“Give me a word john, a soft word”...... “I am waitin’ for you every night”
But Proctor dismisses it and says “Abby, I may think…you again” “but I will cut ff my hand before I ever reach you again,” making it clear that it’s all over.
Abigail then “with a bitter anger” shouts “she’s blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me,” Referring to Elizabeth, Proctor’s wife. Elizabeth has been out of work for over 6 months and no one would employ her because of her affair with Proctor, her previous employer.
“I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart. I never knew what pretence Salem was…. You love me John Proctor and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” she says. This meaning she wants Proctor to be blamed for the affair and wants him at all cost. The significance of this is that Proctor took advantage of such a young girl but because he is influential in Salem, kept his good name but Abigail lost hers and her job.
At this point we meet another person with an immaculate reputation and a good Christian woman in Rebecca Nurse, who calms Betty down and explains that the girls are going through their “silly seasons” and would be alright soon.
Now Goody Putnam dislikes Rebecca and is jealous that all her children have survived so when Parris sends for Mr. Hale who is an authority on witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse thinks it’s of no use and the problem should be sorted from within the village but the Putnam’s disagree so as to give them an explanation for their children’s deaths. It also becomes apparent to the audience here that the village is split and there is bad feeling between residents especially Putnam and the rest.
We then meet Reverend Hale-“nearing forty, and a tight skinned, eager-eyed intellectual” who is from a nearby town in Beverly and has experience of looking for witches. Proctor then has to go and clear his lumber and as he leaves he says that he’s heard of Hale’s reputation as a very sensible man and asks if he would leave some of it in Salem. Speaking of reputation when Hale greets Rebecca Nurse he commends her of her “great charities in Beverly” signaling that all have heard of her and she’s traveled far and wide with her great work. Towards the end of Act 1 everything is getting into place and Abigail, to see a way out used Tituba who is an ideal scapegoat as she’s a foreigner and a slave with no rights. The girls are also encouraged by Putnam and Parris and ends with hysteria.
In Act 2, we see Proctor in his own home. It is a cold, unhappy home as there is much tension between Proctor and his wife Elizabeth. They are awkward around each other and hardly talk. Their servant Mary Warren is now an official of the court because people are being named. Elizabeth then wants her husband to go to the court and tell them that Abigail is making it all up. Proctor though doesn’t want to run the risk of the truth coming out and Elizabeth suspects that he doesn’t want to because he still has feelings for Abigail. Mary then comes back and says that Elizabeth has been mentioned and she knows exactly why which is for Abigail to get rid of her-“There be a thousand names; why does she call mine!” Normally drunk people etc. are hung but Elizabeth is an important name!
Hale then arrives and explains that he is there of his own free will to ask Proctor why he has stayed out of church and about the baptism of his latest son and Proctor honestly explains that he “sees no light of God in that man” which is Parris. Even though he has done lots of good deeds, it doesn’t look good for him. He also forgets one of his commandments when asked-ironically it’s the one of adultery, the sin he has committed. As Hale leaves, Elizabeth tells Proctor that he must go to court and tell them that the girls are lying.
Giles Corey and Francis Nurse then arrive with a different matter that their wives have been arrested. Ezekiel Cheever also has a warrant fro Elizabeth’s arrest. With a fair few arguments and strange theories about poppets, Elizabeth is finally taken and an enraged Proctor is determined to go to court to save her life. Mary Warren then tells Proctor that if they go to court, Abby would charge lechery on him and that would ruin him for good. A
At the court Mary can’t stand up to the other girls as they are doing strange things and during the course of this Proctor calls Abby a whore in the presence of everyone but no one believes him; “ A man would not cast away his good name. You surely know that.” Meaning these things is being done for a reason. Abigail then refuses to answer any questions and surprisingly gets away with it. Proctor is still trying to convince the court that Abigail is a whore and because they don’t believe him they bring in Elizabeth who in a dramatic scene unintentionally lies to save him and instead makes it worse.
The girls then start to talk about this yellow bird which goes on and on and Mary Warren joins in with them after she herself was thought to have been afflicting others. She then calls him the “devil’s man” and completely changes her story, saying that Proctor came for her during the night, wanting her to sign books and do the Devil’s work. Danforth, seeing this then asks Proctor to confess to witchcraft who says that “God is dead.” He is also still angry about the court believing Abigail and says “You are pulling down heaven and raising up a whore!” which leads to his arrest and Hale’s exit from the court.
The final act takes place 3 months later and rebellion is beginning to surface in the village and also in a nearby town called Andover. There is also lots of chaos and confusion with cows running through the village as there are no farmers so their farms are falling into ruins. Adding to that many disputes over which those animals belong to. To make matters worse Abigail has run away with Parris’ money and has made everyone look stupid now, but Danforth who is a proud man won’t take it back making Hale try to persuade Proctor to confess to this lie and save his life.
Proctor and a lot of “weighty names” are due to hang at sunrise and Danforth agrees to let Elizabeth speak to him and make him confess. In the scene directions at their meeting Proctor’s wrists are chained and he is “filthy with his eyes misty as though webs had overgrown them. They are left alone and he knows that he is going to die. He asks if anyone has confessed but Giles has been pressed to death so Proctor is thinking of confessing as he has been a bad man. HE also feels that it doesn’t matter about any more lies that he tells because his soul has been blackened so he might as well confess-“let them that never lied die now to keep their souls.” But he wants his wife’s forgiveness and she doesn’t know what to do-“I cannot judge you, John.” He feels he must have her blessing on his life and Elizabeth feels she needs to take some responsibility and calls herself a “cold wife”- “Do what you will but let none be your judge”
Proctor then decides to confess and everyone is delighted as they are nervous for their own lives. Proctor didn’t understand why everyone is happy-“It is evil, is it not? It is evil! And he feels now that he has damned his soul to hell and knows that his wife would never lie. The audience here also sees a change in his attitude and behavior and when Danforth tells him that he will be blessed in heaven it is an irony as Proctor’s lying. They want to nail the confession on the church door for everyone to see and he is horrified by this-“Why must this be written?” He is a weighty name and can’t afford to damage his reputation. Rebecca Nurse and Martha (barely able to walk), are brought in to witness the confession and possibly confess as well but at seeing them Proctor cannot seem to do it. The officials also want names but he refuses to name anyone (just like Arthur Miller) and Danforth becomes suspicious- “They think to go like saints. I like not to spoil their names.” Proctor then says “ I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.” This is a direct quote from Miller’s own speech years later to the McCarthy committee. Everyone in the room wants Danforth to accept this verbal confession and Parris adds that “It is a weighty name. It will strike the village that Proctor confesses.”
In the end Proctor signs the paper but as Danforth reaches for it, he snatches it and refuses to have it nailed on the church door, saying: “I have three children-how may I teach them to walk like men in the world, and I sold my friends?”
He tires to explain why and “with a cry of his soul,” shouts “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!” He finally cannot take it anymore and tears the paper, knowing fully that he is tearing up his life in front of him. Parris wants Elizabeth to plead with him but she refuses-“He have his goodness now-God forbid I take it from him.” Proctor is then hanged together with Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey.
The parallel of 1950s America and communism is similar to that of the devil and Salem with Senator McCarthy being judge Danforth and Arthur Miller himself being John Proctor. Miller himself was called before the committee and in being asked for names of others he says “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.” Which as mentioned earlier, John Proctor says to Danforth.
In writing this play he studied the original transcript for the trial but added some artistic license like the ages of Abigail and her affair with Proctor. Finally I think it was very worthwhile as it shows you how people were treated and betrayed when trouble sparked up. In the end I think Proctor made the right decision or maybe he would have lived with guilt for betraying others and also the village would not have seen him as the respectable John Proctor of old but a liar and adulterer.
