Character Analysis Elizabeth Proctor

“ John- grant me this. You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed-” (Miller 1298). Elizabeth Proctor is John Proctor's wife in the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller. Elizabeth has been keeping a cold house and judges John everytime he comes and goes for seven months since John had an affair with their 17 year old servant, Abigail. Even though she fires Abigail and John is straightforward and completely honest with Elizabeth, she will not forgive John. Elizabeth feels like she has done nothing wrong, but has she really? Elizabeth in the course of the play has a change of heart and goes from thinking she is a saint and completely honest to seeing her sins, and then she lies to protect her husband

She tries to convince Mary to tell them that she made the poppet and left the needle in the belly but she wont which leads to Elizabeth going to jail. “ The girl ” (1306). She is told if she does not confess to bringing her soul down on Abigail she will be hanged but if she confesses she will be put in jail instead of hanged. Since she is so prideful she won't break and confess she tells them she is not a witch but she is with child. They give elizabeth time to show but if she does not then she will be hanged and if she does then she will have a year. After three months in jail she starts to realize that she is guilty of sinning and running a cold house. That she is wrong to have judge John and not forgive him for commenting lechery because it was partially her fault. “Do what you will. But let none judge you, there be no higher judge under heaven than proctor is! Forgive me, Forgive me, John-I never knew such goodness in the world” (1353). After realizing all this she is called in to talk John into confessing but she tells him she will no longer judge him its not her right and John decides to confess however he decides to tell the Judge that He committed lechery with Abigail and that she is a liar; he tells them to ask Elizabeth because she knows and she always tells the truth. However when they call in Elizabeth and questions her about her husband committing lechery she lies and says he did not, trying to protect his reputation by being not the honest truthful person everyone believes her to be, not knowing he had already confessed. Instead of saving him like she hopes condemns him to