Summary
John Proctor sits down to dinner with his wife, Elizabeth.
Mary Warren, their servant, has gone to the witch trials, defying
Elizabeth’s order that she remain in the house. Fourteen people
are now in jail. If these accused witches do not confess, they will
be hanged. Whoever Abigail and her troop name as they go into hysterics
is arrested for bewitching the girls.
Proctor can barely believe the craze, and he tells Elizabeth
that Abigail had sworn her dancing had nothing to do with witchcraft. Elizabeth
wants him to testify that the accusations are a sham. He says that
he cannot prove his allegation because Abigail told him this information
while they were alone in a room. Elizabeth loses all faith in her
husband upon hearing that he and Abigail were alone together. Proctor
demands that she stop judging him. He says that he feels as though
his home is a courtroom, but Elizabeth responds that the real court
is in his own heart.
When Mary Warren returns home, she gives Elizabeth a doll
that she sewed in court, saying that it is a gift. She reports that
thirty-nine people now stand accused. John and Mary argue over whether Mary
can continue attending the trials. He threatens to whip her, and
Mary declares that she saved Elizabeth’s life that day. Elizabeth’s
name was apparently mentioned in the accusations (Mary will not
name the accuser), but Mary spoke out in Elizabeth’s defense. Proctor
instructs Mary to go to bed, but she demands that he stop ordering
her around. Elizabeth, meanwhile, is convinced that it was Abigail
who accused her of witchcraft, in order to take her place in John’s
bed.
Hale visits the Proctors because he wants to speak with
everyone whose name has been mentioned in connection with witchcraft.
He has just visited Rebecca Nurse. Hale proceeds to ask questions about
the Christian character of the Proctor home. He notes that the Proctors
have not often attended church and that their youngest son is not
yet baptized. Proctor explains that he does not like Parris’s particular
theology. Hale asks them to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor
obliges but forgets the commandment prohibiting adultery.
At Elizabeth’s urging, Proctor informs Hale that Abigail
told him that the children’s sickness had nothing to do with witchcraft. Taken
aback, Hale replies that many have already confessed. Proctor points
out that they would have been hanged without a confession. Giles
and Francis rush into Proctor’s home, crying that their wives have
been arrested. Rebecca is charged with the supernatural murders
of Mrs. Putnam’s babies. A man bought a pig from Martha Corey and
it died not long afterward; he wanted his money back, but she refused,
saying that he did not know how to care for a pig. Every pig he
purchased thereafter died, and he accused her of bewitching him
so that he would be incapable of keeping one alive.
Ezekiel Cheever and Herrick, the town marshal, arrive
with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Hale is surprised because,
last he heard, Elizabeth was not charged with anything. Cheever
asks if Elizabeth owns any dolls, and Elizabeth replies that she
has not owned dolls since she was a girl. Cheever spies the doll
Mary Warren gave her. He finds a needle inside it. Cheever relates
that Abigail had a fit at dinner in Parris’s house that evening.
Parris found a needle in her abdomen, and Abigail accused Elizabeth
of witchcraft. Elizabeth brings Mary downstairs. Mary informs the
inquisitors that she made the doll while in court and stuck the
needle in it herself.
