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The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller, based on the intriguing events surrounding the 1692 unjust
witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. Miller used that event as an allegory for
McCarthyism and the Red Scare, which was a period in the
1940s and 1950s in which Americans were in fear of communism and the government blacklisted accused communists.
Miller himself was questioned by the House of Representatives'
Committee on Un-American Activities in 1956. The play was first performed on Broadway on January 22, 1953. The reviews of the first production were hostile, but a year
later a new production succeeded and the play became a classic. Today it is often studied in high schools and universities, both
because of its status as a revolutionary work of theatre and as a document to political events of the 1950s.
The play was adapted for film twice, by Jean-Paul
Sartre as the 1957 film Les Sorcières de
Salem and by Miller himself as the 1996 film The Crucible, the latter with a cast including Paul
Scofield, Daniel Day-Lewis and Wynona
Ryder. Miller's adaptation earned him an Academy
Award nomination for Best Screenplay based on Previously Produced Material, his only nomination. The play was also adapted
by composer Robert Ward into an opera, The
Crucible, which was first performed in 1961 and received the Pulitzer Prize.
The play has also been presented several times on stage and television. One notable
1967 TV production starred George C. Scott
as John Proctor, Colleen Dewhurst (Scott's
real-life wife at the time) as Elizabeth Proctor, and Tuesday Weld as Abigail Williams.
Plot Summary
Act 1
The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692; the Puritan government is heavily influenced by the Congregational Church. Hard
work and church consume the majority of a Salem resident’s time. Within the community, there are simmering disputes over land.
Matters of boundaries and deeds are a source of constant, bitter disagreements.
As the first scene opens, Reverend Parris kneels in prayer in front of his daughter’s bed. Ten-year-old Betty Parris lies in
an unmoving, unresponsive state. Parris is a grim, stern man suffering from paranoia. He believes that the members of his
congregation should not lift a finger during religious services without his permission. The rumor that the victim of witchcraft
is running rampant in Salem, and a crowd has gathered in Parris’s parlor. Parris has sent for Reverend John Hale of Beverly, an
expert on witchcraft, to determine whether Betty is indeed bewitched. Parris berates his niece, Abigail Williams, because he
discovered her, Betty, and several other girls dancing in the forest in the middle of the night with his slave, Tituba. Tituba
was intoning unintelligible words and waving her arms over a fire, and Parris thought he spotted someone running naked through
the trees.
Abigail denies that she and the girls engaged in witchcraft. She states that Betty merely fainted from shock when her father
caught them dancing. Parris fears that his enemies will use the scandal to drive him out of his ministerial office. He asks
Abigail if her name and reputation are truly unimpeachable.
Elizabeth Proctor, a local woman who once employed Abigail at her home but subsequently fired her, has stopped attending
church regularly. There are rumors that Elizabeth does not want to sit so close to a soiled woman. Abigail denies any wrongdoing
and asserts that Elizabeth hates her because she would not work like a slave. Parris asks why no other family has hired Abigail
if Elizabeth is a liar. Abigail insinuates that Parris is only worried about her employment status because he begrudges her
upkeep.
Thomas Putnam and his wife enter the room. Putnam holds one of the play’s many simmering grudges. His brother-in-law was a
candidate for the Salem ministry, but a small faction thwarted his relative’s aspirations. Mrs. Putnam reports that their own
daughter, Ruth, is as listless as Betty, and she claims that someone saw Betty flying over a neighbor’s barn. Mrs. Putnam had
seven babies that each died within a day of its birth. Convinced that someone used witchcraft to murder them, she sent Ruth to
Tituba to contact the spirits of her dead children in order to discover the identity of the murderer. Parris berates Abigail anew
and asserts that she and the girls were indeed practicing witchcraft. Putnam urges Parris to head off his enemies and promptly
announce that he has discovered witchcraft. Mercy Lewis, the Putnams’ servant, drops in and reports that Ruth seems better.
Parris agrees to meet the crowd and lead them in a prayer, but he refuses to mention witchcraft until he gets Reverend Hale’s
opinion.
Once they are alone, Abigail updates Mercy on the current situation. Mary Warren, the servant for the Proctor household,
enters the room in a breathless, nervous state. She frets that they will all be labeled witches before long. Betty sits up
suddenly and cries for her mother, but her mother is dead and buried. Abigail tells the girls that she has told Parris everything
about their activities in the woods, but Betty cries that Abigail did not tell Parris about drinking blood as a charm to kill
Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife. Abigail strikes Betty across the face and warns the other girls to confess only that they
danced and that Tituba conjured Ruth’s dead sisters. She threatens to kill them if they breathe a word about the other things
that they did. She shakes Betty, but Betty has returned to her unmoving, unresponsive state.
John Proctor, a local farmer, enters Parris’s house to join the girls. Proctor disdains hypocrisy, and many people resent him
for exposing their foolishness. (However, Proctor is uneasy with himself because he had conducted an extramarital affair with
Abigail. His wife, Elizabeth, discovered the affair and promptly dismissed Abigail from her work at the Proctor home.)
Proctor caustically reminds Mary Warren, who now works for him, that he forbade her to leave his house, and he threatens to
whip her if she does not obey his rules. Mercy Lewis and Mary depart.
Abigail declares that she waits for Proctor at night. Proctor angers her by replying that he made no promises to her during
their affair. She retorts that he cannot claim that he has no feelings for her because she has seen him looking up at her window.
He admits that he still harbors kind feelings for her but asserts that their relationship is over.
Abigail mocks Proctor for bending to the will of his “cold, sniveling” wife. Proctor threatens to give Abigail a whipping for
insulting his wife. Abigail cries that Proctor put knowledge in her heart, and she declares that he cannot ask her to forget what
she has learned,referring to her awakened sexuality. Proctor groans and thrusts her away from him, and Abigail drops to the
ground, sobbing.
Meanwhile, the crowd in the parlor begins to sing a psalm. At the phrase “going up to Jesus,” Betty covers her ears and
collapses into hysterics. Parris, Mercy, and the Putnams rush into the room. Mrs. Putnam concludes that because Betty is reacting
in "pain" at the name of Jesus, Betty is bewitched, and cannot hear the Lord’s name without agony.
Rebecca Nurse, an elderly and quite respected woman in the community, joins them. She is practical and wise, and has actted as
a midwife for many women in the town. Her husband, Francis Nurse, is highly respected in Salem, and many people ask him to
arbitrate their disputes. Over the years, he gradually bought up the 300 acres that he once rented, and some people resent his
success. He and Thomas Putnam bitterly disputed a matter of land boundaries. Moreover, Francis belonged to the faction that
prevented Putnam’s brother-in-law from winning the Salem ministry. Giles Corey, a muscular, wiry eighty-three-year-old farmer,
joins the crowd in the room as Rebecca stands over Betty. Betty gradually quiets in Rebecca’s gentle presence. Rebecca assures
everyone that Ruth and Betty are probably only suffering from a childish fit, derived from overstimulation.
Proctor asks if Parris consulted the legal authorities or called a town meeting before he asked Reverend Hale to uncover
demons in Salem. Rebecca fears that a witch-hunt will spark even more disputes. Putnam demands that Parris have Reverand Hale
search for signs of witchcraft. Proctor reminds Putnam that he cannot command Parris and states that Salem does not grant votes
on the basis of wealth. Putnam retorts that Proctor should not worry about Salem’s government because he does not attend church
regularly like a good citizen. Proctor announces that he does not attend church because he does not agree with Parris’s emphasis
on “hellfire and damnation” in his sermons.
Parris and Giles bicker over the question of whether Parris should be granted six pounds for firewood expenses. Parris claims
that the six pounds are part of his salary and that his contract stipulates that the community provide him with firewood. Giles
claims that Parris overstepped his boundaries in asking for the deed to his (Parris’s) house. Parris replies that he does not
want the community to be able to toss him out on a whim; his possession of the deed will make it more difficult for citizens to
disobey the church.
Parris contends that Proctor does not have the right to defy his religious authority. He reminds Proctor that Salem is not a
community of Quakers, and he advises Proctor to inform his “followers” of this fact. Parris declares that Proctor belongs to a
faction in the church conspiring against him. Proctor shocks everyone when he says that he does not like Parris’s kind of
authority and would love to find and join this so-called "enemy faction".
Putnam and Proctor argue over the proper ownership of a piece of timberland where Proctor harvests his lumber. Putnam claims
that his grandfather left the tract of land to him in his will. Proctor says that he purchased the land from Francis Nurse,
adding that Putnam’s grandfather had a habit of willing land that did not belong to him. Putnam, growing irate, threatens to sue
Proctor.
We see that Reverend Hale is an intellectual man, and we soon learn that he has studied witchcraft extensively. He arrives at
Parris’s home with a heavy load of books. Hale asks Proctor and Giles if they have afflicted children. Giles says that Proctor
does not believe in witches. Proctor denies having stated an opinion on witches at all and leaves Hale to his work.
Parris relates the tale of finding the girls dancing in the forest at night, and Mrs. Putnam reports having sent her daughter
to conjure the spirits of her dead children. She asks if losing seven children before they live a day is a natural occurrence.
She glares at Rebecca Nurse as she asks this, clearly blaming her for the loss of her children. Hale consults his books while
Rebecca announces that she is too old to sit in on the proceedings. Parris insists that they may find the source of all the
community’s troubles, but she leaves anyway.
The elderly Giles innocently asks Hale what reading "strange books" means, because he often finds his wife, Martha, reading
books. The night before, he tried to pray but found that he could not succeed until Martha closed her book and left the house.
(Giles has a bad reputation in Salem, and people generally blame him for thefts and random fires. He cares little for public
opinion, and he only began attending church regularly after he married Martha. Giles does not mention that he only recently
learned any prayers and that even small distractions cause him problems in reciting them.) Hale thoughtfully considers the
information and concludes that they will have to discuss the matter later. Slightly taken aback, Giles states that he does not
mean to say that his wife is a witch. He just wants to know what she reads and why she hides the books from him.
Hale questions Abigail about the dancing in the forest, but Abigail maintains that the dancing was not connected to
witchcraft. Parris hesitantly adds that he saw a kettle in the grass when he caught the girls at their dancing. Abigail claims
that it contained soup, but Parris insists that he saw something moving in it. Abigail says that a frog jumped in. Under severe
questioning, she insists that she did not call the devil but that Tituba did. She denies drinking any of the brew in the kettle,
but when the men bring Tituba to the room, Abigail points at her and announces that Tituba made her drink blood. Tituba tells
Parris and Hale that Abigail begged her to conjure and concoct a charm.
Tituba insists that someone else is bewitching the children because the devil has many witches in his service. Hale counsels
her to open herself to God’s glory, and he asks if she has ever seen someone that she knows from Salem with the devil. Putnam
suggests Sarah Good or Goody Osburn, two local outcasts. In what seems to be a fit of either terror or ecstasy, Tituba says that
she saw four people with the devil. She informs Parris that the devil told her many times to kill him in his sleep, but she
refused even though the devil promised to grant her freedom and send her back to her native Barbados in return for her obedience.
She recounts that the devil told her that he even had white people in his power and that he showed her Sarah Good and Goody
Osburn.
Mrs. Putnam then declares that Tituba’s story makes sense because Goody Osburn midwifed three of her ill-fated births. Abigail
adds Bridget Bishop’s name to the list of the accused. Betty rises from the bed and chants more names. The scene closes as
Abigail and Betty, in feverish ecstasy, alternate in piling up names on the growing list. Hale calls for the marshal to bring
irons to arrest the accused witches.
Act 2
John Proctor goes in his house, notcies that his wife is making a stew and adds some salt. This way, he can give her a sincere
compliment. He sits down to dinner with his wife, Elizabeth, and comments on how good the stew was. Mary Warren, their servant,
has gone to the witch trials, defying Elizabeth’s order that she remain in the house. Fourteen people are now in jail. If these
accused witches do not confess, they will be hanged. Whoever Abigail and her troop name as they go into hysterics is arrested for
bewitching the girls. Proctor can barely believe the craze, and he tells Elizabeth that Abigail had sworn her dancing had nothing
to do with witchcraft. Elizabeth wants him to testify that the accusations are a sham. He says that he cannot prove his
allegation because Abigail told him this information while they were alone in a room. Elizabeth loses all faith in her husband
upon hearing that he and Abigail were alone together. Proctor demands that she stop judging him. He says that he feels as though
his home is a courtroom, but Elizabeth responds that the real court is in his own heart. When Mary Warren returns home, she gives
Elizabeth a doll that she sewed in court, saying that it is a gift. She reports that thirty-nine people now stand accused. John
and Mary argue over whether Mary can continue attending the trials. He threatens to whip her, and Mary declares that she saved
Elizabeth’s life that day. Elizabeth’s name was apparently mentioned in the accusations (Mary will not name the accuser), but
Mary spoke out in Elizabeth’s defense. Proctor instructs Mary to go to bed, but she demands that he stop ordering her around.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, is convinced that it was Abigail who accused her of witchcraft, in order to take her place in John’s bed.
Hale visits the Proctors because he wants to speak with everyone whose name has been mentioned in connection with witchcraft. He
has just visited Rebecca Nurse. Hale proceeds to ask questions about the Christian character of the Proctor home. He notes that
the Proctors have not often attended church and that their youngest son is not yet baptized. Proctor explains that he does not
like Parris’s particular theology. Hale asks them to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor obliges but forgets the commandment
prohibiting adultery. At Elizabeth’s urging, Proctor informs Hale that Abigail told him that the children’s sickness had nothing
to do with witchcraft. Taken aback, Hale replies that many have already confessed. Proctor points out that they would have been
hanged without a confession. Giles and Francis rush into Proctor’s home, crying that their wives have been arrested. Rebecca is
charged with the supernatural murders of Mrs. Putnam’s babies. A man bought a pig from Martha Corey and it died not long
afterward; he wanted his money back, but she refused, saying that he did not know how to care for a pig. Every pig he purchased
thereafter died, and he accused her of bewitching him so that he would be incapable of keeping one alive. Ezekiel Cheever and
Herrick, the town marshal, arrive with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Hale is surprised because, last he heard, Elizabeth was
not charged with anything. Cheever asks if Elizabeth owns any dolls, and Elizabeth replies that she has not owned dolls since she
was a girl. Cheever spies the doll Mary Warren gave her. He finds a needle inside it. Cheever relates that Abigail had a fit at
dinner in Parris’s house that evening. Parris found a needle in her abdomen, and Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft.
Elizabeth brings Mary downstairs. Mary informs the inquisitors that she made the doll while in court and stuck the needle in it
herself. As Elizabeth is led away, Proctor loses his temper and rips the warrant. He asks Hale why the accuser is always
considered innocent. Hale appears less and less certain of the accusations of witchcraft. Proctor tells Mary that she has to
testify in court that she made the doll and put the needle in it. Mary declares that Abigail will kill her if she does and that
Abigail would only charge him with lechery. Proctor is shocked that Abigail told Mary about the affair, but he demands that she
testify anyway. Mary cries hysterically that she cannot.
Act 3
Act Three takes place 33 days after the events in Act Two, set in the Salem court house. Mr. Corey and Mr. Nurse have come to
disrupt the proceedings so that the judges can be presented with evidence that the girls are lying. Judge Danforth, the lead
judge in the trials, has little patience for them and dismisses them quickly. Soon, however, John Proctor and Mary Warren arrive
to dispute Abigail's claims. Danforth questions Mary and Proctor, revealing that Elizabeth has been found to be pregnant, and
decides to investigate the situation further, calling in Abigail and the other girls. The resulting actions result in Corey being
arrested for contempt of court and warrants issued for several citizens that had supported the claims of Mr. Nurse. While
examining Mary further, Parris and others try to get Mary to demonstrate how she and the other girls would faint. She cannot, and
Abigail and the girls start to make accusations against Mary. To attempt to break the hold that Abigail has, John admits to his
infidelity with Abigail. In order to determine if John is telling the truth, they call Elizabeth into the courtroom. Despite
John's assertion that Elizabeth never lies, she does not admit to any belief that John has ever strayed, in an attempt to save
his name. This results in Mary and John's claims being dismissed. Abigail and the other girls then go into violent fits, accusing
Mary of dark witchcraft. Mary becomes completely desperate and turns on John Proctor, saying that he is in league with the Devil.
John states that if these events can occur, then "God is dead." The courtroom erupts into chaos and the act ends.
Act 4
Act Four starts with Proctor chained to a jail wall totally isolated from the outside. The authorities send Elizabeth to him,
telling her to try to convince Proctor to confess. Proctor gives in to the authorities and the advice of Reverend Hale. Hale is
now a broken man who spends all his time with the prisoners, praying with them and hoping to save their lives from their unjust
fates. Hale advises prisoners to confess to witchcraft, so that they can live. Proctor signs a confession, but retracts it when
he realizes that Danforth intended to nail the confession to the church door (which Proctor fears will ruin his name and the
names of other Salemites). The play ends with Proctor and Rebecca Nurse (an accused witch) being led to the gallows. (In the real
trials 19 women were hanged as well as John Proctor. Giles Corey was "pressed" to death, with large stones placed on a board on
his body, crushing him to death; this medieval punishment was in fact illegal at the time, but an error led to the
punishment....
Characters
- John Proctor - A hard working farmer, and native of Salem who lives just outside
town; he is married to Elizabeth Proctor. Before the play, he has an affair with Abigail Williams, which ultimately leads to his
downfall. When the hysteria over witchcraft begins in the village, he fails to expose Abigail as a fraud for fear of spoiling his
good name. However, when his wife is accused, he tries to tell the court the truth, but it is too late. He is then accused
himself of witchcraft by Mary Warren. He is sentenced to be hanged unless he names other witches and repents; however, Proctor
dies rather than lie about his friends.
- Abigail Williams - Williams is Parris’ niece. She is 17 years old in the
play and during the trials. Abigail was once the maid for the Proctor house, but Elizabeth Proctor fired her after she discovered
that Abigail was having an affair with her husband, John Proctor. Abigail and her uncle's slave, Tituba, lead the local girls in
love-spell rituals in the Salem forest over a fire. Rumors of witchcraft fly, and Abigail tries to use the town's fear to her
advantage. She viciously accuses many of witchcraft, starting first with the outcasts of society and gradually moving up to
respected members of the community. Finally, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor, most likely out of spite. She is manipulative and
dramatic, as well as darkly charismatic. She resists anyone who stands in her way (i.e. Mary Warren, Mrs. Proctor). She later
flees Salem during the trials and, "legend has it", becomes a prostitute in Boston. In real life, the maidservant in the Proctor
household was not Abigail Williams, but the teenage Mary Warren, who was both an accuser and accused. The real Abigail Williams
was only 12 years old in 1692 and she did not have an affair with the real John Proctor, who was 60.
- Reverend John Hale - Hale is a well respected minister reputed
to be an expert on witchcraft. Reverend Hale is called in to Salem to examine the case, and Parris’s daughter Betty, who has
fallen into a mysterious illness after being discovered participating in the suspect rituals. He originally believes that there
are witches in Salem and advocates the trials, but later realizes the widespread corruption and abuse of the trials, and
struggles to get accused witches to lie and confess, rather than stick to the truth, and die.
- Elizabeth Proctor John Proctor's wife, and a resident of Salem. She is
accused of witchcraft, and is only saved from death thanks to the fact that she is pregnant. Abigail hates her for being
Proctor's wife, and for keeping Proctor's heart.
- Reverend Samuel Parris - Parris is the poorly respected minister of Salem’s
church. He is disliked by many Salem residents because of his greedy, dominating nature. The man is more concerned about his
reputation than of the well being of his sick daughter, Betty. He is also less concerned about his missing niece, Abigail
Williams, and the lives of the dead and condemned on his conscience and more about the money taken. He is related to the history
of Salem where in real life his niece and daughter were the first to be accused of witchcraft.
Sub Characters
- Giles Corey - Giles is a friend of John Proctor, who is very concerned about his
land. He believes Thomas Putnam is trying to take it and other people's land by getting the girls to accuse Giles' wife of
witchcraft. Giles gains this information from an anonymous man whom he will not name as he knows the man would be put in prison.
Instead of telling them he lets his interrogators kill him under the weight of rocks stacked on his torso. The character of Giles
Corey is based on a real person.
It is unusual for persons to refuse to plead, and extremely rare to find reports of persons who have been able to endure this
painful form of death in silence. The pressing of Giles Corey is unique in New England. It is similar to the case, in England, of
Margaret Clitherow, who, having been arrested on the 10th of March, 1586 for the crime of harboring priests, hearing Mass, and
secretly being of the Catholic faith, she refused to plead, since the only witnesses against her would be her own small children
and servants, whom she could not bear to involve. Therefore, when arraigned on the 14th of March 1586 she was condemned to the
peine forte et dure, to be pressed to death, and this was carried out on Lady Day, 1586, even though it was most likely that she
was with child at the time, which should have protected her from execution. She was laid on the ground, a sharp stone beneath her
back, hands stretched out and bound between two posts, and a door placed on top of her, which was weighted down, until she was
crushed to death. Her last words were "Jesu! Jesu! Jesu! Have mercy on me!" Because she did not plead, her family could not be
involved further in any investigation of her actions.
One can only speculate on the reason for Corey's refusal to plead. Perhaps he believed that he would not get a fair trial and
must die anyway. If this is the case, then a further motive for his behaviour can be found in law, and it relates to the fate of
his property. Except in the cases of treason, conviction could not be obtained on a prisoner who stood mute. Without conviction,
his property could not be confiscated by the crown or provincial government. As a result of being pressed to death, rather than
being executed for crimes committed, his estate was not forfeited to the Crown or government and it went to his two sons-in-law
in accordance with his will. The sons-in-law inherited all Corey's property, real and personal including stock, lands and meadow,
house, bedding, money, and all movable estate.
- Thomas Putnam - Thomas Putnam is a man who lives in Salem village and owns a
bit of land close to Giles Corey, Giles accuses him of trying to steal it when he says Putnam got his daughter to accuse Giles'
wife of witchcraft.
- Tituba - Tituba is Rev. Parris' slave. Parris seems to have owned and possibly
purchased her in Barbados. She cares for the children and prepares a potion for Abigail that will kill Elizabeth Proctor.
Additionally, she attempts to raise the spirits of Ann Putnam's dead children. During the first scene of the play, she is turned
on by Abigail and responds by claiming that four women in Salem are witches. She is not seen again until the final scene of the
play in the jail. It seems that by this point the events have troubled her to the point of hallucinations and hysteria.
Film adaptations
The play has been adapted in four notable versions:
- A British TV version in 1980.
- The latest version is a film in 1996 and starred Winona
Ryder as Abigail, Daniel Day-Lewis as John and Joan
Allen as Elizabeth. Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay for this version. For the article on this adaptation, see
The Crucible. Miller was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation,
with Allen also receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
References
See also
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
- The Crucible - 1996 Film based on the play
- L.S.D. (...JUST THE HIGH POINTS...) by The Wooster Group (1984), a theatre
piece deconstructing The Crucible intercut with contemporary references
External links
