JR’s NOTES FOR ‘THE CRUCIBLE’ BY ARTHUR MILLER
Contents
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Settings for each act
Major events and observations from each act
Quotations with page numbers from each act
The power of religion
Notes from the movie
Glossary of terms.
ACT 1
Setting
A small upper bedroom/ loft in the home of Reverend Parris. Betty lies on a bed
inert and her father Reverend Parris prays nearby.
Major Events
1. Reverend Parris discovers a group of girls dancing in the nearby forest, a
forbidden place. The girls involved are Abigail (17 years old), Tituba
(Parris’s slave from Barbados), Betty (Reverend Parris’s 10 year old
daughter, Mercy Lewis (who was running around naked), Mary Warren
(who maintains that she was an onlooker), Susanna Walcott and Ruth
Putnam. Dancing is forbidden and is considered to be a sign of the
witchcraft and the Devils work.
2. Betty is inert and lying on the bed refusing to wake up. She appears to be
in a state of shock and fears her father and the consequences of her
actions.
3. Reverend Parris leaves the room and the girls are by themselves. Betty
awakes and is hysterical and talks about flying (a sign of witchcraft) to
her mother who is dead. She starts for the window and gets one leg out.
Betty then tells Abigail that she saw her drinking blood as part of a charm
against Goody Proctor. The girls form a pact and agree to tell people that
they were merely dancing and that it was Tituba who conjured.
4. John Proctor enters and talks privately with Abigail. It is revealed that
they have had an affair but it is now over. Abigail appears to be
determined, if not obsessed, with the idea of rekindling their affair.
5. Reverend Hale from Beverly, an expert in the field of studying witchcraft,
the supernatural and the devils work, arrives in Salem. Through a process
of cross-examination/ interrogation he is able to make the women
confess in the following order: Tituba, “He [the Devil] say Mr Parris must
be kill”; Abigail, “I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I
danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book”; Betty, “[rising from
the bed, a fever in her eyes, and picks up the chant] I saw George Jacobs
with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the devil”. Hale believes his job is
done, “Glory to God! It is broken, they are free”! However, their
confessions are phony and simply involve shifting the blame by naming
and shaming others such as Sarah Good and Goody Osborne who are
innocent of any involvement and who are convenient scapegoats. In
implicating others, the girls have become powerful and sanctified
instruments of the church. Their word is gospel and to be taken seriously.
Quotes
Parris: (to Abigail) “I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked
people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the
parish, you compromise my very character.” Pg20
Parris: A wide opinion's running in the parish that the Devil may be among us,
and I would satisfy them that they are wrong. Pgs32-33
Parris: “There is a party in this church. I am not blind; there is a faction and a
party.” Pg35
Rebecca Nurse: "...I am twenty-six times a grandma, and I have seen them
through there silly seasons...they will run the devil bowlegged keeping up with
their mischief." Pg32
Rebecca Nurse: "A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running
after it; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back." Pg32
Giles: “Think on it now, it’s a deep thing, and dark as a pit” Pg36
Giles: “That’s god’s truth”. Pg36
Giles: “Martha, my wife. I have waked at night many a time and found her in a
corner, readin’ of a book. Now what do you make of that?” Pg43 (it is strongly
recommended that you read the entire conversation between Giles Corey and
Reverend Hale as found on Pgs43-44).
Proctor: “What’s this mischief here?” Pg28
Proctor: “Ah, you’re wicked yet, aren’t y! You’ll be clapped in the stocks before
you’re twenty.” Pg28
Proctor: “Can you speak one minute without we land in hell again? I am sick of
hell!” Pg35
Proctor: “But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” Pg29
Proctor: "I've heard you to be a sensible man, Mr Hale. I hope you'll leave some of
it in Salem." Pg41
Abigail: “Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth
Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all.” Pg26
Abigail: "I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you." Pg26
Abigail: “I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down.” Pg27
Abigail: “She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me!
She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her”! Pg30
Abigail: “I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!” Pg45
Hale: "It's strange how I know you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul
should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverly." Pg40
Hale: “If she is truly in the devils grip we may have to rip and tear her free.” Pg42
Mary Warren: "Witchery's a hangin' error, a hangin' like they done in Boston two
year ago!" Pg26
Mary Warren: “It’s a sin to conjure.” Pg27
Putnam: “How may we blame ourselves? I am one of nine sons; the Putnam seed
have peopled this province. And yet I have but one child left of eight – and now
she shrivels!” Pg33
Putnam: “She cannot bear to hear the Lord’s name, Mr. Hale; that’s a sure sign of
witchcraft afloat”. Pg41
Tituba: "I don't compact with no devil!" Pg46
Tituba: "He say Mr Parris must be kill! Mr Parris no goodly man, Mr Parris mean
man and no gentle man, and he bid me rise out of my bed and cut your throat!"
Pg48
Mercy: “It’s weirdish, I know not - she seems to walk like a dead one since last
night”. Pg25
Betty: “You drank blood, Abby! You didn’t tell him that!” Pg26
Betty: “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill
Goody Proctor!” Pg26
ACT 2
Setting
The main setting of the act is the Proctor’s cabin living area. There is a staircase
leading up to a second floor where the children are sleeping. Some action takes
place outside toward the end of the act, but the main stage is always the
Proctor’s living area.
Major Events
1. John Proctor arrives home late. His wife, Elizabeth, is suspicious. There is
clear tension between the two since John’s affair with Abigail seven
months earlier, he “aims to please Elizabeth” but she is still cold toward
John.
2. Elizabeth and John talk about the Salem trials. It is soon discovered that
their servant Mary Warren is an “official of the court” and despite John’s
strict instructions has gone into town to be a part of the court
proceedings. Mary has become willful and disobedient since being
empowered by the court.
3. Abigail and the girls who were caught dancing in the forest have become
powerful instruments of the court in identifying alleged witchcraft.
Elizabeth demands that John go into Salem and tell the court what Abigail
told him in private that the dancing in the forest “had naught to do with
witchcraft”. John is hesitant and unsure how to prove it without evidence.
4. Mary Warren returns and brings a “poppet” or doll. Elizabeth is
“[perplexed]” by the gift. Mary informs them, “thirty nine women have
been arrested”. She also tells Elizabeth that she was “named” in court. An
argument ensues between John and Mary and she is told to go to bed but
refuses, “I will not be ordered to bed no more”. After she finally goes,
Elizabeth realizes that Abigail is plotting to replace her.
5. Reverend Hale arrives to cross-examine the Proctor’s. He asks John why
he does not attend church regularly and why he has not baptized one of
his sons. Finally, he asks John to recite the 10 commandments. John
recites all but one commandment; thou shalt not commit “Adultery”. John’s
shame and guilt is obvious throughout and he cannot verbalize this
commandment. Hale asks both John and Elizabeth if they believe in
witchcraft. Whilst John carefully answers the question, Elizabeth refuses
to believe and be labeled a witch because she “is a good woman”.
6. Giles and Francis arrive and reveal that both of their wives have been
arrested. Rebecca Nurse, “the brick and mortar of the church” has been
charged with “the marvelous and supernatural murder of Goody Putnam’s
babies”. Giles Corey’s wife has been charged with witchcraft for “reading
books”.
7. Ezekiel Cheever arrives and Proctor is happy to see him. Proctor believes
that Cheever is a potential ally and someone he can confide in. It is soon
discovered that Cheever has turned from an “honest tailor” to “a clerk of
the court” who is serving warrants for arrest, one such warrant is for the
arrest of Goody Proctor.
8. Cheever has been ordered by the court to search the house, Specifically he
is looking for a “poppet”. He finds the poppet sitting on the mantle and a
search of the doll reveals a needle stuck in its belly, “’Tis hard proof”. It is
later revealed that Abigail while dining with Reverend Parris and other
court officials suddenly had a fit and fell to the floor in spasms. A two-inch
needle was found to be embedded in her belly. The poppet is soon found
to be belonging to Mary Warren but suspicion for Elizabeth is renewed
when she exclaims that Abigail “…is murder [and] must be ripped from
this world”.
9. Elizabeth is finally arrested and “chained” to the dismay and fury of John
who has to be restrained by three men “[PROCTOR is half braced, half
pushed into the room by two deputies and HERRICK.]” Pg73 Throughout,
“[…HALE, in a fever of guilt and uncertainty, turns from the door to avoid
the sight]” Pg73 and does not intervene. Proctor later calls him a
“coward”.
10. Proctor and Mary Warren are now left alone in the room and Proctor
demands that she will travel to the court with him the following day to tell
the magistrates the truth about the Poppet. Mary refuses “I cannot”,
fearing repercussions from Abigail, who has been an invisible terror
throughout Act Two. Mary warns Proctor that if she speaks Abigail will
charge “lechery” (referring to John’s offense of sexual desire for Abigail)
on him. Proctor “[with deep hatred of himself]” replies, “Good”.
Quotes
Elizabeth: “What keeps you so late? It’s almost dark”. Pg51
Elizabeth: “No, she walked into the house this afternoon; I found her sittin’ in the
corner like she come to visit”. Pg51
Elizabeth: “It is a mouse no more. I forbid her to go and she raises up her chin
like the daughter of a prince and says to me, ‘I must go to Salem, Goody Proctor; I
am an official of the court!’” Pg53
Elizabeth: “…And folks are brought before them, and if they scream and howl and
fall to the floor – the person’s clapped in the jail for bewitchin’ them”. Pg53
Elizabeth: “And tell him [Ezekiel Cheever] – what she said to you last week in her
uncle’s house. She said it had naught to do with witchcraft, did she not?” Pg54
Elizabeth: “She wants me dead, John, you know it”. Pg59
Elizabeth: “…She thinks to take my place, John.
Proctor: She cannot think it! [He knows it is true.]” Pg60
Elizabeth: “Then go and tell her she’s a whore. Whatever promise she may sense
– break it, John, break it”. Pg60
Elizabeth “[delicately]: Adultery, John”. Pg64
Elizabeth: “I cannot think the Devil may own a woman’s soul, Mr Hale, when she
keeps an upright way, as I have. I am a good woman, I know it…” Pg66
Elizabeth: “Why - ! The girl is murder! She must be ripped from this world!” Pg71
Proctor: “I mean to please you, Elizabeth”. Pg52
Proctor: “I am only wondering how I may prove what she told me, Elizabeth. If
the girl’s a saint now, I think it is not easy to prove she’s fraud, and the town
gone so silly. She told it to me in a room alone – I have no proof of it”. Pg54
Proctor: “Spare me! You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’. Learn charity, woman.
I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone”. Pg55
Proctor: “Is it true? There be fourteen women arrested?
Mary Warren: “No, sir. There be thirty-nine now”. Pg56
Proctor: “It’s hard to think so pious a woman be secretly a Devil’s bitch after
seventy year of such good prayer”. Pg62
Proctor: “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”. Pg63
Proctor: “And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it? There are them that will
swear to anything before they’ll hang; have you never thought of that”? Pg66
Proctor: “Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the
accuser always holy now?” Pg72
Proctor: “I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem – vengeance is walking Salem. We are
what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the
keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law…I’ll not give my
wife to vengeance!” Pg72
Proctor: “Pontius Pilate! God will not let you wash your hands of this!” Pg72
Proctor: “I will fall like an ocean on that court! Fear nothing, Elizabeth”. Pg72
Proctor: [to Hale] “You are a coward! Though you be ordained in God’s own
tears, you are a coward now!” Pg73
Proctor [hesitating, and with a deep hatred of himself]: “Good. Then her
saintliness is done with. [Mary backs from him.] We will slide together into our
pit; you will tell the court what you know”. Pg74
Mary Warren [with a stamp of her foot]: I’ll not be ordered to bed no more, Mr
Proctor! I am eighteen and a woman…” Pg59
Mary Warren: “Abby’ll charge lechery on you, Mr Proctor!
Proctor: She’s told you!” Pg74
Hale: “Nonsense! Mister, I have myself examined Tituba, Sarah Good, and
numerous others that have confessed to dealing with the Devil. They have
confessed it”. Pgs65-66
Hale: “You surely do not fly against the Gospel, the Gospel –
Elizabeth: Question Abigail Williams about the Gospel, not myself!” Pg67
Hale: “…let the third child be quickly baptized, and go you without fail each
Sunday in to Sabbath prayer; and keep a solemn, quiet way among you”. Pg67
Giles: “Now he goes to court and claims that from that day to this he cannot keep
a pig alive for more than four weeks because my Martha bewitch them with her
books”! Pg68
Giles: “And yet silent, minister? It is a fraud, you know it is fraud! What keeps
you, man?” Pg73
[There are other men’s voices against his. HALE, in a fever of guilt and
uncertainty, turns from the door to avoid the sight…] Pg73
Giles: “John – tell me, are we lost?” Pg74
Cheever: Why – [He draws out a long needle from the poppet] it is a needle!
Herrick, Herrick, it is a needle! Pg70
Cheever: [wide-eyed, trembling] …the Williams girl…She sat to dinner in
Reverand Parris’s house tonight, and without word nor warnin’ she falls to the
floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream a bull woiuld weep to
hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck to inches in the flesh of her belly, he
draw a needle out”. Pg70
ACT 3
Setting
A room in the Salem meeting house that has been transformed into a makeshift
courtroom.
Major Events
1. Proctor, Giles and Francis come before the court to present new evidence.
Proctor has a nervous Mary Warren with him. Hysteria and paranoia are
now fuelling the trials. It seems that everybody is a suspect. New or fresh
evidence has little chance of being heard, as it will compromise the
decisions made already by the judges. There is a sense that time is
running out for Proctor and his entourage. Both judges in Hathorne and
Danforth have total power.
2. Proctor tells the court that Mary Warren has signed a deposition that she,
“never saw no spirits”. Parris accuses Proctor of trying to overthrow the
court and attempts to further discredit Proctor by making it known that
he does not attend church. Cheever also tells the court that Proctor
ploughs his fields on a Sunday.
3. Hathorne and Danforth have superseded Hale’s authority. He appears in
the background and when he tries to speak he is often ignored, “Is every
defense an attack upon the court? Can non one - ?”
4. Giles Corey accuses Thomas Putnam of prompting Ruth, his daughter, to
falsely accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft. Corey claims that Putnam
wants Jacobs to hang, because anyone hung for witchcraft loses all
property rights. Putnam is the only person in Salem wealthy enough to
buy Jacobs’ land. Putnam dismisses the charge as a lie and Danforth
demands evidence from Giles who refuses to name his source. Giles is
arrested for being in contempt of court. Ironically, the court has also been
condemning multiple people for witchcraft without any substantial
evidence.
5. Proctor encourages Mary Warren to speak but she is weeping and clearly
unstable. Proctor kindly speaks to her and uses the bible to motivate her,
“Remember the angel, what he said to the boy”. Danforth reads Mary’s
deposition and asks her why she has decided to change her mind knowing
that her callous lies have resulted in the execution of those accused of
witchcraft. Danforth tells Mary that she has committed perjury and will go
to jail for it.
6. Danforth summons Abigail and two other girls into the courtroom to
defend Mary Warren’s accusations. She denies the charges calling them
lies. Hathorne asks Mary to “pretend to faint” as Mary had admitted to
doing this in court. When Mary fails to be able to repeat her fainting
performance Abigail senses an opportunity and suddenly has a seizure
claiming that Mary Warren is sending out her spirit to possess her.
7. Proctor attempts to seize control of the situation by finally making his
confession to being a lecher, “I have known her, sir. I have known her”.
Danforth asks for details of a time and a place where the affair took place.
Proctor says that the affair took place 8 months earlier and that Abigail
seduced him in his barn. The admission is scandalous. At this point
Proctor has the upper hand.
8. Danforth calls for Elizabeth to enter the court. However, when she is
questioned she will not name her husband as an adulterer. Even though
Elizabeth has never lied, in this instance she does so to save her husbands
name and reputation. This is much to the dismay of Proctor as Elizabeth’s
evidence would have been enough to discredit Abigail and stop the courts
proceedings. Danforth’s interrogation of Elizabeth is harsh and at one
stage when Elizabeth looked to her husband Danforth grabs her by the
chin insisting she look at only him and answer the question.
9. Again, Abigail senses an opportunity to seize back control. She and the
girls pretend to see a bird descending from the rafters that is about to
attack them. Abigail believes that the bird is Mary changing her form, “Oh,
Mary, this is a black art to change your shape.” Caving in, Mary changes
her mind again and turns on Proctor concocting a false story,
“[hysterically, pointing at Proctor, fearful of him] ’I’ll murder you’, he says,
‘if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court’, he says!”
10. Proctor turns to Hale for support, but the court by now is no longer
listening to either of them. Proctor gives up and loses faith in his religion
when he exclaims, “God is dead!” Proctor and Giles are then arrested and
Hale denounces the proceedings and walks out of the court with Danforth
yelling after him.
Quotes
Parris: “Beware this man, Your Excellency, this man is mischief”. Pg80
Proctor: “…I have once or twice ploughed on Sunday”. Pg82
Proctor: “Now remember what the angel Raphael said to the boy Tobias.
Remember it…’Do that which is good, and no harm shall come to thee’”. Pg86
Proctor: “It is not a child. Now hear me, sir. In the sight of the congregation she
were twice this year put out of this meetin’ house for laughter during prayer”.
Pg93
Proctor: “A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now”.
Pg98
Proctor: “And being what she is, a lump of vanity”. Pg98
Proctor: “[his mind wild, breathless]: I say – I say – God is dead”. Pg105
Proctor: “You are pulling Heaven down and raising up a whore”. Pg105
Hale: “I have this morning signed away the soul of Rebecca Nurse, Your Honor.
I’ll not conceal it, my hand shakes yet as with a wound!” Pg89-90
Hale: “This girl has always struck me [as] false”. Pg100
Hale: “I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court! [He slams the door to the
outside behind him]”. Pg105
ACT 4
Setting
A dank jail. It’s worth noting that some months have lapsed since the end of Act
3.
Major Events/ Observations
1. Tituba and Sarah Good sit in a jail cell. Both women have descended into a
state of madness. They imagine that they are waiting for the devil who
will give them the power to fly to Barbados, “soon the Devil gits here with
the feathers and the wings”. Marshall Herrick, in his despair, is
intoxicated.
2. Danforth and Hathorne soon arrive, “[They are in greatcoats and wear
hats against the bitter cold]”. This is juxtaposed against the rags that have
just been piled into the cells corner, which Tituba and Sarah Good have
been using as their bedding and to stay warm. The conditions in the jail
are deplorable, leading Danforth to remark, “There is a prodigious stench
in this place”.
3. Parris informs Danforth that his niece (Abigail) has fled on a boat with
Mercy Lewis. Abigial has broken into his safe and stolen thirty-one pound.
Paris is now penniless. Parris believes they have fled since the news of
Andover. In 1692, more people from Andover were accused and arrested
for witchcraft than from any other town in New England. 80% of the
town's residents were drawn into this witch-hunt. Andover also holds the
dubious distinction of having the most confessed witches, and the highest
number of children arrested. Through petitions that eventually turned
public opinion against the trials, Andover led the campaign that brought
them to an end. Before the madness was over, 3 adults had been hanged
and one woman perished in jail. It is likely that once Abigail heard this
news she would have feared being exposed as a fraud and decided to flee.
It is interesting to note that some of those arrested in Andover, were
children.
4. Hale requests that Danforth pardon the 7 prisoners (Tituba, Sarah Good,
Sarah Osborne, John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey) but he
refuses, “I cannot pardon these when twelve are already hanged for the
same crime”. Hale pleads with Danforth to postpone the executions by
one week so that it may give him time to seek confessions believing that
this would be a sign of mercy on Danforth’s part and not a sign of
weakness.
5. The province of Salem is in a state of decline. This is evidenced by
orphaned children, there are cows wandering the countryside and crops
rotting in the fields.
6. John Proctor has been an uncooperative prisoner. He has already
assaulted Herrick and has subsequently been chained to the wall. When
Herrick enters with a shackled John Proctor he is described as “[…another
man, bearded, filthy…]”
7. Giles is executed by ‘Press’, “Great stones they lay upon his chest until he
please aye or nay”. Instead of confessing he fearlessly asked for “more
weight”, before being crushed to death. Because he would not confess, his
sons will inherit Giles’ land.
8. John Proctor agrees to confess and signs a confession. However, when he
learns that the confession will be pinned to the church door, Proctor
begins to doubt his actions. Furthermore, when he is asked to implicate
others he flatly refuses. Proctor then takes the confession and tears it up.
He refuses to have his good name publically decried.
Quotes
Sarah Good: “A pair of bluebirds wingin' southerly, the two of us! Oh, it be a
grand transformation, Marshal! [She raises the flask to drink again.]” Pg107
Tituba: “We goin' to Barbados, soon the devil gits here with the feathers and the
wings”. Pg107
Danforth: “There is a prodigious stench in this place”. Pg109
Danforth: “Mr Parris, you are a brainless man!” Pg111
Danforth: “[to Herrick] …Has he struck at you again?
Herrick: He cannot, sir, he is chained to the wall now”. Pg114
Danforth: “Are you stone?” Pg116
Danforth: “Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for
corruption”. Pg125
Herrick: “…you’d not know he’s lived except he will take food from time to time”.
Pg113
Hale: “You must pardon them. They will not budge.
Danforth: You misunderstand sir; I cannot pardon these when twelve are already
hanged from the same crime. It is not just”. Pg113
Hale: “Excellency, there are orphans wandering from house to house; abandoned
cattle bellow on the highroads, the stink of rotting crops hangs everywhere…”
Pg114
Parris [sitting]: Hear me. Rebecca have not given me a word this three month
since she came. Now she sits with him, and her sister and Martha Corey and two
or three others, and he (Hale) pleads with them, to confess their crimes and save
their lives. Pg110
Parris: “…my niece, sir, my niece- I believe she has vanished”. Pg110
Parris: “…Andover has thrown out the court, they say, and will have no part in
witchcraft”. Pg111
Parris: “It is a weighty name; it will strike the village that Proctor confess”. Pg123
Elizabeth: “Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it”. Pg119
Elizabeth: “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, if you’ll not forgive
yourself”. Pg119
Elizabeth: “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt
lechery…I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept!”
Pg119
Elizabeth: “He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him”. Pg126
Proctor: “You are a – marvel, Elizabeth”. Pg117
Proctor: “Is there no good penitence but it be public? God does not need my
name nailed upon the church! God sees my name; God knows how black my sins
are!” Pgs123-124
Proctor: “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another”. Pg123
Proctor: “You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor”.
Pg124
Proctor: “I have three children – how may I teach them to walk like men in the
world, and I sold my friends”. Pg124
ECHOES DOWN THE CORRIDOR (EPILOGUE)
“The legend has it that Abigail turned up later as a prostitute in Boston”.
“Twenty years after the last execution, the government awarded compensation
to the victims still living, and to the families of the dead”.
“Certain farms which had belonged to the victims were left to ruin, and for more
than a century no one would buy them or live on them”.
“To all intents and purposes, the power of theocracy [a system of government in
which religion rules] in Massachusetts was broken”.
THE POWER OF RELIGION
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The Church and the government were inseparable
Going to church was compulsory. Missing church or working on a Sunday
like John Proctor did, was severely frowned upon
Abigail Laughing during church was also considered a sin
All children were to be baptized by the church
People believed that children were innocent and that this needed to be
preserved. Parents and elders naively believed that children were
obedient. However, the play portrays children and adolescents (mainly
girls) as mischievous trouble makers who willfully break the rules
People lived by the scriptures of the Bible and were expected to
memorize and live by the 10 Commandments
People believed unconditionally that God and the Devil existed. They
believed that witches existed in the world and were hidden amongst
them. They believed that supernatural events were possible and that a
witch could send their familiar spirit forth to corrupt and infect another
person’s soul
Puritans, by their very name sought a ‘pure’ existence.
Notes from the movie

The girls go to the forest to cast spells. They speak the names of boys that
they wish to fall in love with. The girls are in various stages of puberty
and in a sense, they are doing what only comes natural. They are forced to
go into the woods, as this type of behavior and feelings would be
forbidden in public where such behavior would be suppressed. The strict
nature of their upbringing leads the girls to break the rules. Abigail is a
type of ringleader and her affair with John Proctor, subsequent gossiping,
may have sparked sexual desires in the other girls.
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Parris’s discovery of the girls and subsequent summoning of Reverend
Hale from Beverley (an expert in the field of identifying witchcraft), is a
clear over reaction. It is this initial handling of the incident in the woods
that sets the tone and action for the remainder of the play.
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It is interesting to note the townspeople spreading rumors about the
reverends daughter (Betty) being seen to have ‘flown’. They never remark
that they saw this themselves but always implicate another person who
witnessed it. It also shows a lack of respect for the reverend and his
family.
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Betty pretends to be asleep and is fearful of what her father might do to
her when she awakes. This childish game that Betty plays is the beginning
of the girls mischief whereby they begin over dramatizing and fabricating
stories about their involvement with the devil and falsely accusing others
of also being in lieu with the devil.
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The gold candlesticks flanking Parris in the church are one of the reasons
why John Proctor no longer attends. They are symbols of excess and
portray the Reverend as a material man and as someone who prefers to
be associated with the power of gold.
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Giles Corey’s conversation with Reverend Hale about his wife Martha
Corey reading “strange books” and how it affected his own prayer, is a
telling one. Note how Hale stops to listen and says, “the stoppage of
prayer, we will discuss that”. By mentioning this in passing to Hale it has
sealed the doom of his own wife. It’s as if nobody can say anything in
Salem during the time of the witch-hunts as it will almost certainly be
misinterpreted, misquoted and blown out of proportion.
Glossary of terms
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Crucible – a container made of a substance that can resist great heat, for
melting; a severe test or trial; in the play it refers to a test designed to
bring about change or reveal an individual’s true character
Parochial – of or in a parish or parishes; restricted to a small area or
scope; narrow; limited; provincial; in the play it refers to the narrow
mindedness of the inhabitants of Salem
Theocracy – a government by a person or persons claiming to rule with
divine authority
Goody – a woman especially an old woman or housewife, of lowly social
status: used as a title with the surname
Conjure up – to raise spirits from the dead
Paradox – a statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd
but that may be true in fact. For example, the Puritans created a theocracy
in order to provide a unified and stable community in Salem. Instead, the
witch trials severed social relations, separated families, and turned the
people of Salem against one another
Grand peeping courage – behavior or attribute of someone who is too
frightened to participate in a ritual, but will watch others participate
Pointy reckoning – the act or process of getting even or getting revenge
Calumny – a false and malicious statement meant to hurt someone’s
reputation
Sportin’ – jesting; joking
Faction - a group of people inside a political party, club, government, and
so on, working in a common cause against other such groups or against
the main body; in the play it refers to those resisting Reverend Parris
Prodigious – ominous
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Wheels within wheels…fires within fires – phrase used to imply
conspiracies
Defamation – damaging another individual’s character or reputation,
generally through false accusations
Your justice would freeze beer – said here to a person who forgives
another for an injustice, but still harbors resentment for the deed and
makes the other person feel guilty
Diabolism – dealings with the devil or devils, as by sorcery or witchcraft
Licentious – morally unrestrained, especially in sexual activity
Break charity – to treat wrongfully or betray
Lechery – unrestrained, excessive indulgence or sexual desires; gross
sensuality; lewdness; lechery refers to Proctor’s affair with Abigail
Whore – a prostitute
Harlot – a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual activity for pay;
also meaning a sexually immoral woman
Guile – slyness and cunning in dealing with others; craftiness, deceptive
Slovenly – careless in appearance, habits, work and so on; untidy;
slipshod
Poppet – a doll or voodoo doll
Old Boy – the devil
Deposition – written record of an out of court testimony
Perjury - the offense of willfully telling an untruth in a court after having
taken an oath
Quail – to draw back in fear; lose heart or courage; cower
Denounce – to publicly declare to be wrong or evil
Gibbet – a gallows; a structure like a gallows, from which bodies of
criminals already executed were hung and exposed to public scorn
Strongbox – a heavily made box or safe for storing valuables