--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The witch-hunt was a perverse…" description: "\"The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png" --- # The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic… ![“The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom. The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to…” quote by Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png) > “The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom. The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims.” [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal fear of freedom can turn into witch-hunts, allowing people to project guilt onto others. **In simple terms:** Freedom can provoke fear and blame. Key Takeaway Beware scapegoating when freedoms expand. Themes fear blame freedom society psychology Mood anxious critical Type cautionary analytical When to use this quote - political upheaval - community tensions - legal reforms - public discourse Key Concepts mass hysteria projection social control Questions to Reflect On - How does increased liberty trigger fear? - What mechanisms prevent scapegoating? A Different Perspective Not all repression is overt; subtle pressures persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accusation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-freedom/) [Manifestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifestation/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic/) [Repression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repression/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch/) [Witch hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch-hunt/) ## Related quotes > [Witch-hunts are always spooked by women's horrifying sexuality awakened by the superstud Devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/witch-hunts-are-always-spooked-by-women-s-horrifying-sexuality/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Roache's statement after his acquittal was dignified but his supporters were angry. They demanded to know why the case was ever brought, claiming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/roache-s-statement-after-his-acquittal-was-dignified-but-his/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [There was just too much evidence, from too many witnesses, pointing too many fingers at Ryan and his colleague for either defense team to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cohen/there-was-just-too-much-evidence-from-too-many-witnesses-pointing-too/) [Andrew Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cohen/) > [The days are a death wish A witch hunt for an exit I am powerless...\_\_ The fragile, the broken Sit in circles and stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hospital-for-soulsbring-me-the-horizon/the-days-are-a-death-wish-a-witch-hunt-for-an-exit-i-am-powerless-the/) Hospital For SoulsBring Me The Horizon > [ \[A 2005 response to doping allegations\] Unfortunately, the witch hunt continues and tomorrow's article is nothing short of tabloid journalism. The paper even admits… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/a-2005-response-to-doping-allegations-unfortunately-the-witch-hunt/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [It's funny how everyone hates witch hunts... until they see a witch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/it-s-funny-how-everyone-hates-witch-hunts-until-they-see-a-witch/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-being-investigated-for-firing-the-fbi-director-by-the-man-who/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [That is the essence of a witch-hunt, that any questioning of the evidence or the procedures in itself constitutes proof of complicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bergen-evans/that-is-the-essence-of-a-witch-hunt-that-any-questioning-of-the/) [Bergen Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bergen-evans/) > [We quickly erase hoaxes once exposed, excising the monstrous palimpsest, because as with any witch hunt or obvious fake, afterward we can't quite explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/we-quickly-erase-hoaxes-once-exposed-excising-the-monstrous/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [“The witch-hunt narrative is a really popular story that goes like this: Lots of people were falsely convicted of child sexual abuse in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-cheit/the-witch-hunt-narrative-is-a-really-popular-story-that-goes-like/) [Ross Cheit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-cheit/) > [I felt guilty - like, I leaked this memo, and now there's going to be a witch hunt for the person who did it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-gun/i-felt-guilty-like-i-leaked-this-memo-and-now-there-s-going-to-be-a/) [Katharine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-gun/) > [“The book argues that even though many cases have been held up as classic examples of modern American “witch hunts,” none of them fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-cheit/the-book-argues-that-even-though-many-cases-have-been-held-up-as/) [Ross Cheit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-cheit/) > [“Sometime the witch hunting takes on atrocious dimensions — the Nazi persecution of Jews, the Salem witch trials, the Ku Klux Klan scapegoating of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/sometime-the-witch-hunting-takes-on-atrocious-dimensions-the-nazi/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [We shall therefore compare the concept of homosexuality as heresy, prevalent in the days of the witch-hunts, with the concept of homosexuality as mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-shall-therefore-compare-the-concept-of-homosexuality-as-heresy/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## More by Arthur Miller > [If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-a-person-measures-his-spiritual-fulfillment-in-terms-of-cosmic/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“If you can fall in love again and again, if you can forgive your parents for the crime of bringing you into the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-you-can-fall-in-love-again-and-again-if-you-can-forgive-your/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The wedding of Christianity or Judaism with nationalism is lethal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-wedding-of-christianity-or-judaism-with-nationalism-is-lethal/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I know what's wrong with me - I could never stand still for death! Which you've got to do by a certain age, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-what-s-wrong-with-me-i-could-never-stand-still-for-death-which/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [You cannot catch a child's spirit by running after it; you must stand still and for love it will soon itself return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/you-cannot-catch-a-child-s-spirit-by-running-after-it-you-must-stand/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [ “(Looking at the letter in his hand) Then what is this if it isn’t telling me? Sure, \[Larry\] was my son. But I think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/looking-at-the-letter-in-his-hand-then-what-is-this-if-it-isn-t/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-character-is-defined-by-the-kinds-of-challenges-he-cannot-walk-away/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/everybody-likes-a-kidder-but-nobody-lends-him-money/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“When it is recalled that until the Christian era the underworld was never regardded as a hostile area, that all gods were useful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/when-it-is-recalled-that-until-the-christian-era-the-underworld-was/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Elizabeth, with great fear: I will fear nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/elizabeth-with-great-fear-i-will-fear-nothing/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-you-re-no-worse-than-most-men-but-i-thought-you-were-better-i/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-best-of-our-theater-is-standing-on-tiptoe-striving-to-see-over/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I only ask you one thing- don't trust nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-only-ask-you-one-thing-don-t-trust-nobody/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) [Explore all 322 Arthur Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## More Accusation quotes > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Knowledge of God's Word is a bulwark against deception, temptation, accusation, even persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/knowledge-of-god-s-word-is-a-bulwark-against-deception-temptation/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [As so often, a political event involving Donald Trump looks like swinging wildly between melodrama and farce. The Republican National Convention in Cleveland has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-colvin/as-so-often-a-political-event-involving-donald-trump-looks-like/) [Mark Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-colvin/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“I had wanted to hate you that day. Believe me, I had. And then suddenly, staring at me incredulously, your extra half-tooth had blurted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-had-wanted-to-hate-you-that-day-believe-me-i-had-and-then-suddenly/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [How many voices have escaped you until now, the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot, the steady accusations of the clock numbering the minutes no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/how-many-voices-have-escaped-you-until-now-the-venting-furnace-the/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Hermione, will you please —” “Don’t you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!” she screeched. “Don’t you dare! Give it back now! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hermione-will-you-please-don-t-you-tell-me-what-to-do-harry-potter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sentimentalist” is the abuse with which people counter the accusation that they are cruel, thereby implying that to be sentimental is worse than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/sentimentalist-is-the-abuse-with-which-people-counter-the-accusation/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [In every relationship, sooner or later, there is a court scene. Accusations, counter-accusations, a trial, a verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-every-relationship-sooner-or-later-there-is-a-court-scene/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-will-forever-remain-an-accusation-and-a-challenge-to-all-men-and/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [A moral argument about whether censorship is good or bad deteriorates quickly into accusations about who is more or less patriotic, moral, pious, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/a-moral-argument-about-whether-censorship-is-good-or-bad-deteriorates/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/guilt-has-very-quick-ears-to-an-accusation/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) [Browse all 264 Accusation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance began to turn toward greater individual freedom. The witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestation-of-the-panic-which-set-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accusation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestation-of-the-panic-which-set-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/718/arthur-miller-947_accusation_the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestat_2343322.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation of the panic which set in among all classes when the balance…” — Arthur Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The witch-hunt was a perverse manifestation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestation-of-the-panic-which-set-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-witch-hunt-was-a-perverse-manifestation-of-the-panic-which-set-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```