The Follies of Men
Author Miller’s The Crucible centers around the hysteria and fear that launched the 1962
witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. The opening of the play begins with Reverend Parris
praying and weeping over his seemingly unconscious daughter, Betty Parris. The night before
Reverend Parris caught his daughter, his slave, and other village girls performing an unholy
ritual. As rumors of witchcraft spread throughout Salem, hysteria and fear take over the town
turning neighbors against each other. A court is then established in response to the flying
accusations of witchcraft made by several villagers. The tense, hellish atmosphere of Salem is
bolstered as Judge Danforth ferociously roars the lines, "We burn a hot fire here, it melts down
all concealment" (Miller, 81). Danforth is insisting that the court will burn all lies so that it will
be able to find the truth as to who the witches are. The harsh examination of every citizen’s
mettle brings out each one’s true character and their ability to withstand the heat of the court’s
crucible. Throughout the play, the community of Salem is torn apart by the human follies of
jealousy, pride, and hysteria.
As Salem spiral down into chaos, jealousy grips the town and helps feed the fire that is the
witch-hunt. Abigail’s jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor helps fuel her revenge against Elizabeth. The
witch hunt starts because Abigail performs a ritual to kill Elizabeth so that she could be with
John Proctor. When testifying in court, John Proctor admits to committing adultery with Abigail
and cries out woefully, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave!” (Miller 110). John
believes that Abigail is trying to kill Elizabeth, so she can be with him. As the trial progresses,
Elizabeth is called into question by Judge Danforth, who prominently demands, “Is your husband
a lecher!” to which she replies faintly, “No, sir” (Miller 113). Elizabeth’s lie then ends up
sentencing John to prison. Henry Popkin, professor of English at the State University of New
York, explains, “The charges of witchcraft have begun by hitting out blindly in all directions, but
then, in accordance with the painstaking preparations that informed us of Abigail’s jealousy of
Elizabeth, the accusations fix upon Elizabeth” (80). Abigail intends to destroy Elizabeth, and as
the play progresses, she slowly builds the power and ability to. Abigail’s jealousy stems from her
insecurities of not being able to be with John Proctor. She allows herself to feed off her jealousy
of Elizabeth and ends up indirectly killing innocent people, including her beloved John Proctor.
Along with jealousy, another important theme that produced the tragedy in Salem is
pride. Judge Danforth’s pride is evident in the way he addresses anyone who attempts to question
his judgments pertaining to witchcraft by shutting them down, dismissing them, questioning
them, and often arresting them. Judge Danforth displays his excessive pride during Act III. In
this Act, Giles Corey is arrested for contempt of court because he upset Judge Danforth. He asks
Corey to take a seat and counsel with himself. As Giles processes this, he re-evaluates his actions
prior to the judge’s conclusion. Giles’s deposition accuses Thomas Putnam of using his daughter,
Ruth, to blame George Jacobs of witchcraft. According to Giles, George Jacobs would then be
arrested and must forfeit his property which would end up being sold at an auction. Giles
believes that Putnam would be the only person who would want to purchase Jacobs’s property.
Thereby the deposition would accuse Putnam of abusing the trials so that he could profit from
the accused’s adversity. In Giles’s deposition, he claims that his friend had heard Putnam tell his
daughter to accuse George Jacobs of witchcraft. Judge Danforth then asks Giles to name his
witness, but Giles refutes in the lines, “I will not give you no name, I mentioned my wife’s name
once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute” (Miller 97). To which Danforth
loudly responds with, “In that case, I have no choice but to arrest you for contempt of this court,
do you know that?” (Miller 97). Giles fears that Judge Danforth will arrest his friend if he
identifies his friend and, therefore, refuses. He believes that because he had mentioned his wife’s
suspicious behavior to Hale, he inherently got her in jail. Eventually, Giles is imprisoned because
he will not reveal who the witness is that overheard Thomas Putnam’s plot. Judge Danforth sees
himself as being both above the law and law itself and is fueled by the idea that he is obtaining
the highest standards of the court. “Like many God-surrogates, Danforth seems to be a proud
man . . .” (49), writes Edward Murray, an associate professor of English at the State University
of New York. Judge Danforth believes that he is doing God’s work and purifying the Salem, but
ironically is doing the exact opposite. The pride of Judge Danforth causes many innocent people,
like Giles Corey, to be condemned and put to death.
Throughout the play, hysteria plays as the main factor for the deaths of many innocent
victims in Salem. The uncontrollable fear and anxiety that spreads throughout the town are
caused by the false accusations made by Abigail and her posse of girls. At the beginning of the
play, the hysteria that is brought upon Salem stems from the room of Betty Parris. Reverend
Parris is extremely paranoid by rumors of witchcraft because he believes that Following the
accusations made by Abigail and the other girls, they falsely testify that people within the village
are practicing witchcraft and have begun to curse townspeople. During the witch trials, Abigail
and the girls fake ailments which only grows the hysteria. Abigail loudly shrieks, “You will not!
Begone! Begone, I say!” (Miller 114). Abigail begins to act like she is being attacked by Mary
Warren’s spirit. The girls then follow Abigail’s lead a begin to mimic her erratic behavior. The
hysteria becomes heightened t when the girls start screaming about the invisible bird flying in the
courtroom. Abigail then begs Mary Warren to not hurt her which causes the other girls to join in.
Mary’s mettle breaks, falsely admit to colluding with the devil, and joins the hysterical girls as
they accuse John Proctor of being a witch. During Mary Warren’s manic fit she tells the court,
“My name, he want my name. “I’ll murder you,” he says, “if my wife hangs! We must go and
overthrow the court,” he says!” (Miller 119). The overwhelming amount of tension that fills the
court, pushes Proctor to scream, “God is dead!” (Miller 119). Judge Danforth imprisons Proctor
for his blasphemous comment. Penelope Curtis, an English professor at the University of
Melbourne, Australia, explains, “a state of excitement can be generated among a gathering of
people which is quite out of proportion to the individual emotions, and which, like fire, can leap
incalculable distances” (73). The hysteria caused by Abigail grows like an uncontrollable
wildfire from one person to another and emotion takes over instead of logic. Salem is devastated
by the irrational acceptance of the girls’ outrageous claims of witchcraft which in turn causes the
death of many innocent people.
Author Miller’s The Crucible shows the effects of how jealousy, pride, and hysteria can
impact a community. Firstly, jealousy during the play comes from the insecurities of the people
of Salem. For the characters whose jealousy shows, they are discontent with what they have and
desire for something that someone else has. Secondly, pride in the play is shown through
characters who feel a high level of personal worth that they must attain to. These characters are
willing to do anything to protect their pride. Finally, the hysteria surrounding the witch trials
tears the community apart. Neighbors turn each other, and wide-spreading fear overwhelms an
individual and logical thought and in turn legitimizes its own existence. The underlying point
that pulls the play together is the irrational fear of witches that becomes the tragedy of Salem.
John H. Ferres, teacher at the Department of American Thought and Language at Michigan State
University, states, "A susceptibility to paranoid fear is often the root of human tragedy" (12).