The information given on Proctor by Miller as background is very precise. It explains that he has very strong views on what is decent / right or wrong, and that he is not the sort of man to sympathise with hypocrites. This is expressed clearly by Miller about halfway through Act One,
“…he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites…”
Other evidence to show that Proctor’s moral standards and principles are high are these quotes, also from Act One,
“…He is a sinner…..but against his own vision of decent conduct…”
and
“…Proctor,…..has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud…”
These quotes show clearly what Miller wants the audience to think about John Proctor and the sort of ‘ideals’ he believes in; and also help set the scene to portray his moral journey and it’s significance amongst the events which occur.
Another point of interest is the way Miller first portrays the relationship between John and Abigail. Instead of choosing to show Abby as tempting and alluring to John during the events in Salem, he presents the audience with ‘the man after the fall’; once he has already ‘known’ her. This heightens the idea that Proctor is a man who, with incredibly high moral standards, has to come to terms with what he has done, at the same time as all hell breaks loose in Salem, (with the main focus of his guilt playing the main role.) Miller also makes a point of saying that Proctor’s feelings had not yet surfaced at the beginning of the play. This is most probably to show the audience a contrast in his actions as the play progresses, (even though he has already committed adultery,) and therefore illustrate his moral journey in more depth.
During Act One, the audience is only given a ‘taster’ of Proctor’s true character; as the play progresses we discover the extent of his complexities, but the first Act only provides hints to these.
The second Act is set eight days after the first, and the court has already passed it’s first death sentence in Salem. On hearing this, Proctor is willing to testify against the girls’ evidence – something he previously delayed for fear of his own sin, (adultery,) being exposed. This in itself, and the fact that Miller chose for the play to unfold this way, show that Proctor is shameful of what he has done, as it goes against both the law of the time, and his own moral standards. As the audience find later, this delay proved fatal to many.
Proctor in the scene with his wife Elizabeth at the beginning of Act Two, is obviously showing signs on the outside of being regretful of his act. This is presented by Miller in Proctor’s speech, and actions. Whereas before, he was his usual self, still flirting with Abby, (as Miller demonstrates in Act One while Proctor and Abigail are alone together, talking of her ‘mischief’ as he fondly puts it, while she moves closer and closer to him, though he does make it clear to her that their affair is over,) now he says and does everything and anything he can to please his wife. An example of this in Miller’s script is in the scene involving Proctor and Elizabeth where John praises his wife’s cooking, when just seconds before he had tasted it and added extra seasoning. The most plausible explanation for this is that Proctor believes that by ‘keeping things sweet’ with Elizabeth, he will have more space to come to terms with the situation he is in. If he has to go to court, he would obviously want her on his side.
A good point to make is ‘why did Miller choose adultery as Proctor’s sin?’ Why not stealing or even murder? Both would be capable of causing the same moral dilemma and feeling of guilt, so why adultery. The answer is, because it fits in better with the events in Salem, and the fact that it could be caused only by a fit of desire on Proctor’s part, there was no chance of it happening ‘accidentally’. This adds many complications to Proctor’s dilemma, one being that the whole fraud-based witch trials are centred around Abby, with whom John had his affair. It also provides good ground for juxtapositoning on Miller’s part, as he can set Abby ‘against’ Elizabeth in Proctor’s mind. Miller has used this to add interest, because through John’s actions in Miller’s script, it is made obvious that he still cares for Abby, but that he also loves his wife, and if he wants to do anything about the confusion, it will mean choosing between them; where his loyalties lie; and either confessing to adultery, or letting many innocent, (including his wife,) die. This is the basis for his whole moral journey, and therefore, this essay.
On several occasions during the scene at the beginning of Act Two, involving Proctor, his wife, and others, John either threatens people or actually lashes out towards them. He handles Mary Warren, (his servant,) very roughly on her return from the village; threatens violence against a court clerk, at the announcement that he has a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest; and actually tears the warrant after snatching it out of the governor’s hands!! He cannot seem to stop himself lashing out at either personal criticism, or things that simply displease him. This shows him as being happier with external, rather than internal conflict. Coming to terms with what he has done and the events that are happening around him, especially to Elizabeth, is too much for him. He can’t cope with the inner turmoil and again this shows just how torn he is by his actions and breaking his own morals. Proctor at this stage, can be seen by the audience as a man with strong opinions and feelings, but who fears the moral complexities and implications that come with them. It is obvious that he would find life a lot easier in a world where everything was either black or white, with nothing in between to complicate things. All this is shown by Miller in Proctor’s physical actions throughout the scene.
The key to Proctor’s character is shown clearly as being the reluctance to have his soul bared in front of the world. Previously he has lived within tight moral boundaries and his greatest fear is that everyone should suddenly see that he’s not as respectable as they’d thought. This is shown by Miller in Proctor’s actions also. He does everything possible to stop Abby, (who he knows to be causing havoc by lying,) rather than confess his own sin, (which would discredit anything she were to say, or had already said,) until he has run out of other options. Proctor tries to overthrow the court, force Mary Warren to testify against the girls, and anything else he can think of, rather than testify himself. He believes that Mary’s testimony will be enough to break the case against his wife – unfortunately for him, it is not. In doing this, he is subconsciously and desperately trying to project his own faults onto others, and in the end the delay in his confession proves to late, and a lot less believable, once he has shown himself to be an enemy of the court.
The enormity of Proctor’s ‘problem’ lies in the fact that his wife, who is known to be totally truthful, lies for him. In this case, he lied to save himself and so did she, but his lie was selfish, whereas hers was for love of another.
At the end of Act Three, the moment comes when Proctor finally accepts his fate. Miller shows this through John’s speech in a later scene,
“…For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud – God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together…”
He is basically accepting what he has done, and his cowardliness in delaying his confession, and no longer cares what others either know or think. This loss of all fighting instinct within Proctor is crystallised by the prison warden, who, at the beginning of Act Four, says,
“…You’d not know he lived…”
This immediately conjures up a picture of a broken man, who has nothing left to live for, simply because he feels he has broken his own moral code so badly. It is Proctor’s lowest spiritual moment throughout the whole play. He has absolutely no self respect, and loathes himself for his actions.
Morally though, things look up. Proctor looks for confirmation of his hate of himself, or dispellment, in Elizabeth, but receives neither. She forgives him, but points out that this means nothing if he can’t forgive himself.
To show any sort of positive moral outcome, it is not the confession, or even the sin committed that is of interest – it is whether or not Proctor comes to accept it, and take his punishment as it comes.
The true outcome of Proctor’s journey is that in the end, he was courageous in dying, even though it was for something for which he was innocent. At the very end, when he knew what would happen to him, Proctor refused to publish a lie about himself, or admit to a sin he did not commit. This shows at least some remnant of pride was left, even after everything he had been through – and this is what saves him in the end. It makes him realise that John Proctor wasn’t as evil as he had thought, that, like everyone else, he was a mixture, and now with absolutely nothing to hide. Possibly, this act may cancel out John’s adultery, especially as there is a lot of confusion around what are actually ‘evil acts’, and what are just natural flaws and instincts. Elizabeth says right at the end of the play,
“…He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!..”
This suggests goodness and reconciliation in Proctor’s act, as the once shallow and indecisive John, is finally decisive.
