The Crucible
rebecca nurse
The major motive of Rebeca Nurse is a fear of people being caught in the hysteria running in Salem. Even before all the trials and accusations, when Betty was pretending to be sick , there is a panic in the village that the evil has come to take the life of youths. Especially Mr and Mrs Putnam, who both have lost many children during their youth, makes a connection to their children's death. However, Rebecca knows that their sickness is not due to an evil spirit, but rather what children do when they want to get away from a punishment. Rebecca quotes, “she (Betty) will wake when she tires of it. A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and , for love, it will soon itself come back.” When the witch trials begin, she fears that people are rather turning away from god, when they are supposed to face the god, and she makes an acute saying that "There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear it, I fear it. Let us rather blame ourselves ...".