She ails as she must – she never waked this morning, but her eyes open and she walks, and hears naught, sees naught, and cannot eat. Her soul is taken, surely.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 1. Mrs. Putnam is talking about her daughter Ruth, who is in a similar coma to Betty Parris. In an outburst of hysteria she leaps to the conclusion that her child’s soul has been taken by the Devil. Her conclusions help feed the witch hunt frenzy that subsequently sweeps Salem.