The Crucible By Arthur Miller ACT 3

The Crucible By Arthur Miller ACT 3

ACT 3 of Arthur Miller's *The Crucible* delves into the intense courtroom drama during the Salem witch trials, highlighting themes of hysteria, justice, and moral conflict. Key characters such as John Proctor, Abigail Williams, and Deputy Governor Danforth confront the consequences of their actions and the societal pressures of their time. The act showcases the struggle between truth and deception as Proctor attempts to expose the girls' lies and save his wife, Elizabeth. This pivotal section is essential for understanding the play's critique of mass paranoia and the dangers of extremism, making it a crucial read for students and enthusiasts of American literature.

Key Points

  • Explores the courtroom dynamics and power struggles during the Salem witch trials.
  • Features key characters like John Proctor and Abigail Williams in intense confrontations.
  • Highlights themes of hysteria, justice, and moral integrity in a repressive society.
  • Demonstrates the consequences of false accusations and the quest for truth.
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1
The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
ACT 3:
The vestry room of the Salem meeting house, now serving as the
anteroom of the General Court.
As the curtain rises, the room is empty, but for sunlight pouring
through two high windows in the back wall. The room is solemn,
even forbidding. Heavy beams jut out, boards of random widths
make up the walls. At the right are two doors leading into the
meeting house proper, where the court is being held. At the left
another door leads outside.
There is a plain bench at the left, and another at the right. In the
center a rather long meeting table, with stools and a
considerable armchair snugged up to it.
Through the portioning wall at the right we hear a prosecutor’s
voice, Judge Hathorne’s, asking a question; then a woman’s
voice, Martha Corey’s, replying.
COREY’S VOICE: I have evidence for the court!
DANFORTH’S VOICE: Take your seat.
COREY’S VOICE: Thomas Putnam is reachin’ out for land.
DANFORTH’S VOICE: Remove that man.
COREY’S VOICE: You’re hearin’ lies, lies.
(Giles Corey’s voice roars out.)
COREY: I have evidence for the court.
(The men argue.)
COREY: They’ll be hanging my wife, Martha.
HATHORNE: How do you dare come roarin’ into this court! Are
you gone daft, Corey?
COREY: You’re not a Boston judge yet, Hathorne, You’ll not call
me daft!
HATHORNE: Show some respect for the Deputy Governor, Corey.
DANFORTH: Who is this man?
PARRIS: Giles Corey, sir, and a more contentious…
COREY: I am asked the question, Mister Parris, and I am old
enough to answer it! My name is Corey, sir, Giles Corey. I have
six hundred acres, and timber in addition. It is my wife you be
condemning now.
DANFORTH: And how do you imagine to help her cause with
such contemptuous riot? Now begone.
COREY: They be tellin‘ lies about my wife, sir, I …
DANFORTH: Then you take it upon yourself to decide what this
court shall believe and what it shall set aside?
COREY: Your Excellency, we mean no disrespect for…
DANFORTH: Disrespect, indeed!-It is disruption, Mister. This is
the highest court of the supreme government of this province,
do you know it?
COREY: Your Excellency, I only said she were readin‘ books, sir, …
DANFORTH: Books? What books?
COREY: … and they come and take her out of my house for…. It
is my third wife, sir, and I never had no wife that be so taken
with books, and I thought to find the cause of it, d‘y‘see, but it
were no witch I blamed her for. I have broke charity with the
woman. I have broke charity with her.
HALE: Excellency, he claims hard evidence for his wife‘s defense.
I think that in all justice you must …
DANFORTH: Then let him submit his evidence in proper affidavit.
You are certainly aware of our procedure here, Mister Hale.
Clear this room.
NURSE: We are desperate, sir; we come here three days now
and cannot be heard.
DANFORTH: Who is this man?
NURSE: Francis Nurse, your Excellency.
HALE: His wife‘s Rebecca that were condemned this morning.
DANFORTH: I am amazed to find you in such uproar. I have only
good report of your character, Mister Nurse.
HATHORNE: I think they must both be arrested for contempt, sir.
DANFORTH: Let you write your plea, and in due time I will –
NURSE: Excellency, we have proof for your eyes. God forbid you
shut them to it. The girls, sir, the girls are frauds.
DANFORTH: What’s that?
NURSE: We have proof of it, sir. They are all deceiving you.
HATHORNE: This is contempt, sir, contempt!
DANFORTH: Peace, Judge Hathorne. Do you know who I am,
Mister Nurse?
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NURSE: I surely do, sir, and I think you must be a wise judge to
be what you are.
DANFORTH: And do you know that near to four hundred are in
the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?
NURSE: I…
DANFORTH: And seventy-two condemned to hang by that
signature?
NURSE: Excellency, I never thought to say it to such a weighty
judge, but you are deceived.
(All turn to see Mary Warren, Proctor, and Corey enter.
PARRIS: Mary Warren! What, what are you about here?
PROCTOR: She would speak with the Deputy Governor.
DANFORTH: Who is this?
PROCTOR: John Proctor, sir. Elizabeth Proctor is my wife.
PARRIS: Beware this man, Your Excellency, this man is mischief.
HALE: I think you must hear the girl, sir, she…
DANFORTH: (Raises a hand.) Peace. What would you tell us,
Mary Warren?
PROCTOR: She never saw no spirits, sir.
DANFORTH: Never saw no spirits?
COREY: Never.
PROCTOR: She has signed a deposition, sir….
DANFORTH: No, no, I accept no depositions. Tell me, Mister
Proctor, have you given out this story in the village?
PROCTOR: We have not.
PARRIS: They‘ve come to overthrow the court, sir! This man is…
DANFORTH: I pray you, Mister Parris. Do you know, Mister
Proctor, that the entire contention of the State in these trials is
that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?
PROCTOR: I know that, sir.
DANFORTH: And you, Mary Warren… how came you to cry out
people for sending their spirits against you?
MARY: It were pretense, sir.
DANFORTH: I cannot hear you.
PROCTOR: It were pretense, she says.
DANFORTH: Ah? And the other girls? Susanna Walcott, and… the
others? They are also pretending?
MARY: Aye, sir.
DANFORTH: Indeed.
PARRIS: Excellency, you surely cannot think to let so vile a lie be
spread in open court!
DANFORTH: Indeed not, but it strike hard upon me that she will
dare come here with such a tale. Now, Mister Proctor, before I
decide whether I shall hear you or not, it is my duty to tell you
this. We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment …
PROCTOR: I know that, sir.
DANFORTH: Let me continue. I understand well, a husband’s
tenderness may drive him to extravagance in defense of a wife.
Are you certain in your conscience, Mister, that your evidence is
the truth?
PROCTOR: It is. And you will surely know it.
DANFORTH: And you thought to declare this revelation in the
open court before the public?
PROCTOR: I thought I would, aye – with your permission.
DANFORTH: Now, sir, what is your purpose in so doing?
PROCTOR: Why, I… I would free my wife, sir…
DANFORTH: There lurks nowhere in your heart, nor hidden in
your spirit, any desire to undermine this court?
PROCTOR: Why, no, sir.
CHEEVER: I – Your Excellency.
DANFORTH: Mister Cheever.
CHEEVER: I think it be my duty, sir – (To Proctor) You’ll not deny
it, John. (To Danforth) When we come to take his wife, he
damned the court and ripped your warrant.
DANFORTH: He did that, Mister Hale?
PARRIS: Now you have it!
HALE: Aye, he did.
PROCTOR: It were a temper, sir. I knew not what I did.
CHEEVER: He plow on Sunday, sir.
DANFORTH: Plow on Sunday!
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CHEEVER: I think it be evidence, John. I am an official of the
court, I cannot keep it.
PROCTOR: I – I have once or twice plowed on Sunday. I have
three children, sir, and until last year my land gave little.
HALE: Your Honor, I cannot think you may judge the man on
such evidence.
DANFORTH: I judge nothing. I tell you straight, Mister – I have
seen marvels in this court. I have seen people choked before my
eyes by spirits, I have seen them stuck by pins and slashed by
daggers. I have until this moment not the slightest reason to
suspect that the children may be deceiving me. Do you
understand my meaning?
PROCTOR: Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many
of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation,
and –
PARRIS: Do you read the Gospel, Mister Proctor?
PROCTOR: I read the Gospel.
PARRIS: I think not, or you should surely know that Cain were an
upright man, and yet he did kill Abel.
PROCTOR: Aye, God tells us that. But who tells us Rebecca Nurse
murdered seven babies by sending out her spirit on them? It is
the children only, and this one, Mary Warren, will swear she lied
to you.
DANFORTH: Hmm. Judge Hathorne.
(Danforth and Hathorne speak to each other quietly.)
DANFORTH: Mister Proctor… this morning, your wife sent me a
claim in which she states that she is pregnant.
PROCTOR: My wife pregnant!
DANFORTH: There be no sign of it—we have examined her body.
PROCTOR: But if she say she is pregnant, then she must be! That
woman will never lie, Mister Danforth.
DANFORTH: She will not?
PROCTOR: Never, sir, never.
DANFORTH: We have thought it too convenient to be credited.
However, if I should tell you now that I will let her be kept
another month; and if she begin to show her natural signs, you
shall have her living yet another year until she is delivered—
what say you to that? (Proctor is silent.) Come man. You say
your only purpose is to save your wife. Good then, she is saved
at least a year, and a year is long. What say you, sir? It is done
now. Will you drop this charge?
PROCTOR: I… I think I cannot.
DANFORTH: Then your purpose is somewhat larger?
PARRIS: He‘s come to overthrow this court, Your Honor!
PROCTOR: Giles Corey and Francis Nurse are my friends. Their
wives are also accused.
DANFORTH: I judge you not, sir. Sit down. I am ready to hear
your evidence. Now, what depositions do you have for us,
Mister Proctor? And I beg you be clear, open as the sky, and
honest.
PROCOTR: I am no lawyer, sir, so I’ll –
DANFORTH: The pure in heart need no lawyers. Proceed as you
will.
PROCTOR: Will you read this first, sir? It‘s a sort of testament.
The people signing it declare their good opinion of Rebecca and
my wife, and Martha Corey. They’re all landholding farmers,
members of the church. If you‘ll notice, sir—they‘ve known the
women many years and never saw no signs they had dealings
with the Devil.
DANFORTH: How many names are here?
NURSE: Ninety-one, Your Excellency.
PARRIS: These people should be summoned … for questioning.
NURSE: Mister Danforth, I gave them all my word no harm
would come to them for signing this.
PARRIS: This is a clear attack upon the court!
HALE: Is every defense an attack upon the court?
PARRIS: All innocent and Christian people are happy for the
courts in Salem! These people are gloomy for it. And I think you
will want to know, from each and every one of them, what
discontents them with you!
DANFORTH: It is not necessarily an attack, I think. Yet – Then I
am sure, Mister Nurse, they may have nothing to fear. Mister
Cheever, have warrants drawn for all of these—arrest for
examination. (Cheever exits.)
NURSE: I have brought trouble on these people, I have….
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End of Document
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FAQs of The Crucible By Arthur Miller ACT 3

What is the significance of John Proctor's character in ACT 3?
John Proctor serves as the moral center of *The Crucible*, representing the struggle for integrity in a corrupt society. In ACT 3, he confronts the court to defend his wife, Elizabeth, and expose the truth about the girls' deceit. Proctor's willingness to sacrifice his reputation for honesty highlights the themes of personal honor and the consequences of societal hysteria. His character arc reflects the broader conflict between individual conscience and collective fear, making him a pivotal figure in the narrative.
How does Abigail Williams manipulate the court in ACT 3?
Abigail Williams uses her influence over the other girls and the court to maintain her power and avoid punishment for her actions. In ACT 3, she feigns victimhood and pretends to be attacked by spirits, which manipulates the court's perception and fuels the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Her ability to sway the court demonstrates the dangers of unchecked authority and the consequences of mass paranoia. Abigail's actions not only endanger innocent lives but also reveal the fragility of justice in a society driven by fear.
What role does Deputy Governor Danforth play in ACT 3?
Deputy Governor Danforth embodies the rigid authority of the court during the Salem witch trials in ACT 3. He prioritizes the court's reputation over justice, often dismissing evidence that contradicts the prevailing narrative of witchcraft. Danforth's character illustrates the theme of power and its corrupting influence, as he refuses to acknowledge the possibility of the girls' deceit. His actions reflect the broader societal issues of fear and the consequences of blind adherence to authority, making him a crucial antagonist in the play.
What themes are explored in ACT 3 of *The Crucible*?
ACT 3 of *The Crucible* explores several key themes, including the nature of truth, the impact of hysteria, and the struggle for justice. The courtroom setting serves as a microcosm of society, illustrating how fear can lead to irrational behavior and the persecution of the innocent. The conflict between individual conscience and societal pressure is also highlighted, particularly through Proctor's moral dilemmas. Additionally, the act critiques the dangers of extremism and the consequences of allowing fear to override reason, making it a powerful commentary on human behavior.

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