Tituba is dragged into the room to face these charges. Immediately, Abigail places all the blame on her, claiming that Tituba made her drink chicken blood from the kettle. Tituba protests that Abigail was the one who instigated the meeting in the woods, but she is drowned out by further accusations from Abigail. Parris and Hale also talk over her attempts to explain herself. Tituba is terrified, so she breaks down and says the Devil forced her to work for him.
Putnam, Parris, and Hale encourage her to tell them who she has seen and plant the names of Goody Good and Goody Osburn in her mind as potential witches.
Tituba says the Devil told her to kill Reverend Parris, and he promised her a better life if she worked for him. Abigail soon chimes in with her own hysterical set of confessions , claiming that she saw the Devil and wrote in his book. Abigail adds more people to the list of the accused. Betty suddenly wakes up and joins her in shouting out additional accusations.
Hale and Parris rejoice at Betty's apparent miraculous recovery. Putnam summons the marshal so that they can arrest the witches and bring them to justice. The Devil apparently has some kind of special friendship book that he makes people sign when they join his crew. In this section, I'll go over a few quotes that I think are important in establishing the themes and characterizations that emerge in Act 1. This quote shows the gravity with which Parris views his position in the town and the degree of authority he thinks should accompany it.
I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! The value of a person's name is a recurring topic in The Crucible. Here Abigail shifts the focus away from her own reputation by trashing the reputation of Goody Proctor. If she can convince people that Goody Proctor is not to be trusted, the rumors about her own sins will lose credibility.
Abigail threatens the other girls with violence if they dare tell anyone that she tried to kill Goody Proctor with black magic. This quote tells us that Abigail has experienced severe emotional trauma in the past that almost certainly affects her current mental state.
I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew what lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!
And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? After John's rejection, her angst will find another, even more destructive path to follow.
However, this quote has a much broader secular meaning that applies to the events in the play overall. There are all kinds of underlying motivations that trigger accusations of witchcraft in Salem.
The Devil is precise; the marks of his presence are definite as stone, and I must tell you all that I shall not proceed unless you are prepared to believe me if I should find no bruise of Hell upon her. From our modern viewpoint, this quote is a very strong example of irony. Hale's adherence to scientific principles will give him just enough insight to see the injustices that have been committed in Salem after it's too late for him to turn back the tide of hysteria.
I'm not sure what Hale expected to find. A pentagram ankle tattoo? A little souvenir pitchfork? A button that says "Satan 4 Prez"? Eh, I guess there are a lot of possibilities. Irony and hypocrisy are recurring concepts in The Crucible. There are several exchanges in Act 1 that are rife with irony.
Abigail claims that John Proctor opened her eyes to the pretenses of Salem pg. By putting on a false front to advance her status and get what she wants, she becomes just like the hypocrites she claims to despise. The most prominent example of dramatic irony in this act is the quote from Hale pg.
We, the modern audience, know that searching for "the Devil's marks" as the potential cause of an ailment is an inherently superstitious practice.
Hale, however, is convinced that a scientific inquiry based only on facts and reality can be conducted to detect a supernatural presence. In Act 1 it becomes clear how mass hysteria can evolve out of desires for self-preservation. When Abigail admits that Ruth and Tituba were conjuring spirits, Thomas Putnam urges Parris to go on the offensive immediately with this information. If he makes his own accusations of witchcraft, he will prevent others from accusing him first and putting his credibility at stake.
As rumors of witchcraft spread, this fear-driven philosophy will be universally adopted, leading to more and more accusations and an environment of paranoia. The speed at which rumors morph into accepted truths is too rapid for a few rational voices to contain them. Even as Parris tries to avoid supernatural explanations to protect his reputation, he is quickly caught up in the misplaced interpretations of others and forced to adopt them as his own so that he isn't gobbled up by the hysteria monster.
It becomes abundantly clear that people see only what they want to see i. Ann Putnam, for example, will seize at any opportunity to blame supernatural forces for the deaths of her children. Extreme conclusions like Ann's "a witch murdered my babies with black magic" are accepted because rational people are too afraid to challenge this consensus and risk bringing accusations upon themselves.
Reverend Parris' concerns about his reputation take center stage, so to speak, in Act 1. Once he gets confirmation from Abigail that some witchy business happened in the woods, he is quick to position himself on the side of the accusers and threaten violence on Tituba if she doesn't confess pg.
He has no central belief system beyond a desire to do what makes him look best in the eyes of the majority. Abigail realizes that the Puritanical society will never permit Proctor to leave his wife for her, and that he does not want to leave his wife anyway. The only way that Abigail can legitimately obtain Proctor within the bounds of society is for Elizabeth to die, giving Proctor the opportunity to marry again.
Thus, from the very beginning, Abigail's desire to possess Proctor motivates her, driving her to drink blood and cast a spell on Elizabeth. Once Parris discovers her in the woods, Abigail resorts to deception in order to prevent others from discovering that she practiced witchcraft and to hide her affair with Proctor. Either one of these offenses would result in severe punishment at the hands of society. Abigail uses intimidation to create an atmosphere of fear that pervades the entire play.
Abigail first demonstrates her penchant for terrorizing others in her threat to the girls: "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.
I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! Reverend Hale is an intellectual man, and he has studied witchcraft extensively. Hale asks Proctor and Giles if they have afflicted children. Giles says that Proctor does not believe in witches. Proctor denies having stated an opinion on witches at all and leaves Hale to his work.
Parris relates the tale of finding the girls dancing in the forest at night, and Mrs. Putnam reports having sent her daughter to conjure the spirits of her dead children. She asks if losing seven children before they live a day is a natural occurrence. Hale consults his books while Rebecca announces that she is too old to sit in on the proceedings. Giles asks Hale what reading strange books means because he often finds his wife, Martha, reading books.
The night before, he tried to pray but found that he could not succeed until Martha closed her book and left the house. Giles has a bad reputation in Salem, and people generally blame him for thefts and random fires.
He cares little for public opinion, and he only began attending church regularly after he married Martha. Giles does not mention that he only recently learned any prayers and that even small distractions cause him problems in reciting them.
Hale thoughtfully considers the information and concludes that they will have to discuss the matter later. Declaring witchcraft becomes the popular thing to do. It grants an individual instant status and recognition within Salem, which translates into power. Abigail realizes that she can achieve immediate respect and authority by declaring that she has consorted with the Devil but now seeks redemption.
Abigail's manipulation of the circumstances demonstrates her keen sense of self-preservation, as well as a unique understanding of the blind ignorance of others. Abigail knows that the townspeople will view her as an expert witness. The fact that Hale believes her sets her far apart from the other people in Salem.
The people forget Abigail's questionable reputation and now consider her an instrument of God. This calculated move finally puts her in a position to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor. The fact that Betty suddenly awakens after Abigail renounces the Devil only underscores Abigail's authority and further establishes her credibility. Here, also a verb, meaning to be in league with someone. For example Tituba denies trucking, or being in league with, the Devil.
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