Trial and Error

A crucible is a severe test or hard trial. It is an appropriate title for The Crucible,

because the plot is centered around several court cases and the characters undergo their

own personal trials throughout the story. Among those tested include Reverend John

Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor.

Reverend John Hale can be viewed as one of the most complex characters in The

Crucible. Hale’s main trial in in the play is with his confidence. John Hale shows up in

Salem eager to investigate for potential witchcraft. He is known to be highly intellectual

and confident, which can be seen when he goes to the Proctors’ house on his own accord

and questions them to get an idea of who they are. He asks: “Will you tell me why you are

so absent?…Do you know your Commandments?” But soon, Hale’s enthusiasm begins to

dwindle and he sides with Proctor, questioning Abigail’s honesty. “I believe him! This

girl has always struck me false!..” In Act 3, his state of mind changes as he catches the

girls in a web of lies. Hale’s confidence is also destroyed as he loses faith and realizes the

flaws in the judicial system. “…let him come again with a lawyer…I pray you, sir, this

argument let lawyers present to you.” He quits the court and storms out: “I denounce

these proceedings, I quit this court!” In Act 4, he councils those convicted to confess, so

they won’t be hanged, including John Proctor. By the end, he’s begging Proctor to

confess: “Man, you will hang! You cannot!…Woman, plead with him!…Go to him..” He

is transformed from and over-confident Reverend to an enlightened man with a different

point of view.

Elizabeth Proctor is viewed ad righteous and honest in the Salem community. Her

trial throughout the play is with forgiveness. After finding out about her husband’s affair

with Abigail, she seemed as if she didn’t trust him, like in the beginning when her and

Proctor are eating dinner. After telling him about the court cases in Salem, he mentions a

recent conversation he had with Abigail. It‘s then that Elizabeth gets a little suspicious:

“You were alone with her?”…“Why, then it is not as you told me.” Overall, Elizabeth

remains a virtuous woman and the only lie she tells is in the courtroom when Danforth

asks if Proctor is a lecher: Danforth- “Answer my question! Is your husband a lecher!”

Elizabeth- “No, sir.” She lied to save him, but it actually ends up making things worse.

However, in Act 4, she realizes that her coldness led to Proctor‘s affair: “I have sins of

my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery…Suspicion kissed you when I

did; I never knew how I should say my love…It were a cold house I kept!” This helps her

to finally forgive her husband and bring her to peace. In the end, just before Proctor’s

death sentence, she even helps him to forgive himself and refuses to take away his

newfound pride: “He have his goodness now. God