Elizabeth knew of the sins that had been committed in her house and as Abigail worked for the Proctors, Elizabeth fired her. This information is later relied on in the trials. (Danforth: We are given to understand that at one time you dismissed your servant Abigail Williams.) Abigail is a scheming girl, who will do anything to get he claws back into John Proctor, even by bringing around the destruction of a whole town.
When John makes a trip into town to evaluate what is happening with Betty Paris (The reverends daughter) Abigail pounces claiming she is better for him than Goody Procter will ever be. (‘Abigail: Oh, how I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be..’). But John jumps to Elizabeth's defence, (’Proctor: You’ll speak nothing of Elizabeth!’). So we are quickly showed that he cares for his wife and that Abigail was a mistake.
Abigail refuses to believe that he does not love her and continues her plan to claim him from Elizabeth. The only path that enables her to get him is to get rid of Goody Proctor, for this Elizabeth would have to die.
John Proctor at first believes all the claims of witchery, to be madness and refuses point blank to indulge in them. For example- Proctor: Can you speak one minute without we landing in hell again? I am sick of hell! He clearly expresses his feelings and opinion. He is a religious man, but does not attend church nor practice his religion as much as he should be.
This looks bad on his part, when the time comes for him to prove he loves only God. Mr Hale is the first of many to test his knowledge and he falters many a time. Hale asks the Proctors if the Ten Commandments in their household are well known. Elizabeth confidently replies that she knows but John unsteadily agrees. John is giving the task of reciting them and he remembers all but one; Adultery. This is ironic, as this is the commandment he has broken.
John is looked up to by many of the other characters, (e.g.: Giles, a local farmer and friend), and he seems full of wise words and common sense. His sharp tongue he had at the beginning of the play begins to ebb away as times become more desperate. Proctor has a temper that he barely manages to contain, (When Goody Proctor is taken to the jail she has to be chained, proctor cries: Herrick! Herrick, don’t chain her! Damn you man; you will not chain her! He struggles to get to Elizabeth but is held back by two guards). He is an independent man, so this allows him to remain sane, while others panic.
Unfortunately, this also restrains him from taking effective action to save his wife, and the rest of the town. It is not until Elizabeth is taken away, that we notice any particular change in Proctor. He gathers up any evidence and anything legal (e.g.: a partition of those who speak good of those charged). Proctor is at first accused of contempt of the court, but the judges, Hathorne and Danforth, give him a fair chance and let him speak.
Proctor is gentle; encouraging his witness, Mary Warren, to explain all about the lies and deceit that Abigail has invented. But the girls, (lead of course by Abigail), pretend that Mary’s spirit is attacking them so Mary denies everything Proctor has put forwards as evidence.
Proctor is attempting to keep calm and uses his knowledge to the best of his ability. He tries every means possible, he pleads with the court, but everything he says or does, Parris insists upon his lying. Exasperated, Proctor sees only one way to save his wife. He must overcome his guilt and shame to testify against the biggest witch of them all, Abigail Williams. To save the community, his personal problems must be dashed aside, his good name included.
The court hears of Abigail and Proctor’s affair and the ending of the play, is on the brink of this confession. This is the moment that decides whether the accused die, or Abigail is found as a fraud. Proctor is desperate and intent on his mission, he demands Elizabeth to be questioned upon his adultery.
We get a sense that his confidence is returning as he has never known his wife to lie and he shows this with much emphasis and aggression to prove Abigail guilty of false accusations. The two main sufferings we note Proctor to feel, is to lose his wife and to cast aside his good name.
He proves his accusation of Abigail’s, (and his), affair by claiming: (Proctor) ‘A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that‘.
As Proctor seems to be progressing his shame grows and he becomes rather meek and timid. Abigail though becomes wild and angry, there seems to be a contrast reflected between the two, as if they had swapped character. We realise the result of the play when Elizabeth lies to the judges about her husband’s adultery to keep his name pure. This is an extremely dramatic moment, the innocent are relying upon Elizabeth’s answer. Unfortunately it is the wrong answer. With this, Proctor’s character crumples, defeated. Abigail refuses to back down so Procter's torment goes on. He is frantically trying everything in his power, then, suddenly, he is the accused.
He sees no end to the madness, so turns; it would seem, rather insane. He shouts that heaven is falling, that he has seen the devils face. (Proctor: ‘You are pulling heaven down and raising up a whore!’). He is arrested and thrown into the jail, finally beaten down by the judges, Parris and Abigail.
Proctor is now an exhausted man, unable to put up much of a fight. He has slipped from a strong, powerful man to almost nothing. He and his wife are left along to tussle with their conscience and souls to see if they will confess. It would be a false confession of course, but Proctor was now beyond caring.
Proctor is in pain for he has been tortured and he learns of his dear friend‘s death. All is not lost; however, when we realise they are rebuilding their love and trust for one another. For example proctor says: ‘I have been thinking I will confess to them, Elizabeth. What say you? If I gave them that‘. And Elizabeth answers: ‘I cannot judge you John‘. This is quite symbolic, as trust had not been a prioritised topic between the Proctors. This seems to boost Proctors spirits and he appears glad and relived.
The changes that Proctor deals with through out the play are quite remarkable. He evolved from a powerful man to a more worldly advised person, who developed his opinion before he voiced it. He still is a great man, because of his many flaws. These flaws allow us to connect with Proctor, as a human being so he remains very visual, larger than life and full of grace and power.
Being the author of the Crucible, Miller was in control of his characters and their progression through out the play. He conducted them with immense power and truth. The changes of Proctor, (mentioned previously), through out the play he mastered and achieved well. He very subtly changed a piece of Proctor’s character every so often. When this occurred, there was usually a change in Proctor’s mood or attitude. For example, when Proctor and his wife were together in the house, he was rather nervous, but when she came to be taken away, (after being accused), he was angry and very determined.
Proctor changed more than any other character in the play. We figure this is because he has so much to come to terms with. (His wife and himself being accused, Abigail being the cause of it all and the whole town being intent upon self destruction). Arthur Miller changed Proctor so much as he was the secondary character, it was he and Abigail that had caused the majority of this trouble in the first place. Miller wanted to portray Proctor as the character that becomes the hero, the hero that admitted his sins and paid his due for them. The audience’s reaction to John Proctor originally, was at first one of mistrust and insecurity at what this man might do or be capable of.
During the second act we grow to know him better and we discover just ho deep his character is involved in the crucible. Towards the ending, the audience, surely, no longer feels mistrust or insecurity over this man, but instead respect, honour and bravery at what this man will do to save his wife, friends and of course, his good name.
