Elizabeth comes and they have an awkward conversation. The answers that Elizabeth gives John are really short. That shows that she wants John to see that she is still upset about the affair and cannot forgive him. The short sentences/answers build up tension.
Stage directions are very important in not just Act 2 but in the whole play. In Act 2 when John and Elizabeth are having a conversation the stage directions show how they are feeling. Also in Act 2 the stage directions give the audience first impression of Elizabeth. It says: “From above, Elizabeth is heard softly singing to the children”. This shows that she is kind to her children. When John comments on the food Elizabeth ‘blushes with pleasure’. Then John goes up to Elizabeth and kisses her but ‘with a certain disappointment, he returns to the table’. He is sad because he expected more from her. Later John asks Elizabeth: “I think you’re sad again. Are you?” Elizabeth ‘doesn’t want friction’, but she has to bring it up. These examples of stage directions show how cold John and Elizabeth are to each other in Act 2.
John and Elizabeth’s relationship is forced to change when they find out that Elizabeth is involved in the Witch Trials. Because of the Witch Trials their relationship strengthens. In Act 2 they fight and they are cold to each other. When Mary Warren comes and tells them that Elizabeth is ‘somewhat mentioned’ in the trials, John tries to defend his wife. After Mary Warren goes to her room, John and Elizabeth fight again. Then Mr Hale comes and they team up again. John tries to defend Elizabeth again.
In Act 3, the courtroom scene John admits that he cheated on Elizabeth. He admits that he had an affair with Abigail. John says: “I have known her, sir. I have known her”. John is saying that he knows what kind of person Abigail is and why she is accusing innocent people of being witches. John admitting shows how desperate he is in defending Elizabeth. So he had to own up to being a lecher.
After John confesses, Mr Danforth orders Mr Paris to bring in Elizabeth so she can prove that John is telling the truth. What Elizabeth does not know is that John has already confessed. When Mr Danforth asks her: “To your own knowledge, has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery? Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!” After hesitating she answers: “No, sir”. Elizabeth thought that she was defending John, but instead she made him look like a liar. This part of the play is very important, because if she did not lie John would not have died and they would have been together.
In the final Act we see that John and Elizabeth’s relationship is restored. We also find out that Elizabeth is pregnant from John’s quote: “My wife pregnant!” In Act 4 before the hanging John and Elizabeth talk. John asks Elizabeth: “I have been thinking I would confess to them Elizabeth. What say you? If I give them that?” Elizabeth answers: “I cannot judge you, John”. John wants her to choose whether he should confess or not. For Elizabeth it is hard to choose, so she says that she cannot choose for him. Elizabeth admits that she had some responsibility in the breakdown of the relationship. She says: “It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery”. So she is admitting it was partly her fault.
At the end of the play Elizabeth has the last line where she says: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!” She realises that her husband was a good man this whole time. It was just that he judged himself a lot and finally at the end he forgives himself.
There are quite few themes shown in John and Elizabeth’s relationship. The main one is judgement. Throughout the play John judges himself. He has his own judges in his heart. Even when no one judges him, John judges himself all the time. That’s why he always feels like he has to punish himself because of the affair. In Act 4 when he asks for Elizabeth’s opinion she says: “I cannot judge you John”. “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you”. This is another quote from Elizabeth where she talks about judgement. This metaphor shows John judges himself all the time. Elizabeth is saying that he has his own judge in his heart that judges him.
In Act 2 John talks about judgement. He says: “You will not judge more, Elizabeth”. John is saying this because he is tired of people judging as he already judges himself.
Other themes that are shown in their relationship are guilt, forgiveness and love. John feels guilty about the affair and he cannot forgive himself. He also wants Elizabeth to forgive him. It is shown by this quote: “I would have your forgiveness, Elizabeth”. She replies: “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not forgive yourself”. Elizabeth is saying that John should forgive himself first before she forgives him.
Elizabeth also says: “Do what you will. But let none be your judge. There will no higher judge under Heaven than Proctor is! Forgive me, forgive me”. This quote shows both judgement and forgiveness.
John and Elizabeth’s love is not shown until the end of the play. We see that they truly love each other in Act 4 before the hanging. Near the end John ‘kisses her now with great passion’. This is the first time we see John and Elizabeth kiss passionately and that shows that their relationship has been restored.
‘The Crucible’ is based on ‘McCarthyism’. At the time when Arthur Miller was writing the play everyone was being accused of being a communist. Arthur Miller wrote ‘The Crucible’ because he wanted to show how ridiculous ‘McCarthyism’ and ‘Salem Witch Trials’ were. He wanted to show the terrifying power of false accusations and how everyone was caught up in hysteria.
In conclusion Arthur Miller presents the change in John and Elizabeth’s relationship by using a range of techniques like stage directions, metaphors and others. He uses stage directions to show how the characters are feeling and tells a little bit about the characters like in the beginning of Act2. He also uses metaphors to make the characters’ quotes more powerful and make it easier for the audience to understand what is being said.
