REBECCA: Goody Ann! You sent a child to conjure up the dead?
MRS. PUTNAM: Let God blame me, not you, not you, Rebecca! I’ll not have you judging me any more! Is it a natural work to lose seven children before they live a day?
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 1. Rebecca is horrified to hear Ann Putnam confess that she sent her daughter Ruth into the woods to practice witchcraft with the slave Tituba. Mrs. Putnam admits doing this to learn who "murdered" her babies. She snaps back at Rebecca, attacking her for being judgemental and referring to her seven dead babies. The tension and conflict between these two women is palpable. This is foreshadowing of worse things to come, when Rebecca is falsely accused and executed for the "supernatural murder" of the Putnam babies. It is implied in the play that Mrs. Putnam is behind the accusations against Rebecca. Ann Putnam, married to the wealthy and powerful Thomas Putnam, is herself never punished or brought to trial for her involvement in witchcraft.