Their servant, Mary Warren, returns to the house after spending the day testifying against accused “witches.” Mary announces that the girls accused Elizabeth but claims she defended Elizabeth in court. Elizabeth is afraid that Abigail will accuse her of witchcraft with the hope of exacting revenge and marrying her husband. Scene 2 of Act I takes place in the Proctor’s home, after 39 accused people face imprisonment for witchcraft. Eager to distract from their own activities in the woods, Abigail and Betty begin to call out names of numerous villagers they have also “seen with the devil.” Hale orders those named arrested and tried as a witch. When the authorities threaten Tituba with whipping, she offers a panicked false confession that she was bewitched, and that she saw members of the Salem community with the devil. Tituba confesses that she boiled a frog in a kettle and gave the girls chicken blood to drink. Hale examines Betty, then questions Abigail and Tituba.
Parris summons Reverend Hale-a witchcraft expert from a nearby village-to consult with Betty and other ailing girls in Salem. They argue over whether Betty is bewitched. Members of the community rush into Parris’s home. Abigail believes that Proctor still has feelings for her, but he proclaims loyalty to his wife.īetty suddenly wakes up and screams.
Elizabeth discovered the affair, fired Abigail, and dismissed her from the house. John Proctor confronts Abigail, alluding to their past affair when Abigail worked as his servant. Abigail threatens to kill the girls if they tell anyone what they were really doing in the woods. The girls reveal that Abigail was trying to conjure a spirit to murder Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of local farmer John Proctor (whom Abigail is in love with). When Parris leaves to preach to the community, Abigail speaks with the other girls who danced with her. Rumors of witchcraft have already begun to spread through Salem, and Parris is afraid he will lose control of his congregation.Ībigail denies that they were practicing witchcraft. He is concerned that members of the community might find out about this gathering and accuse the girls of practicing witchcraft. Parris claims he saw one of the girls naked, her dress in the grass. The girls danced while his Barbadian slave, Tituba, sang to them. He says that he saw her with a group of girls in the woods. Reverend Parris questions his niece, Abigail Williams, about her activities with Betty the night before, believing they may connect to her coma-like state. His daughter, Betty Parris, lies motionless in bed. The community is a theocracy wherein religion functions as law, and the reverend holds great power over the community.Īct I opens on a scene in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. The Crucible is set in Salem, Massachusetts, a Puritan colony of New England. This guide refers to the 1982 Dramatists Play Service edition of the play, which is divided into two acts.
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