin when he aspired to be a minister in his early life before turning to politics). Their religious authority would have influenced the actions of the ministers and judges in the Salem Trials.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What's a Witch?
Puritans had many beliefs about witchcraft: what powers they had, how to break their curses and even how to prove someone was a witch or under the influence of one.
Some powers were more innocent than others. Young girls in Salem dappled with fortune telling. One practice involved suspending an egg white in a glass and looking in it for a sign of a girl's future husband's profession. Some witches were first considered "wise women." Others would go to these women (or possibly, but not likely, men) for remedies, charms, and fortune telling. Though the ministers objected, popular belief was these women recieved their powers from God as long as they did only good and got along well with the community. It was still a dangerous position to be in; their eariler benevolent actions became evidence against them if their relationships with others turned sour or suspicion of witchcraft arrose in the community. Similarly, midwives sometimes came under suspision for their mysterious knowledge of health and reproduction.
Powers of a Witch:
Some powers were more innocent than others. Young girls in Salem dappled with fortune telling. One practice involved suspending an egg white in a glass and looking in it for a sign of a girl's future husband's profession. Some witches were first considered "wise women." Others would go to these women (or possibly, but not likely, men) for remedies, charms, and fortune telling. Though the ministers objected, popular belief was these women recieved their powers from God as long as they did only good and got along well with the community. It was still a dangerous position to be in; their eariler benevolent actions became evidence against them if their relationships with others turned sour or suspicion of witchcraft arrose in the community. Similarly, midwives sometimes came under suspision for their mysterious knowledge of health and reproduction.
Powers of a Witch:
- Cause illness or death
- Related to childbirth and pregnancy. A witch can cause:
- Infertility
- Miscarriage
- Infant death
- Still Birth
- Deformities
- She might also attempt to abort a pregnancy of her own
- Animals and home goods
- Spoiled beer or other foods, moldy/maggoty cheese
- Sickness or strange behavior in animals
- Cows stop giving milk; chickens stop laying/lay fewer eggs
- Yarn tangles or won't spin or weave properly
- Take the form of a specter to
- Prevent men from sleeping
- attack victims
- bite
- cut
- stab
- pinch
- See the future or tell fortunes
- Made a compact with the Devil, usually signed in blood
- Had a familiar spirit to do their bidding
- Gift from the Devil
- It needed to be fed at least once a day
- Witches had a "witch's teat," an unexplained mark or third nipple on their body, to fed the familiar
- Used poppets (dolls)
- Used in a manner similiar to the modern popular understanding of a voodoo doll
Upcoming
I've got a series of entries in mind but they will be gradual in appearing so I want to give you a heads up on what you can look forward to. I'm calling this series "The Real..." For these I'll be focusing on the characters in the show and the real historical figure their character is based on. In this series, we'll find that Arthur Miller took liberties with historical figures for the story he wanted to tell. My purpose is not to contradict, Miller, who admits that he made these changes. Rather, my hope is to inform you about the real people and perhaps gain some insight to the fictional characters based on the changes Miller chose to make. For example, the historical Abigail Williams was only 11 years old at the time of the trials. Obviously the change in her age to 17 was essential for Miller's story and her romance with Proctor.
The nature of research require for these entries will depend on information scattered across many resources so they'll be trickling out. I'll also be updating these entries as I uncover more information so keep checking back to see if an entry you were interested in has been added to.
The nature of research require for these entries will depend on information scattered across many resources so they'll be trickling out. I'll also be updating these entries as I uncover more information so keep checking back to see if an entry you were interested in has been added to.
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