Certainly, the desperation of Mrs. Putnam compared with the surety and humility of Rebecca Nurse illustrates the theme of ignorance versus wisdom. Mrs. Putnam is terribly superstitious, and she believes that there must be some supernatural reason for the deaths of seven of her eight children. While Rebecca admits that she cannot understand why such a tragedy has befallen Mrs. Putnam, she believes that they all "ought [to] rely on the doctor...
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