Act 2 takes place in the Proctors’ house, it is set in the common room. There are no characters in the opening of act 2 but soon after John Proctor and Elizabeth enter.
Act 1 the room is lit by light from the sun, ‘Through its leaded panes the morning sunlight streams’ the light is pure which symbolises reverend Parris as pure. However it is entering the room is through a narrow window, which shows Parris is a narrow-minded person. This symbolises that in act 1 the characters are pure but restrictive as the window is leaded. This shows the conflict of good verses evil.
Whereas in act 2 the room is described as ‘low dark and rather long living room’ this shows that the proctors are dark and shows that they are hiding a secret, the secret is that john had committed adultery with Abigail. The only light in the room is that from the fireplace. This symbolises that in act 2 characters are dark and gloomy people.
In act 1 the bedroom is upstairs with a staircase leading downstairs, this symbolises that the characters in this scene start off with a high status but throughout the play they are moving downwards towards hell. There are also people downstairs, which shows the conflict of the public are intruding on their private lives, whereas the Proctors’ lives are private and personal.
The warmth in each sets also shows the differences between the characters, in act 1 the room is lit by only a candle, this symbolises that Reverend Parris is a cold-hearted man, however the Proctors’ house is also very cold “it’s winter in here”. Another difference between the set designs is that act 1 has a clean spareness this shows that its empty of love and nurturing. In act 2 the room is cold because Elizabeth is cold of suspicion.
The idea of a crucible plays a large part in both acts. A crucible removes impurities through intense heat, which is what the play is about, the characters are put thorough an intense trial which at the end will prove who is pure and who isn’t.
As the curtain rises in act 1 we are shown Betty lying inert and sickly on the bed. Reverend Parris is praying at the side of the bed. He is concerned about Betty, he is on his knee, which symbolises that he is asking for forgiveness. Tituba rushes in, as she is concerned about Betty. We can see that she is troubled and distressed, but as soon as she steps in she immediately steps backwards, this symbolises that she is worried about Betty but she also know her place as a servant and is afraid of Parris. Parris is concerned about Betty but he is more concerned about his reputation ith the people downstairs.
Act 2 opens on a dark and low room, but we can hear Elizabeth softly singing to the children, this shows that she is a loving mother. John Procter walks in with a gun and places it down, he then walks over to the food and tastes it then he adds salt this shows he is not satisfied with Elizabeth’s cooking. The stew is a symbol of John and Elizabeth’s relationship, the stew is plain like Elizabeth, so John spices it up with salt the same way he spiced up his life by committing adultery with Abigail. After that he washes his hands and sits down for dinner when Elizabeth joins him. He washes his washes his hands when he hears Elizabeth coming, this shows that it is a guilty act. She brings him his food and sits with him while he eats. When john is asked how the food tastes by Elizabeth he lies and says ‘it’s well seasoned’ he lies to her to cover up the guilt of having an affair with Abigail. When they are talking to each other we can sense some distance between them, John is trying to make it up to her ‘I mean to please you, Elizabeth’ but Elizabeth is finding it hard to forgive him as she finds it hard to reply to him.
In my opinion I think Arthur Miller’s style was very effective. He used different ways to symbolise the differences between the scenes and characters. His set designs were very helpful to judge the type of people the play was about.
