Hale is a committed Christian and hater of witchcraft. His critical mind and intelligence save him from falling into blind fervor. His arrival sets the hysteria in motion, although he later regrets his actions and attempts to save the lives of those accused.
Elizabeth fired Abigail when she discovered that her husband was having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is supremely virtuous, but often cold.
Reverend Parris is a paranoid, power-hungry, yet oddly self-pitying figure. Many of the townsfolk, especially John Proctor, dislike him, and Parris is very concerned with building his position in the community.
Rebecca is a wise, sensible, and upright woman, held in tremendous regard by most of the Salem community. However, she falls victim to the hysteria when the Putnams accuse her of witchcraft and she refuses to confess. Francis Nurse A wealthy, influential man in Salem. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife. Nurse is well respected by most people in Salem, but is an enemy of Thomas Putnam and his wife.
Honest and scrupu-lous, at least in his own mind, Danforth is convinced that he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft. Giles Corey - An elderly but feisty farmer in Salem, famous for his tendency to file lawsuits. He uses the witch trials to increase his own wealth by accusing people of witchcraft and then buying up their land.
Ann Putnam has given birth to eight children, but only Ruth Putnam survived. The other seven died before they were a day old, and Ann is con-vinced that they were murdered by supernatural means.
Like Betty Parris, Ruth falls into a strange stupor after Reverend Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the woods at night. She is a timid girl, easily influenced by those around her. Betty falls into a strange stupor after Parris catches her and the other girls dancing in the forest with Tituba.
Her illness and that of Ruth Putnam fuel the first rumors of witchcraft. Ezekiel Cheever - A man from Salem who acts as clerk of the court during the witch trials. He is upright and determined to do his duty for justice. Judge Hathorne - A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials. When Mary Warren tells the court the truth that the girls were just pretending that they were being affected by witchcraft, she is challenged by Parris, Hathorne, and Danforth, and she is intimidated by the other girls.
Mary explains that she fainted because she thought she saw spirits. Abigail Williams tells John Proctor that the witchcraft is not real. After Reverend Parris finds Abigail, Betty Parris, and some other girls dancing in the woods, Betty becomes unresponsive. This makes the townspeople think witchcraft is involved, and the girls play along with the idea, accusing other townspeople of being witches. Hale presses Danforth to pardon them when they refuse to confess to witchcraft, but Danforth will not relent.
Hale sees that the court has become feared in Salem for its brutality and lack of justice. Instead of saving his own life, John Proctor chooses to guard his reputation and not accuse others of witchcraft. When John confesses to being guilty, Deputy Governor Danforth pressures John to name other people who might have sided with the devil. John dies with his integrity intact. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why is the play called The Crucible? What is a crucible? Did the girls really see the Devil or witches?
Rebecca, a figure of respectability and good sense, fears that an investigation into witchcraft will only increase division within the Salem community. The specter of witchcraft allows citizens to blame political failures, the deaths of children, and land squabbles on supernatural influences. But with Hale present and the scent of witchcraft in the air, the slightest unorthodox behavior automatically makes someone suspect.
Because she can no longer truly deny her involvement in witchcraft, she accepts her guilt but displaces it onto Tituba. She admits being involved in witchcraft but declares that Tituba forced her into it. In this manner, the admission of involvement with witchcraft functions like the ritual of confession.
The ritual of confession in the witch trials also allows the expression of sentiments that could not otherwise be verbalized in repressive Salem. Moreover, she states that the devil tempted her by showing her some white people that he owned.
Tituba is normally a powerless figure; in the context of the witch trials, however, she gains a power and authority previously unknown to her. No one would have listened seriously to a word she had to say before, but she now has a position of authority from which to name the secret sins of other Salem residents.
She uses that power and authority to make accusations that would have earned her a beating before. The girls—Abigail and Betty—follow the same pattern, empowering themselves through their allegedly religious hysteria. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Why is the play called The Crucible? What is a crucible?
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