‘The Crucible’ Gets a Fiery #MeToo Rewrite

A new reading of The Crucible becomes both scary and liberating. Just as John Proctor is shown to be not the hero of Miller’s play (but rather, for Shelby, the much be-knighted Abigail Williams), so Mr. Smith is shown to be far from the supportive teacher we and the girls may have thought. From Lee’s menace and temper to shoulder-rubbing memories of Ivy’s “gross” dad, the evidence of patriarchal abuses in the everyday fabric of their lives become apparent to the young women.