"the crucible" act 3
TRANSCRIPT
“The Crucible” Act 3
Do Now: Have you or someone you know ever been unable to make a person listen to you? How did it
feel to be ignored? Did you finally succeed in being heard? Describe the situation in about a paragraph.
• Martha Corey is supposedly telling fortunes
• Have you ever read a fortune cookie? Do you think this court would consider fortune cookies evil?
• Giles Corey brings evidence to free his wife from accusation.
• She was arrested based on his own suspicions about her reading books - Guilt
• He didn’t expected that the court would go this far with the accusations
• “they be telling lies about my wife”• Putnam is “reaching out for land”, according to
Corey
• Francis Nurse and Giles Corey want to convince the court that the girls are frauds
• openly weeping – cares for his wife and feels responsible for her plight
• Danforth insists that they follow procedure and that the men submit affidavit; this is the third day that they have tried and failed to be heard; their wives might be executed before the written plea is reviewed
• The judges don’t want their authorities challenged. They don’t want to think about the girls being frauds since they already sentenced women to death based on their testimony.
• 400 are in jails, 72 condemned to hang: he will not want to listen to proof because he would then have to review all his previous decisions
• Lines 121-133 – Mary Warren has not been at court all week; Herrick says she was sick and Giles says that she has been “striving with her soul all week” - guilt
• Mary reveals that the girls are all pretending and that she never saw any spirits
• Parris denounces Proctor as a troublemaker that shouldn’t be listened to
• Danforth does not believe Mary is telling the truth – he doesn’t want to admit that he has been fooled by their performance
• Danforth believes Proctor has brought Mary Warren to court to save Elizabeth
• Parris believes Proctor has come to court to undermine the authority of the court
• Elizabeth claims to be pregnant, and if it turns out that she is she will be kept alive until the baby is born
• Proctor continues his attempts to prove the girls are lying because he is also trying to save the wives of his friends
• “that women will never lie” – about Elizabeth
• a petition that attests to the character of Elizabeth, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse – explaining they are good people and were never seen to communicate with the Devil
• 91 signatures - Francis Nurse promised those that signed the petition that they will not be harmed because of it
• Parris and Hathorne insist that everyone who signed the petition should be questioned – hysteria
• the judges are acting upon illogical personal opinions by wanting to bring before the court everyone with an unpopular opinion – the judges feel threatened
• Hale protests with “Is every defense an attack upon the court?” in lines 326-327
• Hale seems to be switching sides - he is starting to question the events
• Giles insists that Putnam convinced his daughter to cry witchery on George Jacobs so that he can acquire his land
• the court doesn’t seem to need much proof to convict witches, but a lot of proof when it comes to defending them
• Giles Corey hesitates to give the name of the witness against Putnam
• fears the man would be put in jail along with the 91 who signed the character testament
• he feels guilty for causing his wife’s trouble
Do you agree with Danforth’s assessment that Giles is a “foolish old man” in line 440?
• he is honorable and keeps promises even though he will suffer for his silence
• Hale points out that there is a fear in the country of the court
• Danforth believes the fear is caused by guilt
• people refuse to come to the defense of their neighbors for fear of being accused themselves; they see the court is irrational and fickle
• If Proctor is right about Abigail and the other girls then innocent people have been sentenced to die
• Hale comes forth “in a trembling state” [506] and implores Danforth to stop the proceedings “in God’s name” [512]; his “hand shakes yet as with a wound” [524] after he signs Rebecca Nurse’s death warrant because he realizes how serious the situation is – and suspects that Proctor might be right
• Witchcraft is an invisible crime and only the witch and the victim can testify to it. No lawyers.
• Danforth says in line 594 that Mary will go to jail either way - either she is lying now or lied about the witches – lying is a sin
• Danforth encourages the girls to continue their behavior in line 618-620 – suggests that Mary Warren has been conquered by the Devil and sent to the court to distract the court’s sacred purpose
• Mary Warren cannot faint when asked to prove that she was pretending to faint
• the mood is different, she cannot find the emotion for it
• Have you ever failed to do something when the need arose – something that you had done before or that you were sure you could do? How does that experience help you understand Mary Warren’s position in front of the judges?
• Abigail refuses to answer questions when they reflect negatively on her and shifts the attention off herself when in trouble
• she pretends to be cold, Mercy Lewis follows, they accuse Mary Warren of bewitching them
• John is mad that Abigail asks for the help of heaven
• he thinks she is such a base sinner that she has given up her right to ask for heavenly help
• Proctor admits to his affair with Abigail
• Abigail has swayed Danforth to her side and Mary Warren is weakening.
• It is his only hope to discredit Abigail. He hopes to prove her a whore and not a child or a saint.
• Proctor argues that no man would ruin his name unless it were true.
• Danforth has Elizabeth brought to the room to question her about Proctor’s claim that Abigail is a whore.
• Proctor claims that his wife cannot tell a lie and kicked Abigail out for harlotry
• Focus on the stage directions in lines 920-958.
• Elizabeth is nervous - tries to glance at her husband, hoping to find a clue from him about how she should respond; she is reluctant to look at Danforth and afraid that she will hurt her husband with her answer
• It was difficult for Elizabeth to tell a lie about John’s lechery since she is characterized as an honest woman
• She was trying to protect John’s reputation
• She would never reveal information about him without his permission
• she has to decide between honesty and loyalty to her husband
• Hale believes Elizabeth’s lie was natural; he calls Proctor an honest man; he believes the court is losing control and that private vengeance is the cause of the trouble
• Abby sees a yellow bird, which she claims is the spirit of Mary Warren come to silence her – once again, she shift the attention away from her.
• The girls repeat everything Mary Warren says because they are trying to convince the onlookers that Mary is directing demonic power against them
• Abigail has coached them – they wait for Abigail to lead; hysteria – the emotion in the room is high
• Proctor’s efforts to save his wife are destroyed
• Abigail and the others badger Mary Warren so badly that she accuses Proctor of being “the devil’s man” and is believed
• Mary sides with Abigail because of hysteria and bullying - she has a better chance of staying alive
• Hale denounces the proceedings and quits the court
• Proctor compares himself and Danforth with the Devil – they are both frauds and will go to hell