Iron is a metal that requires an enormous amount of heat to melt. In the past, alchemists would melt iron in a crucible. A crucible is a heat resistant container in which metals are melted. When alchemists applied heat to the iron in the crucible, the iron would melt, but the crucible would not. The crucible withstood the heat and remained solid. In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the main character, John Proctor is sucked into the witchcraft trials, unable to save the town from their own hysteria, and save his reputation. As John Proctor deals with the witchcraft trials, and becomes more personally involved, he develops into a character that better understands the world and himself.
It all starts with the dark past and hidden secret that Abigail and John Proctor have kept to each other. Unbeknownst to the town, John Proctor has had an affair with Abigail, but it ends shortly after his wife, Elizabeth, throws her out of his house. However, in Abigail’s vengeance, she turns to witchery in an attempt to force Proctor back in her heart. That is why Betty cries, “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor” (Miller 18)! When Abigail and her group of friends are caught dancing in the woods and drinking blood, word breaks out that there are witches in the eerie town of Salem. Soon, the uproar of the witchcraft trials puts innocent civilians to the noose. At first, Proctor ignores the witchcraft trials, but when he discovers that his wife has been accused of being a witch, he can ignore them no longer. In a secret conversation, Proctor urges Abigail to end her foolishness, but she yells in denial, “Never in this world! I know you, John – you are this moment singing secret hallelujas that your wife will hang” (Miller 143)! However, Proctor isn’t singing secret hallelujas, but chocking on the fumes of his obsession with his reputation. His burning desire to keep his reputation in good standing is what causes him to ignore Abigail’s vengeance in the first place. It even seems as if Proctor loves his reputation more than his wife, because he would rather hide his sins, than protect Elizabeth from Abigail. In other words, he is more interested in protecting himself, than protecting his wife.
In the court room, John Proctor stands alone before the judges ready to reveal his dark secret. By now, Proctor has no other option than to confess his sins. He has trouble making this decision for fear of what will happen to his reputation. If the town knows of his affair, he will be seen as John Proctor the Lecher. But to save his wife’s life, Proctor knows that he must follow through with his decision, but will cost his reputation. Out of anger at himself and anger at the court, he cries with all his effort, “She thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it; I set myself entire in your hands. I know you must see it now” (Miller 102). The confession leaves the court dumbfounded, as Proctor has put his love for his wife above his obsession with his reputation. He has managed to save his wife from death, but has put all guilt on himself. Proctor tells the truth in hope of being set free, but not everything goes according to plan. The tables turn and Proctor is accused of witchcraft and his punishment is death at the gallows.
As hysteria grows among the judges and the town of Salem, it seems as if the only hope is for Proctor to confess his witchcraft. Proctor’s obsession with his reputation and his unwillingness to dishonor his fellow prisoners influence Proctor to not sign the confession. If Proctor confesses he is a witch, who he is not, he lies to save his own life, dishonoring the previously accused that did not lie to save their lives. At the same time, if he signs that he is a witch, he also ruins his reputation which is close enough to death itself. In a heartbeat, Proctor can do nothing else, but give up his life to die an honorable life. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name” (Miller 133)! Even up to his death, Proctor is trying by all means to save his reputation, but this time, by a different approach. He does not choose to hide his sins to make the appearance of a good reputation. Rather, he comes to the conclusion that speaking the truth is not the same as living the truth.
Because Proctor dies so honorably, he saves his reputation and sets himself free from the test of life. Before the end of his death, Proctor realizes that the ultimate form of a man’s reputation is shown by his integrity. Although men attempt to hide their faults and wrong doings, the act of hiding their sins is wrong in itself. Rather, men should do their best to live up to the standards they believe in. In Proctor’s case, he tells the truth about his affair, thinking that this will destroy his reputation, but actually, it exonerates him! It’s the fact that he tells the truth that makes him a good man. To add to that, when Proctor chooses not to lie to witchcraft, he saves his reputation because he did not lie to save his life. Rather, Proctor dies an honorably death that leaves the ones who survives the witchcraft trials in guilt. “However it is evident that some people still were unwilling to admit their total guilt, and also that the factionalism was still alive, for some beneficiaries were actually not victims at all, but informers” (Miller 135). Abigail who has murdered many, sinks lower, working as a prostitute in a whore house still longing for her John Proctor. In some ways, the plot and Proctor’s conflicts are similar to the hysteria of the McCarthy era. When the reader looks at Proctor’s development, it somehow mirrors the lives we seem to hold.
It’s exactly that – Arthur Miller intended that The Crucible mirrors humanity. Proctor’s issue with the witchcraft trials shows the flaws that human beings have. Although the way people view ourselves is very important, the morals that we live by are even more important. That is why our integrity is greater than our reputation. This very lesson is portrayed by the way John Proctor deals with the witchcraft trials, which is actually a trial of his own heart. John Proctor’s struggle reveals how weak and feeble human beings are. However, we become our greatest when we rise above our faults and sins. In many ways, John Proctor is the crucible. Throughout the play, the heat keeps rising burning away innocent witches, and Proctor carries the burden of it all. However, like a crucible, John Proctor withstands the trials and becomes a new man before he dies, living up to his beliefs. We too, should stand on the ground of our beliefs, displaying not the appearance of goodness, but our integrity.
