OT: Why Majority Young Girls and Women?

Well, you have to remember the time period. In this time, women were judged by all to be the weaker sex. Woman was the one to first listen to the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, women were more likely to fall from God's grace again and serve Satan. And since men controlled everything in the society, especially the courts, it was far easier to convince them that a woman was consorting with the devil than that a man was doing so.

The majority were women, at least the ones in the courtroom throwing fits while the accused were on trial.

There were older women and men who were accusers, though men were less likely to go into fits, partly because of gender mores. Tituba's husband, John Indian, frequently had public fits, but his status pretty much demanded that he had to in order for people not to accuse him. Goody Putnam also had fits.

Abigail was not the only instigator in the real trials. The Putnam family played a much bigger part in making accusations. As for the jealous girl part, that never happened. Arthur Miller made it up for his own personal reasons. Poetic license. (Laughing about John Proctor being called a "boy," when he was actually quite elderly.)

Men had their evil roles in this too. Reverend Parris, Mr. Putnam, and Judge Hathorn and the others that presided over this miscarriage of justice.

It's actually been brought up by some critics how Arthur Miller took a female story and turned it into a man's story. Rebecca Nurse, Mary Eastey and Ruth Putnam were very interesting women. Even 11 year old Abigail Williams was fascinating, as to this day nobody knows why she did what she did. Miller forced the entire thing into a common fictional narrative stereotype - the hussy, the married man, and the wife. No way the original Abigail (age 11) had sex with 60 year old John Proctor. If she had had, does anybody believe she'd have fallen "in love" with him? It's funny how Miller acknowledges raising Abigail's age, but does not acknowledge lowering John Proctor's. The real John Proctor seems to have been an outspoken man who bashed the accusing girls in public, was publicly skeptical, and that's why he was accused. Abigail accused not just his wife, but HIM of being a witch, and others besides. There is no sign she focused mostly on the Proctors. The original story was very interesting, but more complex and human than the play, which, face it, attracts fans not because of the parallel to McCarthyism, but because it's a fatal attraction story dressed up in high minded commentary about society. THAT is what endures. The triangle.

Same reason why young girls today follow these stupid trends - they are sheep, incapable of independent or logical thought. Look at all the trouble they caused both back then and even today.

Women must be told what to do at all times. Let them run amok like this and see what horrors hapepn.

Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life!