Many themes lie throughout the play, such as social stature, false accusation and lust. These themes are associated with the character Abigail Williams, the antagonist. Abigail accuses innocent folk and even threatens her friends to protect herself. “I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!”
The relationship between John Proctor, his wife Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams creates tension throughout the play. John Proctor is like me, in the way that he has been falsely accused by others, for a crime of being something that we are not. John is a good puritan, but corruption lies in him and it is that which caused him to commit the sin of adultery. What sets John apart from the other members of the town is his self-esteem. If he sees injustice, he speaks his mind, unlike the Putnams, who believe they must obey authority at all costs. During the play, he openly disagrees with the actions of Reverend Parris, a feat that ultimately leads to his death. He admits he has committed sins, which tells us he is truly a good puritan at heart. “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.”
Elizabeth is also good puritan who is known to respect and love her husband. “I never thought you but a good man, John..."” Even though she knew of the affair between John and Abigail, she is still together with John, but it doesn’t come without difficulties, such as trust issues. “I’ll plead my honesty no more, Elizabeth...No more!” I should have roared you down when first you told me your suspicion.” Despite their uneasiness, she leads John on the path of justice. She impels him to stop the witch trials by exposing the truth about Abigail’s catastrophic ways. Elizabeth doesn’t want him to die, but she doesn’t want him to give in to the demands of an unjust society.
Because Abigail is very salacious, she creates the feeling of lust. “…you clutched my back behind you house…” This indicates to the audience that Abigail is a bad puritan, as being lustful “blackens” your name.
Tituba is accused of practising witchcraft, because she has very low social stature. “"She comes to me while I sleep; she's always making me dream corruptions!"” This is may be due to the fact that she is another race, and is a slave. Tituba doesn’t speak much English, so she has no way to put up a fight. "I don't compact with no Devil!" Abigail knew her word would be taken over Tituba’s, so she takes advantage of this to protect herself from accusation.
The group of girls do not care who they accuse, as long as they protect themselves from being accused as witches, even if it means innocent people will be executed. “I believe she be Reverend John Hale's wife sir.” Abigail is also scared of being prosecuted, so she admits that she has committed witchcraft. “...I danced with the devil...I go back to Jesus”. This amplifies the means Abigail, and the rest of the girls would go to put themselves out of danger.
There is an important scene where John and Elizabeth sit down for supper and have an argument. This scene would have to be staged in a very distinct way, to portray what their relationship is like. A long table would be used, to represent the distance between John and Elizabeth. The scene would be dim, to represent the dreary mood of the scene. Another reason why it would be dim is because it would be historically incorrect for them to have lights in their home. As we need a source of light, I would suggest a window to be placed in their dining room. This would allow light to come in, and it would also juxtapose the scene and show contrast between the happy lightness outside, and the gloomy darkness inside.
At the peak of the play, John would refuse to sign the proclamation. John knows that signing the proclamation would save his life, but it wouldn’t grant him his old life back. Instead, his name would be “blackened” and he would have to live his life without honour. “Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name?”
Many people would be able to relate to the themes of the play, and I think that is what will make the play popular. The themes of social stature, false accusation and lust are still around today and will always be there. I think that putting on “The Crucible” will benefit your theatre.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Miller