“[Doctor Griggs] bids me tell you, that you might look to unnatural things for the cause of it”
Parris, “his eyes going wide”, is now thoroughly worried and refuses to admit that witchcraft may be the cause. He tells Susanna to go back to Doctor Griggs and tell him that he has “sent for Reverend Hale of Beverly”, and that he should “look to medicine” for the cure to his daughter’s ailment.
When Abigail enters, she is described as “strikingly beautiful” but with “and endless capacity for dissembling”. Later on, the playwright unveils her true personality, but in the early part of Act 1, all the audience sees of her is a nervous girl, worried about her friend. She even admits to dancing in the woods - “Let you tell them I confessed it” – and she says “I would never hurt Betty. I love her dearly” when being interrogated about her activities in the forest by Parris. This is merely pretence, as later the audience sees her shake Betty violently, threaten and even hit her.
Parris is obviously worried about his daughter but his reaction to Susanna’s suggestion of “unnatural things” reveals more about his personality. As he is the minister of Salem, and therefore supposedly very close to God, it would not be good for his reputation if his own daughter was bewitched. If word breaks out that his daughter participated in the “dancing” in the woods, he may lose his job - something extremely important to him. He is a greedy character who cares as much about money as he does for his family. Later in the play, the audience sees him asking for an even larger salary when he already earns the most in the village.
Act I is a scene of hysteria compared to the second act, where Elizabeth and John are discussing the recent events when they are interrupted by Mary Warren, who has been absent for the day, claiming she is part of the court. Most of the scene is relaxed conversation with little action, with the focus on the discomfort experienced by Proctor and Elizabeth. The scene in Act IV where the two are talking is also quiet but not as relaxed, as there is an air of sadness and guilt because Proctor either has to die or defy the truth. Dividing the play in this way gives it more diversity, so the audience are not bored by constant action. It also gives more detail into the personal life of John Proctor, one of the key characters in the play.
The suspicion of witchcraft is initially introduced in the first few pages of Act I and is then manipulated by Abigail as she realises the power that she can wield over Proctor. Because the village is strongly pious, they are more susceptible to mass hysteria about anything against their religion, including witchcraft, which is seen as sacrilegious within the community. This is because their belief and faith in God is so great that they feel that they will secure their place in Heaven if they expose ‘miscreants’. The fact that the witnesses to these sins are children makes the authorities more inclined to believe them, as they are innocent and untroubled, and would not hold grudges against anyone.
The first people to sincerely suspect witchcraft are Mr and Mrs Putnam. In Act I, Mrs Putnam talks about her daughter, Ruth, who is also ‘bewitched’:
“It’s death, y’know, it’s death drivin’ into them forked and hoofed.”
By “forked and hoofed”, she means that the Devil is the cause of her daughter’s illness. In the same scene, Putnam declares that
“There are hurtful, vengeful spirits layin’ hands on these children.”
By saying “spirits” he is implying that it is not only the Devil, but also that other people are involved in the sickness of the children. The people targeted are mainly, if not all, women. This is because witches are characterised as female in the Bible. One reason for accusing people was that if they were found guilty, their land could be bought for a very cheap price, as nobody would want ‘cursed’ land. Anyone whom a girl holds a grudge against is accused, and, if they do not confess, is hanged. An example of this is when Elizabeth Proctor is inculpated by Abigail: It is obvious to the audience why she has done it, as they learn of her lust for John Proctor earlier in the play. Respected people in the village are also accused and threatened with hanging if they do not admit to witchcraft, for example, John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. For some people, their faith in God is more important to them tat their life, so they refuse to lie and take death over sin. The protest is eventually successful – the authorities realise that they are hanging innocent people, but not for many years after the paranoia has started. The hunt has broken down the sense of community in the town, because everyone suspects their neighbour of witchcraft. The hangings widow many people, leaving them alone, such as Giles Corey and Francis Nurse.
In America, during the 1950s, there was a period of mass paranoia in the government, known as McCarthyism. It is called this because Senator Joseph McCarthy started it. He belonged to the House Un-American Activities Committee and produced a list accusing a number of people of communism, which was greatly frowned upon in Capitalist America. Communism threatened to destroy the government and the main principles of America – freedom and aspiration. The connection between McCarthyism and the play is important to understanding both, and the play is sometimes thought of as a parable to the events of the 1950s.
In essence I think Miller was trying to relate the hysterical witch-hunt in the 17th century to the events that were current when the play was being written. He gives lengthy stage directions to ensure that the play is acted out properly. Because they are so accurate, the director has an easier job creating the right effect for each scene, so it is more believable for the audience and they have a better understanding of it. The Crucible demonstrates how easily people can be manipulated by belief, and how belief in something can effectively blind people, making them think irrationally. The characters are plausible and consistent, and the audience can see how they develop throughout the play. All the events are believable (if not probable) and the language used is convincing as 17th century American. The audience can empathise with the characters, particularly with John Proctor, as they see early on the problems he has and understand the dilemma he faces in Act IV. I think the play should be thought of not as a piece of drama, but as a piece of literature illustrating how people’s trust can be exploited to an individual’s advantage.