For starters, within the first episode it is revealed that there are witches in the city Sabrina lives in called Greendale. The witches are similar to those during Salem witch trials where both the witches in Greendale and Salem were hung for witchcraft in the past and in the show witches are now hidden. In both the show and the play, witches are unknown to others and not necessarily excepted in society. In the play, Abigail does admit that she dances in the woods to Reverend Parris and states, "Uncle, we did dance... But we never conjured spirits,"(138, lines 63-79) and does not admit she performed witchcraft. In the show, Sabrina tries to reveal to her boyfriend, Harvey, that she is a witch but then performs a spell to make him forget because she doesn't want to face the consequences of him knowing. Another similarity is what Sabrina and Abigail used witchcraft for, Abigail used witchcraft to kill John Proctor's wife while Sabrina used it for slightly less extreme reason, to scare/hurt her principal.
Now for some differences, obviously the show is not real and witches are real in the show and the play recalls historic events from the past where we now know there were not witches in Salem but there also are some other key differences in the witchcraft part of it all. In the crucible, Abigail drinks a charm in order to kill John Proctor's wife but in the show it is not necessary to drink blood or a charm in order to perform a spell. In the show, Sabrina must choose between two worlds, the one with witches or the world with mortals. Obviously there are not two literal worlds to chose from in the crucible, but in a sense there are two paths of lives chosen in Puritan society, to go along with the rules and worship god, or become and outlaw for worshiping the devil.
While there are some clear differences between the two, The Crucible and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina both examine witches and witchcraft in their own time periods, displaying that witches were not accepted in society and revealing the consequences that go along with it.
Pictures:
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-crucible-10-major-events
https://www.glamour.com/story/the-chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-netflix-details
I really enjoyed how you related "The Crucible" to a film of today. In doing so, the audience is able to make better sense of several aspects of the play, specifically the audience members and readers who watch "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina". Do you think that with the progression of the novel, the play will show an increased number of similarities to the show?
ReplyDeleteThis is Abby!
DeleteI thought your post was very well written. The way in which you related "The Crucible" to "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" creates a new and interesting way to look at the play. Bringing it closer to a modern day time period suggests the possibility and brings thought to the idea that we are closer to witchcraft than we thought we were. What do you think would change in the play overall if it were to be rewritten today with modern day characters?
ReplyDeleteI like your post and how it relates "The Crucible" to a show that is open and popular to many people now days to watch. I've never really thought of ways or places that witchcraft and witches could still be seen, so it was cool to see a popular show that replicates and has similar to the concepts in the play, which was well known in earlier times. What about these topics of witches and witchcraft do you think attract people to both the play and show which makes them so popular still?
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