Actions speak as loud as words: The portrayal of Proctors emotions towards
Elizabeth through stage directions and dialogue. “Guilty as charged!” Life in Salem was full of iniquity and reparation during the time of the witch trials; the whole town was being accused left and right for allegedly dealing with the Devil. Additionally, one man in town, John Proctor, was caught by his wife, Elizabeth, for having an affair with Abigail Williams. The months following are very onerous for their relationship. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses stage directions and dialogue to convey John Proctor’s conflicting feelings of guilt and the desire to regain Elizabeths trust. The stage directions used in act two shows the feelings of guilt between Proctor and Elizabeth. Beginning when John returns home, they only engage in short conversations, and nothing personal is mentioned. Proctor gets up to kiss her and then the stage direction reads that “with a certain disappointment, he returns to the table” (50). This shows that he was expecting something different from the kiss, and that since his affair with Abigail, things haven’t been the same between them; but John wants them to return to normal. Additionally, John Proctor asks Elizabeth to go to walk the farm together. After she responds to him, the stage direction reads “There is a pause. She is watching him from the table as he stands there absorbing the night. It is as though she would speak but cannot” (51), and it says that “{The} sense of separation rises.” (51). This demonstrates the anomalous nature of their relationship. Elizabeth struggles to speak as she ordinarily would with Proctor, which shows her distrust that she feels toward him. The use of stage directions enhance the reader's understanding of the feelings of guilt and remorse that Proctor feels towards his wife. The authors use of dialogue between John Proctor and Elizabeth to show John’s feelings toward her since his affair. John makes it clear in the beginning that “ [He] mean[s] to please [Elizabeth].” (50). He compliments her on the seasoning of the soup that she made him, and he offers to buy her a heifer if the crop is good. He is aspires to make her happy because he feels extremely guilty since the