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Throughout literature, one comes across characters that are not as appealing because they are promiscuous. John Proctor, from The Crucible, Harpo and Albert, from The Color Purple, are all examples of men who commit adultery. Their respective wives, Elizabeth, Sofia, and Celie, all have different reactions to their infidelity. The three women have completely different ways of handling the situation. In The Crucible, John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor had hired Abigail as a helper at their house. However, Abigail and John began to sleep together.
Elizabeth began to notice and she approached John about it. He confesses and Abigail is kicked out of their house. After this event, there is a distance between John and Elizabeth, which is reasonable considering it was a great injustice done to Elizabeth. Elizabeth still suspects him of misconduct and he cannot take her suspicions anymore.
He says, You forget nothin and forgive nothing I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches around your heart. I cannot speak but I am doubted though I come into a court when I come into this house (Miller 52). There is great awkwardness in their relationship in the aftermath of this affair, but the big trials against Elizabeth bring them together.
When Elizabeth was being arrested, John is very angry and says, Fear nothing, Elizabeth... Damn you, man, you will not chain her! (Miller 73 - 74). The calamity of the trial brings John and Elizabeth close together again. According to Julian Klein, this affair was caused by Elizabeth. She writes, Elizabeth Proctor, the wife whose coldness inspired Proctor's adultery with their servant, Abigail Williams (Klein).
However, this is not a justified excuse for infidelity. When a person gets married, they are agreeing to be monogamous. It does not matter how difficult a spouse may be, one is not supposed to be disloyal. If there are too many problems, then there is the option of separation. Some may believe Elizabeth was too harsh in sending orphan Abigail out, but Elizabeth was vindicated because she was only thinking of saving her marriage and protecting her children from gossip.
Elizabeth's response to infidelity is the complete opposite of Celie's reaction to her husbands mistress. Their situations are also very different. Elizabeth and John seemed have had a loving relationship. Celie and her husband, Albert, did not marry for love. Albert abused Celie repeatedly, while John never hurt Elizabeth and believed Elizabeth was angelic. Albert could not stand Celie and hated her.
Shug was Alberts lover. They had been together long before Albert and Celie had gotten married. After their marriage, Shug was ill and came to live with them. At first, Shug is weary of Celie and dislikes her. Celie, on the other hand, adores Shug and regards her as a goddess.
She does not feel any anger towards Shug at all. As they get to know each other, their relationship progresses into a sexual one. Shug takes Celie to Memphis with her and gets her away from Albert. Evelyn White writes that Alice Walker is oftentimes reprimanded for promoting lesbianism among Black women. " However, Walker did not write about lesbianism in the ordinary sense. Celie became a lesbian only because she feared men. All the men in her life abused her.
Her father and her husband abused her physically, verbally and sexually. She became a lesbian because Shug was one of the very few people who cared about her. Celie was not able to have a good relationship with any males because she was scared of men. Celie's stepson, Harpo, is also another man who does not practice fidelity. Harpo and Sofia had had a love marriage. Sofia was a very rough girl.
She was very different from Celie. She did not care about anyone. She had her own opinions and was not afraid to boss her husband around. She was very strong-willed. Harpo wanted to make her listen to him, so he begins to beat her. Sofia does not stand for this type of abuse and she fights back.
She leaves home and lives with her sister. After a couple of years, she goes back to visit Harpo at his juke joint. Harpo has a girlfriend now, named Mary Agnes. The interesting part of this scene is that Sofia has a boyfriend. Sofia is not a timid person. She does not fear anyone and she does what she wants to do.
She is not easily broken. James Hail states that Sofia was the wife of Harpo who serves as an example to Celie of independent womanhood. This statement is true. Celie does look up to Sofia, even though she was jealous of Sofia at first. Near the end of the book, Celie undergoes her catharsis and becomes like Sofia. She becomes loud and speaks her mind.
Some may believe that Sofia was a bad character, but this is not true. Sofia is one of the very few progressive women in the story. She is one of the very few women who know how to be aggressive. She is a very pleasant woman, as long as you do not disrespect her. She will treat you the way you treat her.
In these three examples of adultery, there were very different results from the wives. Elizabeth banished Abigail, Celie fell in love with Shug and Sofia also committed adultery. Each of their ways helped them cope with their feelings. Elizabeth wanted to save her marriage, which is why she got rid of Abigail. Celie is very nave and did not know she was expected to show anger at her husband for having an affair. Sofia does not care that Harpo has a girlfriend because she has a boyfriend.
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Research essay sample on John And Elizabeth Elizabeth Proctor
