How and why does Arthur Miller encourage audience sympathy for John Proctor
How and why does Arthur Miller encourage audience sympathy for John Proctor?
John Proctor is a flawed man; he committed an adulterous affair, with a young girl, Abigail Williams, whilst she was working in his home, and while his wife was pregnant with his child. But, despite this, we still sympathise with John Proctor. Throughout the play, we come to see that Proctor is truly determined to atone for his sins, and feels desperately guilty.
Proctor has many admirable qualities: he is honest, reliable, loyal, supportive, and he always puts his family first. But, he also has many weaknesses, and it is these weaknesses that eventually mark his death. He is easily angered, and head strong, he doesn't think of the consequences and he is single-minded. He flouts Puritan expectations by working on Sundays, and when Hale asks him what the ten commandments are, he can't recite them and we also discover his third child has not been baptised, due to his on running feud with the village reverend, Rev. Samuel Parris. However, the biggest flaw he possesses is his incapability to resist temptation. This, is the subtle undertone of the whole play, and is, along with his pride and honesty, is the reason why he is hanged.
The village of Salem is small and puritanical society. Pleasure and leisure are seen as wrong and unnecessary, as well as working on a Sunday. They have very strict religious beliefs, and anyone seen to be flouting the expectations of the religion and of the village was severely dealt with. Salem was governed by a corrupt authority who only thought of themselves. Which ties into what Miller wrote 'The Crucible' for, an historic allegory of the McCarthy witch hunts against communism in America.
From reading Miller's stage directions, we are given the impression of John Proctor as a powerful, strong minded man, 'powerful of body, not easily led'. This leads us to think Proctor is a strong, steady character, 'but as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul', this suggests Proctor is a troubled man, 'but no hint of this has appeared on the surface.' Before we even meet Proctor we aware of his insecurities. Miller probably did this so we don't just see him as strong, powerful, hard face man but look at him with an element of sympathy. It is important to Miller that we sympathise with Proctor, as he plays the innocent victim, corrupted by Abigail, who represents capitalism. He needs the audience to take his side and appreciate his view of how terrible capitalism and McCarthyism is.
When Proctor arrives, he immediately is disbelieving of the witchcraft rumours. The other characters respect and admire him, Putnam hates him, Abigail is in love with him and the other girls fear him, but at the same time are in awe of him. Despite Proctor's many flaws he draws admiration from everyone else in the village, even those who don't like him, such as Putnam and Parris. Proctor and Putnam don't get along because Proctor believes Putnam is trying to wrongfully claim his and other peoples land. Proctor says to Putnam,' This society will not be a bag to swing around your head'. This shows although Proctor dislikes Putnam he does so for the right reasons, he believes Putnam is taking from the society of Salem and Proctor is protecting the interests of the other villagers, and he is also showing his honest side. On the other hand, Proctor challenges and breaks the rules by working on Sundays, and this is offensive to the other villagers, especially the more religious of the community. Proctor also dislikes Reverend Parris and makes his feelings clear; 'I see no light of god in that man.' Again, Proctor may be doing the wrong thing by not attending church and criticising the minister, but he has strong beliefs and he stands by them, and he refuses to believe what he can't see; first, that Parris is a good, holy man, and later in the play, that people in the community are practising witchcraft. Nevertheless, all of his intentions are good, and with all of his actions, he is trying to do the right thing by everyone.
Proctor's worst sin was his adulterous affair with 17 year old Abigail Williams. Not only did he awaken her sexuality, he exposed her to the pretence and hypocrisy in Salem. At the same time he betrayed his wife, Although he did confess, he will never be able to forgive himself, and this tears him apart. Strong well respected characters such as the Nurse's and Corey's have a great deal of respect and admiration for Proctor, signifying that he must be a good man to have their respect, but Proctor no longer has any self respect. Proctor is one ...
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Proctor's worst sin was his adulterous affair with 17 year old Abigail Williams. Not only did he awaken her sexuality, he exposed her to the pretence and hypocrisy in Salem. At the same time he betrayed his wife, Although he did confess, he will never be able to forgive himself, and this tears him apart. Strong well respected characters such as the Nurse's and Corey's have a great deal of respect and admiration for Proctor, signifying that he must be a good man to have their respect, but Proctor no longer has any self respect. Proctor is one of the only adults in Salem not being caught up the lies and deceit of the girls. This is partly because of his level-headed nature, but also because of his cynicism towards Abigail, as he knows her too well to believe what she is saying. He stays strong and does his utmost to dispel the rumours. Proctor's affair with Abigail leaves her yearning for him, 'I look for the John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart.' She is a young girl who has lost her first love and will go to any lengths to get him back. John Proctor is an individual living in a conformist society, which is inevitably going to cause problems, especially in a strict theocracy, like Salem. This is because he doesn't like to be told what to do and is not afraid to speak his mind, even if there are consequences for him.
Miller uses language carefully throughout the play to create various atmospheres. In Proctor's meeting with Abigail, emotions were running high, and there was a certain amount of fission and sexual chemistry between them. The atmosphere here was passionate, angry and lustful. This is a direct contrast to the start of act two, as Proctor talks with his wife, Elizabeth. The atmosphere is cold and formal. There is no chemistry between the two, and we begin to understand why Proctor was so tempted by Abigail. It is clear to see there is a spark between them, whereas his relationship with Elizabeth is sterile and dull. Miller associates Proctor with fire and burning - he burned with lust for Abigail, and then with guilt. This imagery makes us think of danger, the devil and witchcraft. The connotations of fire, especially in a society such as Salem are of hell and burning in hell for eternity. This also links in with the title; Miller chose the title of 'The Crucible' to demonstrate Proctor's metaphorical journey. Proctor is like the metals that go in the crucible to be purged of all impurities. Proctor comes out at the end with no impurities.
Proctor says, 'it's winter in here yet Elizabeth'. This quote suggests their relationship is still not mended, and shows us just how cold it really is, not only in their home, but their relationship. Winter is an effective metaphor because it demonstrates Elizabeth's coldness towards Proctor. The Proctor's are struggling to heal a rift in their marriage and this is portrayed by Elizabeth's coldness, silence and Proctor's fiery outbursts. Proctor also compares his house to a court; 'I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house.' Proctor still hasn't regained Elizabeth's trust and is frustrated by her scepticism. However, he is also angry with himself, as he knows that he has given her a good reason to act this way, and he can't expect her not to, as it was his wrong doing that is causing her to behave in this manner. Proctor feels that Elizabeth judges him, 'Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.' Elizabeth says it is Proctor that judges himself, 'The magistrate sits in your heart that judge's you.' She understands how guilty he feels, but knows Proctor must atone before he can resolve his marriage and regain his self respect. He considers himself a 'fraud' for betraying 'his own vision of decent conduct.' Proctor is disappointed in himself for not being strong enough to resist temptation and for betraying his wife, and he regrets this deeply.
The only way Proctor can make up for his sins is to atone, until then he is tortured by his actions. Elizabeth is the only one who understands his need for atonement. At first Proctor is reluctant to expose the truth about Abigail. This shows us he is afraid to hurt Abigail and possibly expose himself as a 'lecher', but he is also afraid of embarrassing his wife. It is only at the end of act two when Elizabeth is under threat that Proctor knows he must tell the truth. Proctor feels guilty when Elizabeth is accused because he knows it is Abigail's way of getting back at them; getting back at John for leaving her, and getting back at Elizabeth for having what she wants, and for dismissing her from working in her home. Proctor must sacrifice his good name, which is one of his most prized possessions to save his wife. This shows us how much he truly loves Elizabeth, even though they have grown apart. They no longer have any chemistry between them, as John and Abigail do, but they have a strong bond, which is the basis of their relationship.
Abigail desires vengeance against Elizabeth, because she sees Elizabeth as the only obstacle between her and Proctor. Elizabeth's arrest is an opportunity for Proctor to atone his sins and wrong-doing, because he can come clean and confess his affair, and save Elizabeth, and rectify his marriage. In doing this, he also shows the court how sinful and bad Abigail really is. Until this point, all the people in the community, with the exception of the other young girls, has seen Abigail as a sweet, innocent girl, caught up in witchcraft. Proctor's confession horrifies Abigail, as she realises that this could endanger her. Proctor is the only person who seems to see that the girls are making up these lies of witchcraft to save themselves from being whipped. Events have conspired against Proctor and the public crisis in Salem has become his own personal nightmare. His initial intention to save Elizabeth grows to a wider purpose, of saving his friends and exposing the corrupt authority and the girl's lies and deceit. Parris tries to accuse Proctor of trying to overthrow the court, and this accusation only shows us that the court was purely biased and any defence was treated as an attack on the court. Proctor sacrifices his good name by admitting to the court his affair with Abigail, and at this point, we see that he has now become completely desperate, 'I beg you, sir, I beg you.' He is so determined to save Elizabeth that he will beg the court and totally humiliate himself. This shows his sheer desperation and Proctor swallowing his pride for the sake of the community and the people he loves; this is his attempt to atone, and prove his love for Elizabeth.
When asked if Proctor committed adultery Elizabeth ironically lies and says she has know knowledge of John being unfaithful. She lies to protect him and save his good name and reputation, even if it meant she as still accused. But, in doing this, she also protects Abigail, and her claims of witchcraft become more credible to the courts once again. This, gives us further sympathy for John, as he has thrown away his good name, and yet, it got him nowhere. Elizabeth's denial, however, shows that despite Proctors affair, Proctor and Elizabeth are still deeply in love as they are both willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. This shows their relationship is strong but they just have problems communicating their feelings and the affair brought a barrier down between them. We also see here, where the obstacle between John and Abigail was Elizabeth, the obstacle between John and Elizabeth is Abigail, as it is because of her jealousy and accusations that Elizabeth is imprisoned.
The consequences of Elizabeth's only lie is that Proctor is accused of witchcraft and will hang unless he lies and confesses. The irony here is that if he tells the truth, the truth is seen as a lie, yet if he lies, the lie is seen as the truth. This seems to be the moral of the town throughout the play: Only those who lie survive. However, being a religious town, it is seen that liars will go to hell and be damned when they die. This is why the good, religious people of the community, such as Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, refuse to confess to witchcraft to save themselves. They refuse to sin for the sake of a lie.
At the end of Act three, Proctor is accused of witchcraft, just as Miller, and many others, were accused of communism during the McCarthy 'witch hunts'. The parallels between Proctor and Miller are the paranoia and mass hysteria that was surrounding them and the fear they felt. Neither Proctor nor Miller confessed, and neither would give names of their friends. Proctor is now is now in open conflict with the court. His friends rely on him and his life is in the balance. This scene has endeared us, the audience to him because we see his utter desperation and the way he will sacrifice himself for Elizabeth and the way he protects his friends. We sympathise with him because he has a tough decision to make, life or death, wrong or right. He is struggling with his morals too, as he cannot help his friends if he is dead, yet he doesn't have it in him to confess to a sin he hasn't committed.
After a spell in prison, Proctor's appearance is of 'another man'. We are told he is 'bearded, filthy, his eyes misty as though webs had overgrown them.' This gives us sympathy for him, as the strong man we knew at the beginning of the play has become weak, all due to the lies of young girls and the hysteria throughout the community. The court needs his confession to prove to the people of Salem that they were right to hang all those other people, because people have are beginning to doubt the courts authority, particularly after the disappearance of Abigail, who started all of the accusations. The court fear if they don't get confessions from respected individuals such as Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Giles or Martha Corey, the people will revolt. Proctor is their last chance.
John searches for forgiveness from Elizabeth and needs her approval before he makes his decision of whether to confess or not, and he asks her; 'what would you have me do?' This shows us that although Proctor has a strong character and firm beliefs, he is also very insecure and needs the reassurance and support of Elizabeth when making a big decision. But, Elizabeth won't tell him what to do, 'I cannot judge you John.' Elizabeth understands that the only way Proctor can get his peace is to stay true to himself and make his own choices, but Proctor hasn't realised this yet. Proctor is now an isolated individual, he alone must decide whether to live or die. The burden is his alone. Miller has given Proctor this opportunity so he can make his own decision to make up for his sins or live a life of regret. Proctor's character has changed since the beginning and we sympathize with his situation and have a great admiration for him. Proctor and Elizabeth's relationship is finally healed when Elizabeth also admits her faults, 'It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery.' She blames herself for the affair and believes if she had been a better wife Proctor wouldn't have had to go else where to fulfil his needs. Their forgiveness of each other allows him to make his decision to live, as he realises his love for Elizabeth and he can't let her go so soon after their reconciliation. But, when he signs the confession, the audience feel disappointed; their hero has taken the easy option, and we feel let down, as do the other 'good' characters in the play. He has betrayed them to save himself, and by doing so is aligning with the corrupt authority he despises so much.
This is going against all that he has fought for, and shows us that he isn't as strong and brave as we originally perceived him to be. But, when he is told that his confession shall be nailed to the church door, he tears it up. Ultimately, he can't give in to the corrupt authority he has fought against all his life. He refuses to betray himself and his friends. This reflects the victims of the McCarthyism's own courtroom dilemmas, as they had the choice of whether to save themselves and betray their friends and beliefs, or stay true to themselves and face the consequences. We react to the denial with satisfaction that he made the right decision, but at the same time some remorse that he is leaving Elizabeth and their children. Proctor and Elizabeth remain united by staying true to their beliefs.
Metaphorically, by making this choice Proctor has now being purified by the fire of the 'crucible'. His decision feels like the right choice because, as Elizabeth says 'he have his goodness now', he has regained his self respect and he has faced the consequences and stood up for what he believed in. Nobody can take that away from him, and he dies with dignity and pride; which he would never have been able to have had he lived.
