When Proctor arrives home, he starts conversing with Elizabeth about business in the Salem. Elizabeth tries to persuade him to tell the court that the claims of witchcraft against her is fraudulent and to tell them what Abigail said to him the week before at her uncle’s house. Proctor tries to avoid the truth by attempting to figure out a way he could prove Abby’s iniquity without stating that he was alone with her, which is an indication he is operating at Stage 1 at the beginning of the play. The Crucible delineates how Rev. Parris discovered Betty and his niece, Abigail, dancing in the forest with his slave, Tituba, the night before Betty was found sick. John Proctor drops in to see what is wrong with Betty which ends in a confrontation with Abigail. …show more content…
During this confrontation, when Abigail brings up Proctors wife he angrily says, “I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. We never touched.” (Miller 22). Here, Proctor is trying to wipe the memories out of his mind as well as hers because he did not want to get in any trouble. He is deceptive, he is trying to and already has deceived everyone by making them believe he is someone he is not. His infidelity is a flaw in the religion that they are taught and he knows this but he chooses not to act on this flaw for the reason that he does not want to threaten the commonwealth of the society of which he lives. According to Kohlberg, a person who has a concern for themselves or have to ask themselves “Will I get into trouble for doing (or not doing) it?” is associated with avoiding punishment. It is clear that Proctor's responses and actions places him in that category on Kohlberg’s