It was not only lust and sin that prompted the Salem Witch Trials, but also vanity. Vanity is, arguably, the least dangerous of all seven sins, yet in this case it is perhaps the most dangerous. Reverend Parris’ own veneration for his high position and reputation as preacher led him to fear discovery of witchcraft in his household; such that Abigail’s accusations of other women as witches in fact saves him. He thus encourages it, perhaps trying to weed out the “parties” in the church who dislike him as preacher. Judge Danforth is another guilty of
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vanity, again with his reputation. Yet the cost of his vanity is much higher than that of Parris’: although it is Parris who encouraged the witch hunt hysteria, it is Danforth who condemned or pardoned the witches. In Act IV, Danforth has the authority to postpone the hangings when doubt arises as to the authenticity of the witches due to hang the coming morning. Yet Danforth does not postpone the hangings, because any doubt raised about these witches would be doubt raised about the validity of the other witches already hanged: “I will not receive a single plea for pardon or postponement… Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that died till now” (Miller 1324). Despite Hale’s urging and Parris’ pleas, Danforth refuses to budge- and more innocents are hanged due to his perverse sense of justice. It is Proctor’s vanity, however, that strikes one the most. His vanity, again of his reputation, prevents him from revealing the root cause of the witch hysteria, and that Abigail herself revealed to him no witchcraft is involved, merely dancing. It is not until the truth will not derail the hysteria, not until that it is too late, that Proctor realizes he needs to expose their affair, in order to discredit Abigail. Yet his effort fails; her hold over Salem is too great.
Greed is yet another major sin that led to and continues the Salem witch hunt. Most notable, of course, is Abigail and her cohorts, with their evident greed for power. Merely by pointing fingers, screaming, fainting, and having fits they can declare anybody in town a witch- and the entire town, with the exception of a select few, believes them. Such power is heady, as they prove by wreaking their petty vengeances upon the town. Another figure worth noting with greed is Thomas Putnam. Miller writes, “Land-lust which had been expressed before by constant bickering over boundaries and deeds, could now be elevated to the arena of morality; one could cry witch against one’s neighbor and feel perfectly justified
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in the bargain” (Miller 1237), as Thomas Putnam illustrates. His daughter Ruth accuses George Jacobs, their neighbor who also holds land that Putnam covets, of being a witch. As Giles Corey points out in his deposition, “If Jacobs hangs for a witch he forfeit up his property… there is none but Putnam with the coin to buy so great a piece. This man is killing his neighbors for their land!” (Miller 1299). Putnam, of course, denies it- and in the end it is Corey who is accused of being a witch, and killed by torture. As Bloom’s Major Dramatists bluntly puts it, Thomas Putnam is “a vindictive man. He is the community’s strongest supporter of the trials, using them for personal vengeance” (Bloom 61).
Wrath is perhaps the most notable in The Crucible, being the most dramatic. The least noticed is the squabbling among the various factions in Salem, such as a land war between Francis Nurse and a Putnam. This grew into an actual battle in the woods that lasted for two days. In fact, Putnams signed the first complaint against Rebecca Nurse, Ruth Putnam first accused her of witchcraft, and even Mrs. Putnam joined the fray by accusing Rebecca of “tempting her to iniquity” (Miller 1248). Abigail, of course, appears again as guilty of yet another sin. Her wrath is apparent when Mary Warren betrays her and reveals that they were all merely pretending to see spirits. She quickly turns on Mary and accuses her of witchery, “spotting” a little yellow bird on the beam: “to the ceiling, in a genuine conversation with the “bird,” as though trying to talk it out of attacking her: But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary” (Miller 1312). Her wrath eventually achieves her aim: to scare Mary back into accusing witches with her, but has an unexpected consequence: John Proctor is accused of witchcraft. But before this, John Proctor finally comes to the court against Abigail with Mary Warren, Francis Nurse, and Giles Corey. One by one they are discredited by the judges, until John finally bursts: “How do you call Heaven! Whore!
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Whore!” (Miller 1308), at last throwing away his own good name in an attempt to restore true justice and sanity to Salem. In a reverse scene of the first time the reader sees Abigail and Proctor meet, it is Proctor confessing the sin and Abigail denying it. Unlike with John, however, Abigail’s denials work, and John is thrown into jail for witchcraft. Thus Abigail’s sin has come full circle, in denying her the only thing she wanted.
In conclusion, sin is what puts the Salem witch hunt in action, from Abigail and John Proctor’s lust to their wrath, to the final act’s portrayal of endless vanity and the resulting, perverted sense of justice on Danforth’s part. However, the play concludes on an uplifting note, with several heavenly virtues in evidence with Proctor’s, Rebecca’s, and Martha’s ascendancy to the gallows: charity, fortitude, faith, hope. Eventually these become the driving forces in ridding Salem of the witch hunt hysteria for good.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller. New York: Chelsea House, 1999. 57-78.
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views: Arthur Miller. New York, NY: Chelsea House, 1987. 23+.
Johnson, Claudia D., and Vernon E. Johnson. Understanding the Crucible : A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents. Ed. Bella Vivante. New York: Greenwood P, 1998. 71-72.
Miller, Arthur. "The Crucible." Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The American Experience. Ed. Kate Kinsella. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 1233-344.
