The Evolution of Tituba Part 2

Tituba, again. Source

Last week I wrote a post on Tituba in The Crucible. I examined how her character was changed from what the historical documents list her as, "Indian," to Arthur Miller's portrayal of her in The Crucible as somehow of African descent. I mentioned I began doing research because I was confused about something in Act IV. I was confused about the beginning scene where Tituba and Sarah Good, both accused witches, were taken out of the jail. I wasn't sure whether Tituba and Good were going to be hanged or released. Because Miller promises at the beginning of the book that the fates of all the characters are the same as that of their historical counterparts, I took to the internet to see what actually happened to Tituba. Tituba, it turns out, was not hanged - but Sarah Good was. So why does Miller show them leaving the jail together, presumably bound for the same fate?

Last week I discussed how Miller also increased Tituba's role in the witchcraft of Salem by changing the magic the girls were practicing from English to Voodoo. This would seem to be an effort on his part to increase Tituba's guilt. However, throughout the rest of the book he seems to make efforts to incriminate Abigail by making her motivation "a whore's revenge" (102) despite the fact that the real Abigail was 11 and there is no evidence to support an affair with Proctor. Because Miller was trying to show the wrongness of Cold War McCarthyism, he also shows much of the blame as lying with those in power, by casting doubt on Danforth by making him seem ridiculously black and white when he says "a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road in between" (87).

Thus, according to his delineation of good and evil, Tituba should be an innocent victim. Is Miller trying to increase this sympathy by suggesting she was hanged? If so, why increase her role in the magic, making her seem like the source of much of it? If not, how does making Tituba seem more guilty support Miller's argument?