How Did Elizabeth Proctor Change Throughout The Crucible

The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1952. The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Puritan era. The Crucible is based on the beliefs of witchcraft (the use of spells and the invocation of spirits). John Proctor, one of the main characters, is a farmer in the suburbs and a husband to Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth discovered an affair between John and their servant, Abigail Williams, and let the town know how Abigail truly was. In Act 1 of the play Reverend Hale was brought to Salem by Reverend Parris, the minister of Salem’s church, to see if there was any witchcraft in Salem because Parris’ daughter became suddenly ill. Throughout the play, John, Elizabeth, and Hale gained insight about themselves and others. The characters learned about self- love, forgiveness, self-respect, and pure intentions. To begin with, Elizabeth Proctor was seen as vindictive early in the play after attempting to destroy Abigail’s reputation. However, Elizabeth tries to let go of the anger and forgive her husband. Later on in the play, Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft and was sent to prison

After Elizabeth was put in prison for accusations of witchcraft, John began his process of trying to gain forgiveness from her and himself. At first, John was willing to sign the paper admitting to the court that he had committed such crime. He was willing to ruin his “good name” and reputation in order to save his own life. However, when the time came for John to actually sign it, he refused to stain his name. John did not want to live for the wrong reasons and live a life of sin and affiliation with the Devil. He did not want his children to carry that burden of having a “witch” father nor did he want them to remember him as that type of person. Elizabeth eventually forgave him and he died keeping his