Abigail’s campaign of vengeance stems from the envy she feels towards Elizabeth Proctor, because she loves John and desperately wants him for her own; this is but one manifestation of an underlying theme in ‘The Crucible’ which is fundamental to the development of the play. Arthur Miller juxtaposes the ‘Seven Deadly Sins” against the ‘Ten Commandments’ to show the irony that Salem, a devoutly Christian town, is rife with the evil of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’; this point is further enhanced by the court’s use of ‘The Ten Commandments’ to decide whether the townsfolk are guilty of witchcraft.
The first deadly sin, Lust, is one of the sins committed by John Proctor when he sleeps with Abigail and admits that he “may have looked up” at Abigail’s “window” (meaning her literal bedroom window, but could also have sexual connotations). John’s lust is set against the seventh commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery”, the only commandment John forgets when questioned by Reverend Hale in Act 2; Miller has John forget the seventh commandment because it indicates that John is trying to block the seventh commandment from his mind because he knows he has sinned and doesn’t want to be punished by his God- or by the court.
The third deadly sin, Greed is perpetrated by Reverend Parris; there are many examples of Parris’ greed in the play and Miller uses his character to represent the greed for power of the instigators of McCarthyism- one of Miller’s moral messages. Parris displays a wide plethora of greed, and it is inferred that the townspeople are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Parris because of it (the dagger being left in his door, rumours of rebellion); a few examples of his greed are exhibited in the following quotes, “I am paid little enough!” “I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business to serve the lord” “Don’t a minister deserve a house to live in”. Parris’ greed is juxtaposed against the tenth commandment “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; you shall not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.” to show that the corruption in Salem has roots in the very heart of the community, and that even the Reverend does not abide by the Ten Commandments, yet claims to be “the Lord’s man in the parish”.
Lastly, the fifth and sixth deadly sins, wrath and envy, are exhibited by the main antagonist of the play- Abigail Williams. Abigail is a very vindictive character who has been shaped by the trauma in her life; she uses the fact that she “saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine…” to intimidate the girls who danced with her, threatening them with a “pointy reckoning”. Her personality is further warped by her passionate love for John Proctor, who only slept with her out of lust; when John says that “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” it hurts her, and drives her to feel intensely envious of Elizabeth (which leads her to accuse her of witchcraft so she may be with John) and release her wrath on Salem- and more specifically, Elizabeth. Miller has Abigail feel envy and wrath as a story device to build conflict, but also to show how these sins can wreak havoc on a society; this relates back to McCarthyism in the U.S.A as Miller’s moral message here is that America is being torn apart by the envy and wrath of the ‘House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities’. In addition, these sins are set against the sixth commandment. “Thou shalt not murder” is contrasted against Abigail’s false accusation of Elizabeth (amongst other townsfolk), which would ultimately lead to Elizabeth’s unjust death and shows that Abigail is a heartless woman who is sacrificing people’s lives for her own selfish needs.
Now that I have analysed the key ideas which lie at the heart of ‘The Crucible’, I will now discuss how John and Elizabeth’s relationship develops in relation to the wider events of the play- and the themes which are entailed within it.
At the start of Act 2, the problems in John and Elizabeth’s marriage are hinted at within the first paragraph. John’s dissatisfaction at his marriage is signified by his disapproval of Elizabeth’s cuisine, “Then he lifts out the ladle and tastes. He is not quite pleased”. The phrase, “he is not quite pleased” signifies, in a literal sense, that John doesn’t like the taste of the food; but the reason Miller has chosen these words is to convey the general condition of the Proctors’ marriage- that it is displeasing to John, and is having problems due to John’s infidelity and Elizabeth’s coldness as a wife “Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!”. John then “takes a pinch of salt, and drops it into the pot”. The pragmatics of this line run very deep, and serve to inform the audience of John Proctor’s character: Firstly, John is represented as a very powerful character, and is portrayed as the dominant force in most relationships- therefore, he feels the need to add his own input to the meal. Furthermore, John’s power within the town (and his rebellious attitude) could be likened to that of extra salt in a pot, ‘spicing up’ the broth; moreover, this line foreshadows John’s impact on the trials later on in the play: his confession to lechery, admittance that he saw “the boots of Lucifer” and accusation that the court is “pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore” These actions undermined the authority of the court and so greatly influence Salem; the theme of ‘trial’ is also prevalent in ‘The Crucible’ and the actions John Proctor takes in standing up to the court loosely reflect Arthur Miller’s denouncement of the ‘House of Representatives’ Committee on Un-American Activities’ . In reference to the title of the play, John Proctor putting more salt into the stew is analogous to his actions ‘stirring up’ the situation in Salem, which can be likened to that of a ‘crucible’- a melting pot used to remove impurities from precious metals. Additionally, John’s relationship with Elizabeth is symbolic of the town’s puritan culture; it is very mundane and based upon stringent Christian morals. The act of John adding salt to a brand broth indicates his need for a more exciting and zestful relationship- which John finds in Abigail Williams.
Elizabeth Proctor is the victim of the sins perpetrated by John and Abigail, and though she is a pious and devout Christian wife she is not wholly innocent and is partially to blame for the deterioration of her marriage. One of the themes throughout John and Elizabeth’s marriage is that Elizabeth is very cold towards John and that it is this sternness which drives John to Abigail; Miller uses the pragmatics of words to convey this feeling, with phrases such as “You ought to bring some flowers into the house” and “It is winter in here yet” Miller demonstrates that John feels that Elizabeth has been cold to him and wants to tell her this- yet cannot, because he doesn’t want to anger her (“I mean to please you, Elizabeth”); he also uses this dialogue to indicate the general atmosphere of Salem as a whole, full of deceit and small talk to mask over the insecurities and sins beneath.
John desperately craves forgiveness from Elizabeth and she must absolve him, (because divorce was unthinkable in a deeply religious town such as Salem) but she finds it hard to forgive him because he has committed Adultery, one of the ten commandments and therefore highly important to a devout Christian, and because he has further dented her self-esteem “I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me!” by sleeping with another woman. John, however, is not the cause of Elizabeth’s low self-worth- the repressive nature of Salem is. In Salem, women aren’t allowed to express themselves, which leads to two extremes: one extreme is the kind of wild exhibitionism expressed by Abigail, Tituba (and various others) at the beginning of the play; or the other extreme of self-repression and not letting your true feelings be known, like Elizabeth. Without the ability to experience the things teenagers go through during pubity, Elizabeth is led to believe that no man finds her attractive and doesn’t know how to trust them. Ergo, when John has an affair Elizabeth doesn’t know how to forgive him and so Miller uses language to make their relationship seem like a trial, with phrases such as “Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!” (Use of imagery) “The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you” (Use of metaphor) and “You will not judge me more, Elizabeth”. In Act 2, when the accusations are just beginning, and have not affected the Proctors, John and Elizabeth feel no passion in their marriage and are struggling to make it work- but as the hysteria escalates, the adversity draws them closer together and rekindles their love. This rejuvenation is foreshadowed by talk of spring in Act 2, and also hints at Elizabeth’s pregnancy, “we’ll see green fields soon” “Massachusetts is a beauty in the spring”; the reason Miller includes these phrases in the dialogue between John and Elizabeth is to show that John wants a fresh start and is also literally looking forward to the spring time, as well as to provide clues for the audience as to what will happen later in the play.
In Act 3, both John and Elizabeth show great courage and both do it to try and do what is best for each other- John confesses to lechery in a bid to discredit Abigail’s accusations and save his wife’s life, even though doing do will ruin his good name and lead to a bad reputation in Salem; Elizabeth lies about John’s infidelity in an act of loyalty to her husband because she wants to protect his good name, even though she is a pious woman and by lying she is committing a grave sin, “God damns all liars” this shows Elizabeth values her husband more than her God. This scene is ironic because though both John and Elizabeth show great courage and loyalty, they damn themselves because John says that Elizabeth “never lied” and “cannot lie”, but she goes on to lie in an act of loyalty- even though telling the truth would have saved him from hanging. Reverend Hale sees that ”it is a natural lie to tell” and that Elizabeth was just showing loyalty to her husband, but Danforth is too bigoted to see this, and is only interested in finding people guilty of witchcraft so he can exert his power. Miller clearly based Danforth’s character on Senator Joseph McCarthy to show that he sees McCarthy as a bigoted, power-hungry tyrant who is only interested in looking powerful and eliminating people who threaten his position.
By Act 4, John and Elizabeth have become united through their ordeal and this is signified in their language, which is far more emotive, John says “You are a marvel- Elizabeth”, which shows that John is again madly in love with Elizabeth and wants to express how much he cares for her. The progression of their relationship is echoed by the development in the wider events of the story: Reverend Hale has denounced the court and is trying “to save [John’s] life” because “damnation’s doubled n a minister who counsels men to lie”; the people of Salem have started to rebel against the court “you wander yet if rebellion’s spoke? Better you should marvel how they do not burn your province!” and they have put a dagger in Parris’ door. It seems like Salem is being purified, much like gold in a crucible, and all the deceit and pretence is being washed away. Additionally, as the witch trials come to their conclusion, the trial within the Proctors’ marriage also comes to its resolution and this is the salvation John Proctor is searching for. Miller demonstrates this purification in John’s mind using stage directions, Elizabeth says “I cannot judge you, John”, there is a pause, and John says “What would you have me do” with the stage direction “simply, a pure question”; the word pure here indicates that John feels like he is close to redemption and this is confirmed when he says “I would have your forgiveness, Elizabeth”. Miller chose to make he dialogue which follows strikingly emotionally charged, because it is when John is finally given forgiveness, there are emotive stage directions such as “he stands, as though with physical pain” “she is on the verge of tears” and “now pouring out her heart”. There are many references back to the earlier themes in the play, of coldness and of trials; Elizabeth admits her faults “suspicion kissed you when I did” “it were a cold house I kept!”, gives John the forgiveness he craves, whilst referencing the idea of their relationship as a trial “But let none be your judge” “I cannot judge you John, I cannot!” “I am not your judge, I cannot be (as though giving him release.)” and even asks for John’s forgiveness herself, “forgive me, forgive me, John- I never knew such goodness in the world”.
The contrast in speech between act 2 and act 4 is staggering, whereas in act 2 John and Elizabeth exchanged pleasantries which cloaked their real feelings of uneasiness between each other, in act 4 they pour their hearts out and shower one another with compliments- it is a very beautiful passage made all the more precious by John Proctor’s impending death. Galvanised by his redemption and love for Elizabeth, John realises that the only way for him to truly forgive himself and appease the magistrate that resides within his own heart is to accept his hanging and make sure his name is not blighted by the cowardice of a false confession, “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name” “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs”. The bravery John shows here is only possible because of the purification of his marriage and that his death would help cleanse the deceit and repression of Salem. The Proctors’ final act as man and wife is to share a kiss “with great passion”, exactly what was missing in their marriage after John’s affair with Abigail. Elizabeth speaks the final line of ‘The Crucible’ and gives the audience closure on the literal witch trials of Salem, and her own personal trial within her marriage, and gives both herself and John the resolution they both desperately sought, “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him”.
In conclusion, ‘The Crucible’ is an exceptionally nuanced play with myriad deep-rooted themes which can only be truly appreciated by absorbing every subtle word which Miller provides us with, and engaging with the pragmatics conveyed by either the actors reciting the play, or conjured by your own brain whilst reading. ‘The Crucible’ works very well as an allegory for McCarthyism in America, beautifully juxtaposes the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ against the ‘Ten Commandments’ and develops the story in parallel with the relationship of John and Elizabeth Proctor, whilst evoking a real sense of the social, historical and cultural climate of 17th Century Massachusetts. Above all, ‘The Crucible’ is a fascinating and emotional play which was a pleasure to read and analyse.
Kyle Sawhney
