Early on in the play Miller shows his protagonist as flawed, towards the end of Act one, we the audience discover that Proctor has committed adultery. We learn this from a number of things said by Abigail, for example, 'I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart...you loved me John Proctor, and what ever sin it is, you love me yet!' This makes the audience feel no admiration for him as we see him as a flawed character and very complex. However, the audience may feel some respect for him as it shows us his humanity as he makes mistakes as well; this may seize our attention. I think the actress playing Abigail should be clinging to John Proctor and looking up at him as if in desperation and the actor playing Proctor should be standing up tall and straight looking away from Abigail showing no emotion towards her. Showing Proctor as a flawed character, also allows Miller to develop his character through out the play. Towards the end of Proctor's discussion with Abigail, the audience is made aware of Proctor's regret of committing adultery. Proctor says to Abigail, 'But I will cut off my hand the day before I'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby'. This shows us that Proctor has learned from his mistakes and he regrets what he has done, which gives the audience a sense that he is a moral man.
John Proctor is fundamentally an honourable man despite his mistakes that he makes previously. Proctor tries to make amends with Elizabeth, his wife, because he is regretful and ashamed of his adulterous behavior with Abigail Williams. We are told [He gets up, goes to her, and kisses her] but Elizabeth does not respond and Proctor understands her struggle to accept him. Miller builds up tension in the room as Proctor starts making ‘small-talk’ and talks about the recent cold weather. He says to Elizabeth, ‘It’s winter in here yet’. This is ironic as it reflects the mood of coldness between John and Elizabeth and this sets the tone for the watching audience. The audience feel for Proctor as he is trying hard to heal the wounds in the relationship. Proctor asks Elizabeth to walk with him that coming Sunday to enjoy the Massachusetts scenery, but Elizabeth is restrained in her response; the stage directions read [There is a pause…It is as though she would speak but cannot…A sense of their separation arises]. This shows us Proctor’s optimism and heartfelt intentions, but that Elizabeth is hurt and finding it hard to forgive Proctor. He recognises Elizabeth’s awkwardness and he says, ‘I think you’re sad are you?’ This shows the audience his sensitivity towards Elizabeth’s emotions and his desperation to amend the relationship. Ironically, Proctor wants them to speak openly and honestly with each other and we respect his bravery in doing this. A performer playing John Proctor here should have an earnest facial expression and speak with enthusiasm. He should also speak gently and avert his stare from Elizabeth to show the hesitant situation and how he is dreading rejection. When Elizabeth expresses her anger at the news that John Proctor was alone that day with Abigail, Miller tells us [She has lost all faith in him]. Proctor retorts with, ‘I’ll not have your suspicion any more’. This tells us that Proctor is frustrated because he has not forgiven himself and it also shows us that he is sensitive to Elizabeth’s feelings. This foreshadows Proctor’s final decision in Act four, as like in Act four he does not want to be accused of something he is not responsible for.
Throughout the play, it is clear that Proctor frequently endures hardship mainly caused by the Reverend Parris. The reason for this is that Parris is very concerned about wealth and his status in the community. He has to be powerful and wants everyone to respect him. Proctor sees through Parris' shallow nature and openly admits his dislike for the dubious Reverend. In the middle of Act two, when Hale is questioning Proctor, Hale asks, ‘How come it is only two that are baptised?’ and Proctor responds, ‘I like it not that Mr Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it.’ From this judgement, Proctor shows us, the audience that he does not trust Reverend Parris. This allows Miller to develop this relationship throughout the play. It also shows us that Proctor is willing to isolate himself from the church in order to demonstrate his views. It is this that brings disapproval from others and gives his enemies a reason for charging him with witchcraft. A performer playing the character of John Proctor here should stand up straight and speak with confidence as he has strong beliefs.
Further on in Act two we again see Proctor showing his devotion and awareness of Elizabeth and does all he can in his power to prevent her from being treated inadequately. When Reverend Hale is questioning the couple, he asks Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments and as he does so, he fails to recite the one scorning adultery. Elizabeth prompts him and he immediately becomes guilty and uneasy for his breach in Christianity and loyalty to his wife. Miller’s stage directions read [As though a secret arrow had pained his heart]. This shows us, the audience that Proctor is guilty and fearful for forgetting to recite the commandment forbidding adultery. Towards the end of Act two Proctor once more tries to protect Elizabeth. When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch and she is taken away, Proctor shouts, ‘I will not have her chained!’ This shows the audience that Proctor is worried about Elizabeth and wants to save her from harm. The actor playing Proctor here should be shouting loudly and upset and try and run after Elizabeth to save her.
Towards the end of Act two we the audience start to respect Proctor more as we see how hard he is trying to mend the relationship between him Elizabeth and infuse love into their relationship. Through Proctor, Miller tries to teach us that we cannot be forgiven until we forgive ourselves and how hard it is to forgive people for their mistakes. Throughout this Act, it is made apparent that Proctor is remorseful, loving and he values honesty and justice. These factors make us, the audience admire Proctor more now we have learnt about the character and Proctor has now entered the metaphorical 'crucible'.
By the time we see Proctor in Act four he has been imprisoned and Elizabeth is pregnant. In this Act, Miller wants us to sense Proctor’s torment as he decides between dying with pride or living with shame. We are told Proctor speaks [with agony]. This tells us how much suffering Proctor is enduring and a performer should consider ways of expressing such points through facial expressions and gestures such as wringing hands to show his desperation.
In the meeting between Proctor and Elizabeth in Act four we see a range of emotions between them. We are told that [the emotion flowing between them prevents anyone from speaking for an instant]. This shows the audience how emotional the two characters are and we feel a lot of sympathy for them at this moment. The actors playing Elizabeth and Proctor at this point should be slowly moving towards each other staring each other in the eye with Elizabeth almost in tears. We are shown how important names are in this period and despite their importance Proctor is willing to sacrifice his name in order to save Elizabeth. This is a demonstration of his love, and ironically at the climax of the play, Proctor deems his name as all he has left. Proctor receives the audience's sympathy as despite his part in pushing Abigail to the limit, he is tortured by conflicting inner feelings and he displays desperation and heroism in order to save those he loves, such as Elizabeth. We are shown this love between Elizabeth and Proctor when we are told [He pats her hand. She covers his hand with hers]. This shows the affection between them and it also makes us the audience believe that Elizabeth has forgiven Proctor as the covering of his hand may signify her acceptance of what Proctor has done. We are shown Proctor’s concern for Elizabeth and his family as he asks, ‘The child?’ and ‘There is no word of the boys?’ This shows us Proctor’s anxiety to whether his children are safe and so this shows us the audience how he loves his children too and we respect Proctor even more. We are shown Proctor’s affection for Elizabeth as the stage direction reads [now pouring out his heart]. This stage direction could be seen as a metaphor; Proctor is pouring out all his love and giving it to Elizabeth. It shows us the audience how much Proctor loves Elizabeth, giving a great sense of admiration towards Proctor.
Towards the end of Act four Miller makes John Proctor very dramatically effective. Miller does this by giving Proctor many powerful stage directions which make the character so dramatically effective. We are told Proctor speaks [with a cry of his soul] and [his eyes full of tears]. This tells us how much suffering Proctor has endured and the stage directions allow Proctor to be dramatically effective. The actor playing John Proctor should consider ways of expressing such points through facial expressions, gestures and movements, such as getting down on his knees and pleading with strong hand gestures. By emphasising Proctor’s emotions the character can become more effective for the audience; this would make us feel more admiration for him. Miller also wants the audience to sense Proctor’s torment as he decides between living with shame or dying with pride. The stage direction states [Proctor is motionless]. This shows the audience how much pain Proctor endures and how he is suffering with the decision of dying pride or living with shame. Although Proctor is being tormented, the audience can detect that Proctor is morally strong; this makes his character more effective to the audience. The range of emotions John Proctor displays also helps to make the character dramatically effective. Proctor illustrates emotions such as: anger, ‘Because it is my name!’; fury, [he is weeping in fury]; sadness, [his eyes full of tears]; uncertainty, [Proctor does not reply] and passion, […and kisses her with great passion]. All these emotions create dramatic as they quicken the pace of the last section of Act four. This also gives the performer a lot of emotions to work on and so they could use many different gesture, movements, and expressions to make the character more dramatically effective.
At the end of Act four Proctor confesses and in fury he tears up his confession. In tearing up the confession, Proctor is doing the right thing as he is telling the truth. Proctor feels ashamed of lying and confessing and we are made aware of this shame from the stage direction [In great pain he turns back to her]. This shows the audience how ashamed he is of himself because he cannot bear to look at Elizabeth. At this point the audience feel sympathy for Proctor because he is so ashamed of himself. The actor playing Proctor at this point in the play should consider ways of making the audience feel more sympathy for Proctor. The actor could do this by walking slowly with their head down facing the floor. At the end, we feel more admiration for Proctor as he tore up his confession and told the truth and went through torture. Elizabeth says to John, ‘You have been tortured’ and Proctor replies, ‘Aye’. As the audience are already aware that John Proctor is being tortured this emphasises even more how much Proctor is being tormented, making us the audience feel more admiration for him. As Proctor tears up the confession we immediately see a change in his character. Proctor now feels proud of himself and he says, ‘Show honour now, show a stony heart and sink with it!’ This shows how Proctor is now proud of himself because he has done the right thing by telling the truth. Now Proctor is full of self-pride, he finds it easier to forgive himself for lechery and we are shown this in the stage direction [he has lifted her, and kisses her now with great passion]. This shows us how he has forgiven himself and he now wants Elizabeth to forgive him. When walking to the gallows to meet his death an actor portraying Proctor should be walking with confidence head up and standing up straight, they should also use very bold movements and gestures. These movements, gestures and posture will allow the actor to show Proctor’s pride and self-respect effectively. At the end of the play Elizabeth cries, ‘He have goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!’ We the audience are now full of admiration and respect for Proctor at the end of Act four and have forgiven him for his previous mistakes.
By the end of the play through Miller’s notions of goodness through Proctor we have learnt that everyone makes mistakes and by forgiving ourselves, others will forgive us too. Miller also teaches us that throughout troubled times we should remain strong. We also learn that particular people or groups of people can be depicted negatively and suffer for the actions of a few. As in the play the village of Salem suffered because of the actions of the English colonists. This can be related to McCarthyism as the actions of Joseph McCarthy lead people against Communists or ex-Communists and so they suffered. We can also relate this to our modern society; an example of this would be Islamaphobia, resulting from a few people causing the devastating destruction from 9/11. Another example would be anti-Irish feeling following years of terrorism caused by the IRA.
