“I came to think he fancied her. And so one night I lost my wits, I think, and put her out on the highroad.”
So as not to be disgraced, Elizabeth maintains to the world at large that her marriage is fine, but Proctors behaviour with Abigail has placed a strain on their marriage. Proctor is resentful of many things. Firstly he is clearly remorseful about the manner in which his conduct has affected his marriage and his relationship with Elizabeth. On the other hand he is resentful of Elizabeth for bringing to an end the relationship with Abigail which he obviously valued. His feelings towards Abigail are a mixture of anger (because of the damage to his marriage and the fact that a continued relationship with her is impossible) and longing in that if he had the opportunity to carry on the affair with Abigail or had his time again, he would continue the illicit relationship. He is therefore a man torn between his duty as a husband and his desires as Abigail’s former lover. He demonstrates this by flirting with Abigail but then moments later reminding her that their relationship can never be rekindled. Over shadowing all of these feelings is Proctors guilt at his infidelity.
Although Proctors private life has been subjected to turmoil through his adultery with Abigail, this seems not to have affected his generally confident and opinionated views of matters outside his home. His first impressions, for example, of the mumblings of witch craft are sarcastic and betray his view that the suggestions are ridiculous.
(his smile widening): “Ah, you’re wicket yet, aren’t y’!”
Clearly Proctor believes the suggestions of witchcraft to be nothing but foolish nonsense of which he should take little or no notice. It is perhaps because he is talking to Abigail with whom he is flirting but at the same time trying to keep his distance that he does not take the talk of witchcraft seriously. He clearly has a special heart for Abigail, which he can no longer admit to, and his views of her and feelings towards her cloud his judgement on the aspect of witchcraft. He cannot take her seriously in this regard and simply makes a joke of the whole issue since his attentions are torn between his loving regard for her and his marital duty. Proctor constantly fights with his desire for Abigail whilst defending his duty as a married man not to become involved with her again. His guilt is obvious.
“Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe is out of mind. We never touched, Abby.”
Proctors conversations with his wife Elizabeth further show the extent to which he is over sensitive about his conduct in the past. In their discussion in act two concerning the allegations of witchcraft in Salem, he is very defensive of Elizabeth’s suggestions that he go into Salem in order to set the record straight. The fact that he would have to call into doubt the word of Abigail makes matters worse. He knows that it is only right and proper that he go into Salem to tell the court that Abigail has fabricated the stories of witchcraft but it is his feelings for Abigail that have prevented him from doing so up to now. He knows that he cannot simply stand by and allow innocent people to hang, but if he exposes Abigail, he also runs the risk of harm to her and exposing his own infidelity. This is why he is so reluctant to go into Salem. His annoyance with Elizabeth is not based on her persistence in asking him to do the right thing (which he knows he must do) but rather upon her understandable doubts as to his true motives for not going into Salem immediately to challenge Abigail. Elizabeth’s criticism is justified and proctors anger is not.
Proctors attitude towards the witchcraft trials changes rather dramatically when Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft. Up to that point he had chosen inaction because of the effect that his actions may have on Abigail and upon his and Elizabeth’s reputations. After his affair with Abigail Proctor had:
“…gone tip toe in this house all seven months since…not moved from there to there without (I think) to please you…”
So as not to provoke Elizabeth nor remind her of his infidelity. It was convenient for the healing process in his marriage to ignore what was happening in Salem and to ignore the fact that Abigail was the partial cause. He would rather not even mention her name in front of Elizabeth so as to avoid the subject altogether. When Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft however, proctor could no longer conveniently ignore the events in Salem because he needed to protect Elizabeth from Abigail’s accusations. Even though it is clear that proctor loved Abigail in the romantic sense, that love was not as strong as his duty to Elizabeth as a husband. It may be that Proctor truly loved Elizabeth as his wife but the audience gathers that he is motivated more by duty and honour at this stage in the play rather than by romantic feeling or emotion.
In order to defend Elizabeth against the charges of witchcraft proctor must attack Abigail’s testimony and must give and account of how he is aware that Abigail has been making false allegations. His relationship with Abigail (as it was) must be revealed in order for him to be believed. If he does not admit to having an intimate relationship with Abigail he will not be able to establish with any degree of persuasion the basis of his knowledge. Hitherto is has suited proctor and has prevented his honour and that of Elizabeth form being damaged to ignore Abigail and deny any relationship with her. Despite his having committed adultery in the past proctor is never the less an honourable man and it is not easy for him to admit that he has on a previous occasion dishonoured his marriage and his wife. He is obviously looked upon by the community as a man of honour (because his secret was not known) and for him now to reveal his conduct would bring and end to his reputation as an honourable man. Not only does his admission of adultery affect his own reputation but it also bring disgrace upon his wife whom, he has worked so hard so protect and not to hurt any more. Despite his confessions he nevertheless remains a man of honour and tries to keep his dignity intact by not signing a confession.
“I have made a bell of my honour! I have rung the doom of my good name!”
Proctor admits to being a witch because he tires of the argument. Selflessly he seeks to save his wife at the risk of loosing his own life. Clearly his motives for doing so are two-fold. Firstly he is Elizabeth’s husband and will protect her against all threats. More importantly however his guilt over the affair with Abigail makes him believe that Elizabeth’s life (and the lives of others) are far more worthy than his own and is prepared therefore to forfeit his own.
“I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.”
Having refused to agree to sign a written confession, Proctor sealed his fate.
Hale “man you will hang! You Cannot!” Proctor “I can. And there’s your first marvel, that I can.”
Although Proctor was guilty of many things, he still in the end showed his strength of character by refusing to lie, and dying instead of the innocent people of his village, therefore proving that he is still an honourable man, whom I believe should be respected. He could be called a hero and a martyr to honour.
Although in different circumstances, Miller did the same as proctor as he refused to divulge any names of other persons suspected of being communists. Miller and Proctor have this refusal in common and I believe they should both not be thought of just as heroes but rather be remembered and respected for their selfless loyalty to those people whom they sought to protect.
Proctor’s character has changes quite considerably through the play. At the outset he is portrayed as a hypocrite who, defending his honour, hides a dark secret which, if revealed, would destroy his honour. His treatment of Mary Warren exposes his hypocrisy at this point in the play. His discussions with Abigail however betray a softer side to his character which acknowledges his previous wrong doing and his love for Abigail herself. He still cannot however reveal to the world his true feelings for Abigail nor his affair with her. When discussing events in Salem with Elizabeth, Proctors remorse for his previous conduct is evident and he tries hard to avoid the subject because he knows his guilt and Elizabeth’s suspicions are all correct. His conscience clearly bothers him as regards the accused people in Salem but his pride still prevents him from revealing all in order to save them. Finally, proctor sacrifices his pride and his hypocrisy in order to do the right thing and to save Elizabeth and others. He has progressed from a selfish pride to a selfless sacrifice. Proctors selfless sacrifice is acknowledged by Rebecca when she says:
“Let you fear nothing! Another judgment awaits us all!”
