Who Is Mary Warren In The Crucible

The Crucible is a tragic play written by Arthur Miller in 1952.This play is about the Salem witch trials which took place during the 1600's.The Crucible is an appropriate title for the play as a crucible is a vessel used for melting and calcinating metals at high temperatures. This is a metaphor to the way Mary Warren wilted under extremely high pressure from all the people surrounding her. The crucible is also a small receptacle made up of strong and violent reactions which is analogous to the hysteria which was going around in the small town of Salem during the witch trials. "There are wheels within wheels and fires within fires in this town. “Though the word "Crucible" is never used in the play, Arthur Miller justifies its usage in the play

She has come under intense scrutiny and pressure from various people during the play. She gives in to the intense pressure in the end and resorts to lying. Mary Warren initially is under the influence of Abigail Williams, the girl with the dissembling attitude. She accuses various people of being in contact with the Devil. When Proctor forces her to discredit Abigail, she initially refuses to do so as she is scared that Abigail will kill her. Abigail says “I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” if she tries to discredit her. But Proctor also forces Mary to discredit Abigail to save Elizabeth’s life. Proctor says to Mary “I will bring your guts into your mouth but that goodness will not die for me”. The judges also pressurize Mary to tell the truth hoping that Mary confesses. All this boils down to Mary lying as she is unable to think clearly in the face of extreme pressure. Mary feigns being possessed and blames John Proctor of being in contact with the devil who ironically was only the person telling the truth. Mary signifies the metal inside the crucible which melts under high

People use the term crucible to refer to an extremely hard test. The people in Salem especially John Proctor undergo extremely hard tests in the court to determine whether they are witches or not. If a person is accused, he must undergo trials. The person must confess to being in contact with the devil in order to save his life. If he confesses, he has committed a sin by lying. People like Rebecca Nurse never lie and hence do not confess. These people will be hanged though they tell the truth. More importantly, the crucible represents the inner conflicts within people. Reverend Hale has come to Salem to solve the crisis surrounding the Salem witch Trials. However at the end, Reverend Hale undergoes a change in mind and is sure that Abigail is lying. John Proctor also undergoes various inner conflicts. He admits to having an affair with Abigail though his reputation and good name is on the line, in order to save Elizabeth's life. He is unsure of whether to confess or not of being in contact with the devil and repeatedly asks Elizabeth whether to confess. Elizabeth says "It come naught that I should forgive you, if you should not forgive yourself" and puts a seed of doubt in John Proctor's mind. In the end John proctor is the total opposite of what he was described in the First Act as stubborn and selfish by telling the truth and not confessing. Mary Warren also fights against her inner conflicts and decides to lie in the end as