Love and Lies
Love is an important theme throughout The Crucible. It is the motivating factor behind many of the decisions made by John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. Arthur Miller demonstrates how love will dramatically affect people and their ability to make decisions. The Crucible clearly illustrates how love will cause someone to counter his or her integrity. The love between John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor and the love Abigail Williams has for John Proctor demonstrates how love will dramatically affect people and their ability to make moral decisions. Miller demonstrates how the power of love will cause someone to counter his or her own integrity because people are greedy and want the best for their significant other. …show more content…
It is revealed how much John Proctor values his reputation when he begs Danforth to keep his name. He pleads, “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soil; leave my name!” (Miller 143). John Proctor goes against his morals and ruins his reputation in order to try to save his wife. After Abigail accuses Elizabeth for conspiring with the Devil, he terrorizes his own servant, Mary Warren. He “[grasps] her by the throat” and threatens to “bring [her] guts into [her] mouth” (Miller 80) if she does not witness for his wife. John Proctor would never resort to using violence as it goes against his integrity. In this case, he does it in spite of love. During the trial he declares that “in the proper place, where [his] beasts are bedded”, he “has known [Abigail]” (Miller 110). John Proctor destroys the reputation he built for himself in Salem by admitting he is a lecher. He goes against his own morals in doing so too. As an attempt to prove his wife innocent, John Proctor defies his own morals. He values his dignity and reputation as much as life; however, love has forced him to criticize himself. Likewise, when Elizabeth is asked to confirm his treachery, her love for John Proctor drives her to go against her integrity to always be honest. When asked if Proctor committed lechery, she lies for the first time and responds “no” (Miller 113). Soon …show more content…
Her love for John Proctor is stronger and more apparent in The Crucible than Elizabeth’s. Similar to John Proctor countering his integrity for Elizabeth, Abigail’s love for John Proctor causes her to make selfish and irrational decisions also. Prior to meeting John Proctor, Abigail was just Reverend Parris’ niece. Their affair began while Abigail was serving John and Elizabeth Proctor in their home. It ended when she was asked to leave. Afterwards, Abigail was prepared to take extreme measures to win John Proctor’s love back including intentionally stabbing herself. According to Ezekiel Cheever, Abigail was stabbed by a needle that was “stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly”, while she “sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house” (Miller 74). Abigail claims that it was John Proctor’s “wife’s familiar spirit [who] pushed [it in]” (Miller 74). When in reality, Abigail had stabbed herself so that she could later convict Goody Proctor of conspiring with the Devil. Abigail previously knew of the needle Mary Warren stashed in the poppet, but lies when asked about it. She tells authority, “Goody Proctor always [keeps] poppets” (Miller 103). Abigail aims to incarcerate Elizabeth through her lying. Her plan is to remove Elizabeth from the love triangle so that only she remains with John Proctor. Her intentions show how she is prepared to go to the furthest extent she needs to in
Love is an important theme throughout The Crucible. It is the motivating factor behind many of the decisions made by John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Williams. Arthur Miller demonstrates how love will dramatically affect people and their ability to make decisions. The Crucible clearly illustrates how love will cause someone to counter his or her integrity. The love between John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor and the love Abigail Williams has for John Proctor demonstrates how love will dramatically affect people and their ability to make moral decisions. Miller demonstrates how the power of love will cause someone to counter his or her own integrity because people are greedy and want the best for their significant other. …show more content…
It is revealed how much John Proctor values his reputation when he begs Danforth to keep his name. He pleads, “How may I live without my name? I have given you my soil; leave my name!” (Miller 143). John Proctor goes against his morals and ruins his reputation in order to try to save his wife. After Abigail accuses Elizabeth for conspiring with the Devil, he terrorizes his own servant, Mary Warren. He “[grasps] her by the throat” and threatens to “bring [her] guts into [her] mouth” (Miller 80) if she does not witness for his wife. John Proctor would never resort to using violence as it goes against his integrity. In this case, he does it in spite of love. During the trial he declares that “in the proper place, where [his] beasts are bedded”, he “has known [Abigail]” (Miller 110). John Proctor destroys the reputation he built for himself in Salem by admitting he is a lecher. He goes against his own morals in doing so too. As an attempt to prove his wife innocent, John Proctor defies his own morals. He values his dignity and reputation as much as life; however, love has forced him to criticize himself. Likewise, when Elizabeth is asked to confirm his treachery, her love for John Proctor drives her to go against her integrity to always be honest. When asked if Proctor committed lechery, she lies for the first time and responds “no” (Miller 113). Soon …show more content…
Her love for John Proctor is stronger and more apparent in The Crucible than Elizabeth’s. Similar to John Proctor countering his integrity for Elizabeth, Abigail’s love for John Proctor causes her to make selfish and irrational decisions also. Prior to meeting John Proctor, Abigail was just Reverend Parris’ niece. Their affair began while Abigail was serving John and Elizabeth Proctor in their home. It ended when she was asked to leave. Afterwards, Abigail was prepared to take extreme measures to win John Proctor’s love back including intentionally stabbing herself. According to Ezekiel Cheever, Abigail was stabbed by a needle that was “stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly”, while she “sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house” (Miller 74). Abigail claims that it was John Proctor’s “wife’s familiar spirit [who] pushed [it in]” (Miller 74). When in reality, Abigail had stabbed herself so that she could later convict Goody Proctor of conspiring with the Devil. Abigail previously knew of the needle Mary Warren stashed in the poppet, but lies when asked about it. She tells authority, “Goody Proctor always [keeps] poppets” (Miller 103). Abigail aims to incarcerate Elizabeth through her lying. Her plan is to remove Elizabeth from the love triangle so that only she remains with John Proctor. Her intentions show how she is prepared to go to the furthest extent she needs to in