Next, Proctor not only refuses to let out his secret affair even though he knows it could save so many, but still refuses to tell when his wife, Elizabeth, is convicted. He lets her sit in jail for a few weeks while he tries to clear her name with other proof. proctor and a few other husbands attempt to clear their wives names by going to the court with proof. Danforth informs Proctor “... This morning your wife send me a claim in which she states that she is pregnant now” (92) it takes a few weeks for one to figure out if they are pregnant and “[Elizabeth] will never lie.”
There has come a time in everyone’s life when their character was called into question, or someone accused them wrongly of something they did not do. This puts a person’s morality on the line and tests whether they will do what’s best for them or the masses. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows the characters John Proctor, Deputy Governor Danforth, and Abigail Williams going through this same test. The play provides a narrative on how people choose to value their own reputation and honor over protecting the lives of themselves and others.
He no longer has to worry about Williams taunting him, but now his name, the one thing he treasures most, is ruined. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, finds out the truth, and confronts him about it. Proctor [with solemn warning]: You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason [...] judge your husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and- Elizabeth:
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.
Now that his adultery with Abigail has been revealed to Mary Warren, Proctor appears somewhat relieved. John is less hesitant to confess his sin to the court and expects that by disclosing his mistake, he and his wife will be able to clear their name. Proctor is truly committed to his wife and the threat to her life is much greater than his reputation. John Proctor’s relationship with his wife reveals his morality and how much he values his reputation. Act Three is where we become more aware of the court’s participation in Proctor’s decisions and the severity of its ruling.
Interactions between Proctor and his wife make it seem as if the two are strangers, both fearful of accidentally offending the other. In the subtext, however, Proctor’s tormented state of mind is revealed; he wholeheartedly believes that he was wrong and sinful in his affair, yet he is unable to forgive himself for the irreparable damage that he did to his marriage. This is further exacerbated by his wife’s often passive-aggressive and uncomfortable behavior in their conversations. This is best exemplified when Proctor says, “I mean to please you Elizabeth”, and Goody Proctor responds, “[it is hard to say] I know it, John” (Miller 48).
After his affair he wanted to be a more truthful man than he was. Towards the end of the play Proctor is confessing to witchcraft but refuses to involve anyone else. He discovered that the church was going to post his confession on the church door so he ripped the document in pieces. Proctor says, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another lie in my life!
John Proctor shows how much he loves his wife by going through to stage 5. In stage 5 it says,“Moral action in a specific situation is not defined by reverence to a checklist of rules, but from logical application of universal, abstract, moral principles.” (from Kohlberg’s stage 5). Proctor has finally made the moral decision of telling the truth of what he has done in order to save his
Proctor’s true feelings are exposed in this quote as he decides that being saved by a lie is worse than dying by the truth. By signing the paper, his name would be tied to witchcraft along with lies. With his wife being pregnant, John decided he wanted his child to remember him as being a good honest man and not a man of lies. Proctor’s decisions made him evolve from the beginning of the play to the end which gives rise to him becoming a tragic hero because he was forced to overcome what society felt was the right thing to do, and do what he felt was the right thing to
Gerald Weales notes that Proctor was not able to gain the strength to accept death over lying about his name until Elizabeth, “absolves him of the sin of adultery.” Once she had done this, he realizes that his name, his own perception of self, is more important than anyone else’s view of
Early in the play, Proctor is highly ashamed of his past sins. When he is being introduced, Proctor is described as a, “troubled soul”, and a, “sinner…against his own vision of decent conduct” who “regarded himself as a kind of fraud” (Miller 19). Before he even speaks a single line, the audience sees Proctor as someone who is conflicted with himself. Proctor’s feelings of shame follow him around and affect his actions and decisions. In his great shame, Proctor would prefer to simply forget his affair with Abby and move on with his life.
He cared greatly about his family and wife even though Elizabeth was often distant towards him. In the end of the play, Proctor chooses to die rather than sign his confession, ratting out his friends and ruining his good name in the town. He did this to protect the reputation of his children so they won’t have to grow up with a lying father. Lying went against Protctors’ views and that ideal is prevalent throughout the entire play. It is revealed that as soon as he had an affair with Abigail, he confessed to Elizabeth the next day because of the guilt he was carrying around.
Proctor’s reluctance to sign his confession shows how highly he views his reputation and friends, and because of this, he is willing to die to keep his honor intact. As the fourth act comes to a close Proctor cannot get himself to give his signature even though the judges have almost brought it out of him. He decides he cannot go through with it and exclaims: “Because it is my name! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”(Miller 143).
Admitting to his actions is a way for Proctor to be rescued from the consequences of his sins. So, Proctor dies for a greater
The reader see’s Proctor to be a selfish person but simple man, who would do whatever it takes to keep his name and hide his affair. Proctor states, “I have known her, sir. I have known her,” (Miller, 117), but this is too late. Once his wife, Elizabeth comes to testify, she claims that Proctor had not had an affair with Abigail, in which she hopes to keep her husband safe, not realizing that Proctor already confessed the affair to the court. After this occurred, Proctor is sentenced to death.
