John Proctor Marriage Analysis

The Truth About John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s Marriage Marriage is one of the most beautiful ways for people to connect and show their love for each other. They make vows and promise to always take care of each other no matter what happens. However, marriages can be very deceiving. In Act II of The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses language to show how awful and broken John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s marriage is. The use of diction, syntax, and tone in this act depicts an unhealthy marriage and shows the reader the truth of their marriage. At the beginning of the Act, Miller’s use of strong diction shows the reader that Elizabeth is no longer affectionate towards John and that she is very wary when talking to him. For example, the

When John and Elizabeth are arguing over how John was in Salem and how he should tell the court what Abigail told him, John snaps at Elizabeth. He says “I say I will think on it!”. He is a little aggressive and very cold towards her when he says this. This shows the reader that he does not respect her because if he did, he would not be so rude to her. Next, John is saying how he was alone in a room with Abigail when she told him that there was really no witchcraft in the town. Elizabeth completely ignore the fact that there is no witchcraft in the town and that John might not be able to prove it. She accusingly says “You were alone with her?”. This shows her distrust and suspicion of John. Miller revealed to the readers in Act I that John had an affair with Abigail and she was fired. Elizabeth obviously does not like Abigail and she does not trust John to be alone with her. Then, John has finally had enough of her constant suspicions and says “Woman. I’ll not have your suspicion anymore.”. This gives off a very cold and slightly threatening tone. He is telling her that he will not deal with anymore and he is indirectly daring her to challenge him. It is important to note that he uses the word “anymore” implying that she does this all the time. This is not healthy for a marriage. She does not trust him and he seems to be a tad bit violent and aggressive. The use of tone from these