She turned me into a newt...I got better

Review of The Crucible by Arthur Miller 

Sophomore year of high school we read a lot plays in which my English teacher always gave himself the best part. He was Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, Agamemnon in The Oresteia, Caesar in Julius Caesar, and of course John Proctor in The Crucible. The Crucible was unique because the cast is big enough that every kid in the class got a part, so over the course of the unit we gave a less than enthusiastic performance and then wrote our papers like good honors English students.

In the time since 10^th grade I’ve been surprised at the times when The Crucible comes up in different conversations. I have friends who claim Miller’s play is the worst piece of writing they’ve ever held in their hands, and others who feel the complete opposite. So what kind of play is this that leads to such a varied audience?

*Summary Contains Spoilers*

The story opens in Salem, Massachusetts with the Reverend Parris praying over his sick daughter, Betty. It comes to light that Betty, her cousin Abigail and the other village girls were dancing in the woods with Tituba, a black slave from Barbados. The girls were engaged in some sort of heretic behavior which may or may not have involved voodoo, nudity, animal blood, and spells. Anyways, as they were engaging in such activities Parris stumbled upon the girls and most of them ran but Betty fainted and has been comatose ever since.

Abigail (the ringleader) threatens the other girls and tells them not to reveal what happened in the woods. At this point John Proctor, handsome hero and all-around good guy, enters and asks to speak to Abigail alone.

This is when we find out that our handsome hero and all-around good guy was engaged in an affair with Abigail when she worked at his house a year ago. His wife found out and fired Abigail, which is something the girl has never forgiven, nor has she relinquished her feelings for Proctor. She tries to seduce him in some expertly written colonial dialogue which involves a lot of “I know you!” (in the biblical sense) and comparisons of Proctor to a fine stallion. Being our handsome hero and all-around good guy, he pushes her away telling her to stop being a stupid girl and leave things alone.

Meanwhile, Tituba is accused of witchcraft so she starts accusing others of consorting with the devil. These accusations are something Abigail is all too happy to join in on and soon the now-awake Betty starts in too.

The Reverend Hale arrives as an expert witch hunter and starts “investigating” the goings-on in the town and people are arrested. At this point it becomes clear that there are some rifts in quaint little Salem already. There are arguments over plots of land and money and other things that upset people of young Salem. Not to mention that Abigail is now out for blood since she was rejected by Proctor.

Meanwhile, at the Proctor household, John discusses the arrests with his wife, Elizabeth. As they are the only two who know Abigail’s true nature Elizabeth asks her husband to tell the town the girl is a fraud. He refuses and she accuses him of resuming his affair. Their argument is cut short by their housekeeper girl, Mary Warren, showing up and saying Elizabeth has been accused of witchcraft.

Turns out that in court Mary was sewing a little doll and stuck her needle in the poppet’s stomach so she wouldn’t lose it. Abigail saw her do this and in her infinite wisdom decided to stab herself in the stomach. She tells everyone that Elizabeth Proctor used the doll to conduct her spirit in order to stab her. Elizabeth is arrested as Mary is too afraid of Abigail to actually tell the truth.    

In court, the girls turn on Mary and say that she is bewitching them and there’s lots of yelling. Proctor is furious and admits to his affair and calls Abigail a liar. However, our beautiful heroine and all-around good gal, Elizabeth, says that Proctor was never unfaithful to her in an attempt to save his name. Mary says that Proctor was the one consorting with the devil so our handsome hero and all-around good guy is arrested and, yes, now he is the liar. At this point Abigail steals all of Parris’ money and runs away before everyone can turn on her. Hale, the witch-catcher, also begins to see the error of his ways and starts praying with the people he put in jail and begs them to confess so they can be released.  

Meanwhile, Elizabeth is found to be with child so she is spared. She is sent to talk to her husband and convince him to confess. In a touching scene she forgives him and they renew their love. Proctor says he will sign the confession, but once he finds out it will be nailed to the church door and made a spectacle of he tears the paper to shreds. He then commences to scream “It’s my name!” for several lines. So, instead of chickening out and signing the paperwork Proctor decides to be hanged with the rest of the accused witches.

Report Card:   

The Crucible is an important play and Miller is essential to the American Canon, but it can be a bit difficult to get through. And even though it was slightly obnoxious, I probably wouldn’t remember as much about it if we hadn’t read it all together as a class way back when.

It is really interesting to see how power plays out in The Crucible. Those who seem to hold the most power in the town are those who are persecuted and those who one would think would be the weak and spineless of Salem are the ones who do the accusing and assume all the power. The accusations of witchcraft start with servants and those who have no say in the community, but soon people of influence and landowners are also accused.

Even though Miller has never denied the fiction of the play, his characters are based on the real people who were killed in the Salem witch trials. The play is also a critique of McCarthyism and the communist witch hunt.

I think the “witch hunt” motif is important in any era. We look at the Salem witch trials and the communist witch hunt as if it’s all in past and we are free to critique. But what about the terrorist witch hunts of our post-9/11 world?

As my main man Uncle Ben once said: “With great power comes great responsibility.” And the people of Salem simply weren’t responsible, so let’s learn from them. I give The Crucible a B+.