The Crucible - Plot Summary

Act 1

Act 1 Scene 1 In Salem, Massachusetts, The Crucible opens in the house of Rev Samuel Parris. His daughter, Betty, is in bed seemingly comatose. The night before, Parris had discovered his daughter along with his niece, Abigail and a slave, Tituba, 'dancing like heathens' in the forest. When the Reverend appeared, Betty had lost consciousness and had not recovered since. Dr Griggs, the town's physician, suggests that witchcraft may be the cause of the malady.  Rev Parris is upset. He knows that his daughter has not been truthful with him. Parris questions Abigail to find out what had really been happening. He tells Abigail how he had witnessed the bizarre fire-side dancing, as well as another, unidentified woman, running naked through the forest. Abigail denies the charge of witchcraft, but Parris suspects her to be a liar. Parris  begins to question why the respected Goody Procter had previously released Abigail as a servant.  The Putnams, one of the founding families of Salem, arrive and affirm that Betty's illness must be the result of witchcraft. Ruth Putnam, their daughter, has also fallen into a strange trance. Mrs Putnam's tragic history of infant mortality,  she know also believes is a result of evil spirits at work within the area of Salem. As Reverend, it would be Parris' responsibility to declare the existence of witchcraft in the locality, and the Putnams remind him of this duty. However, Parris worries that some locals, already hostile to the Reverend, might use this as an excuse to expel him from the town.   

Act 1 Scene 2 Mercy, the Putnam's servant, goes with Abigail to try to wake Betty. During this time, Abigail prepares Abigail on what to say when she is inevitably questioned about the night in the woods. Mercy, it turns out, is the naked woman from that night. In the woods, they had been holding a seance and Tituba was calling to Ruth's dead sisters.  Mary Warren enters. She reassures the girls that not everyone thinks witchcraft is responsible for Betty's condition. Mary Warren explains how she is afraid of what will happen if the townspeople hysterically get behind the witchcraft theory. While the three women talk and argue, Betty opens her eyes.  With Betty awake, the audience learns that they had been attempting to cast spells in the forest that night.  Abigail had been drinking blood and attempting to curse Goody Proctor. Enraged, Abigail threatens to use witchcraft on all the girls - Betty, Mercy and Mary Warren - is they reveal the truth about the spell. Abigail orders them to say that they only danced and that is was Tituba practicing witchcraft. From the stress of the moment, Betty collapses back into her catatonic state. 

Act 1 Scene 3  Alone in Betty's bedroom are John Proctor, Abigail and the unconscious Betty. Proctor suspects that Abigail is in some way responsible for Betty's illness, and so questions her about that night. Abigail sticks to her alibi and claims that the girls only danced in the forest.  Abigail, who is obviously attracted to John Proctor, asks if she is the reason for his visit. Proctor denies this. The audience learns that some months previously, Abigail and Proctor had an affair while Abigail was serving in the Proctor house. This is the reason that Goody Proctor had dismissed her which, in turn, is the reason that Abigail sought to curse her. John Proctor denies he has any residual feelings for the girl, though Abigail thinks otherwise. 

Act 1 Scene 4 Betty wakes in a hysterical state. She screams and covers her ears. Downstairs, a number of parishioners have gathered to pray for the girl. Mrs Putnam assumes that Betty is possessed She thinks the prayers are driving the demon insane, and that is the reason for Betty's hysterics. Rebecca Nurse calms everyone in an attempt to restore Betty's docile state.  Mrs Putnam then demands that Rebecca visit her daughter, Ruth. The Putnam's reaffirm their belief that witchcraft is responsible for the deaths of their other children. Rebecca attempts to persuade them that both Ruth and Betty's conditions will pass. Rebecca also tells them that there is a great danger in explaining the illnesses off as an act of witchery. Mrs Putnam grows hostile toward Rebecca and claims that it suspicious that Rebecca has lost none of her own children.  Among the men, Proctor criticizes Parris for his sermon as talked of money rather than God. Parris, Giles Corey, Proctor and Putnam then enter into a series of arguments about money and property. Three of the men claim Parris' salary expectations are too high. Parris thinks they are plotting to have him removed from the town. Putnam accuses Proctor of stealing firewood, but Proctor claims the land his his, bought from Goody Nurse's husband. The argument continues in claims and counter-claims. 

Act 2

Act 2 Scene 1 A weeks has passed and John Proctor is having dinner with his wife, Elizabeth. After working in the fields until late, John is now home. He tells his wife that he is striving to make her happy.  Elizabeth is suspicious. She questions whether John is late because he has traveled into Salem. Elizabeth says that their servant, Mary Warren, has been in Salem all day, despite the fact that John had told her not to go there. John is angry. He then learns that Mary has been made an official of the court. Others in the court are the deputy governor of the province, along with four magistrates. Fourteen people have been arrested for witchcraft and will stand trial.  Elizabeth tells Proctor that he must go to Salem and reveal Abigail as a fake. John tells his wife that he cannot, because what Abigail had said, she had said in privacy. Elizabeth is upset to learn that they were alone together and suspects they have rekindled their affair. Proctor is angered by the lack of trust, but cannot be completely surprised by it. 

Act 2 Scene 2 At the Proctor house, Mary Warren finally returns home. John is angry because she has been gone all day, but Mary explains that, as an official of the court, she will be required to be in Salem every day for the duration of the trial. Mary presents Elizabeth with a gift, a poppet that she made during the day. (Ironically, a poppet is like a voodoo doll, used in witchcraft) Mary tells how 39 people now stand accused. Goody Osborn, she continues, will hang because she denies her involvement. John is upset because he knows that the situation is becoming out of hand. He realizes that innocent people are being accused of being in league with the devil. Mary tells them that Elizabeth Proctor was accused and, that thanks to Mary's defense of her character, the accusation was dismissed.  Elizabeth knows that Abigail is behind the accusation. She tells her husband that Abigail is planning to have Elizabeth executed for witchery, so that she can have John to herself. She wants her husband to confront Abigail and tell her that she will never get her wish. John and Elizabeth argue again about his infidelity.  

Act 2 Scene 3 Reverend Hale takes a trip to the Proctor house. As a sign of the community's now fanatical puritanism, Hale chides Proctor over his levels of church attendance. The Reverend goes as far as to quiz John on the Ten Commandments, as laid down by Moses. One by one, John Proctor slowly works his way through them. However, he can only manage to remember nine. Ironically, the commandment he has forgotten to mention is the commandment to abstain from adultery, the very sin he has breached with Abigail. Elizabeth is unimpressed. Proctor changes the subject and tells Reverend Hale that Abigail has admitted to him that the strange ailments of Betty and Ruth were not the result of witchcraft. Hale wants Proctor to repeat that statement in court. Hale then questions Elizabeth to see if she should be tried for heathen beliefs. Francis Nurse and Giles Corey arrive. They reveal that another two women - Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse have been arrested for witchcraft.  

Act 2 Scene 4 Men arrive at the Proctor house to arrest Elizabeth. They are Marshal Herrick and Ezekiel Cheever. The poppet that Mary Warren made as a gift for Elizabeth is discovered by Cheever. Inside the doll he finds a needle. Abigail has charged Elizabeth with suspicion of attempted murder. Abigail claims to have been stabbed with a needle while eating at the Parris house. She further claims that she was stabbed by Elizabeth's spirit, through the medium of the poppet.  Mary Warren tries to defend Elizabeth and tells the men that it was she who made the poppet in court that day. Moreover, she explains that Abigail was seated beside her at the time and must have seen Mary place the needle inside the doll for safe keeping. The men ignore her pleas and take Elizabeth into custody anyway.  Proctor tells Mary Warren that it his her duty to testify against Abigail in court. But Mary is afraid that if she does, then Abigail and the other girls will turn against her. Mary Warren, it is revealed, knows of the affair between Abigail and John Proctor. 

Act 3

Act 3 Scene 1 In the Salem courthouse, Martha Corey is being questioned about her involvement with witchery.  During the proceedings, Giles Corey interrupts to accuse Thomas Putnam of using the trial as smokescreen for a land-grab on his neighbors' property. Corey is removed from court to the vestry. In the vestry, Judge Hathorne, Danforth, Cheever and Parris privately follow up on the accusation. Corey tells of his sizable land holdings - 600 acres with timber. Corey protests that the court his holding his wife, Martha. He admits that Martha reads (unusually for a woman of the times), but denies her involvement in spell-craft.  Corey and Francis Nurse proclaim that they have new evidence for the court which they have been waiting days to present. Danforth responds that the men must follow court procedure and file the correct paperwork before administering new evidence. Nurse tells Danforth that the young accusers are lying.    

Act 3 Scene 2 Still in the vestry, John Proctor and Mary Warren enter. They talk to Danforth and tell him that Mary Warren did not see spirits, not did the other girls that night. Danforth will not accept Mary's signed deposition but wishes Mary to continue their talk.  Mary admits that she and the other girls had only pretended to see spirits. Danforth questions Proctor to see if he is attempting to sway the court to save his wife. Proctor claims that the court is already being swayed by the imaginations of children, but Danforth knows he is hiding something and warns Proctor that the truth will come out.  Danforth tells Proctor that Elizabeth says she is pregnant. However, the court's physician has not found any evidence to back this up. Proctor vouches for his wife, saying that she would not lie about such a thing. Because of the pregnancy, Danforth will let Elizabeth live, for the present.  Proctor then testifies that Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse are upstanding women and are also unjustly accused. 91 people have signed a letter to the same effect. Parris argues that these 91 are in conflict with the court's ruling and should be called individually. Francis Nurse is upset because he had promised them that there would be no repercussions for adding their signatures.  After reading Giles Corey's deposition, Thomas Putnam is brought before the magistrates. Corey accuses Putnam of urging his daughter to make false accusations against George Jacobs. Putnam, he believes, is the only person in Salem who could afford Jacob's land if he were to hang for witchcraft. Putnam denies the charge. Danforth asks for Corey's proof, but Corey refuses to name who overheard Putnam. Corey is arrested for contempt of court.  Hale informs Danforth that the public fear the court. Danforth, despite the evidence, claims that only the guilty should fear the court. Hale wonders out loud if everyone the girls accuse can really be guilty.  Danforth reads the deposition of Mary Warren. In it she states that she never saw the devil and that the other girls are lying. Hale says that a lawyer should present this claim. Hale and Danforth argue while Parris reads the deposition. Parris demands that he question Mary in the court, but Danforth denies his request. Danforth tells Mary that she must ow tell the truth. She is also told that, whatever the outcome, she will be punished for perjury for offering two contradicting statements. Danforth begins to question the veracity of his previous judgments and the innocence of the people he has already sent to hang.

Act 3 Scene 3 Danforth wants to speak to the girls alone. He summons Abigail and three of the other girls to the vestry. Abigail denies the charges of lying and maintains her story.  Danforth learns of the girls dancing in the wood. Hathorne speaks to Mary Warren and asks her to pretend to faint. She says she cannot. He calls her a liar because, in her statement, she claims to have done just that.  Danforth asks Abigail is it is possible that she could have imagined the spirits. Abigail says no, that she had not imagined them. In unison, Abigail and the other girls suddenly claim that Mary Warren has once again sent a spirit to harm them.  Proctor reveals the truth of his affair before the court and calls Abigail a whore. He defends Elizabeth and claims once again that his wife is incapable of lying. Elizabeth is called to testify. In complete silence, she is questioned as to why she dismissed Abigail from the service of the Proctor house. To cover up her husband's shame, Elizabeth lies about the nature of the dismissal, thus revealing herself to be untruthful.  Abigail and the other girls turn on Mary Warren who, under this pressure, once again recants her statement and says it was made under duress from John Proctor. Danforth accuses Proctor of being in league with the devil and has him arrested. Hale quits the court in protest. 

Act 4

Act 4 Scene 1 The season is now Fall. The scene takes place in the Salem jail. Sarah Good and Tituba are woken by Marshall Herrick because he wants to move them to a different cell. Eerily, the girls tell Herrick a secret. They say they are waiting for the devil. When he gets here, they say, they will be transformed into birds and escape to Barbados together. 

Act 4 Scene 2 Danforth and Hathorne re called by Parris. He tells them that Hale has been in contact with the prisoners. He is trying to persuade them to confess their crimes. Mercy Lewis and Abigail have disappeared, he also informs them. Parris has been robbed by Abigail. He believes they have left to board a ship together. Danforth and Parris talk about a nearby town called Andover. Recently they had a rebellion there. The men worry that something similar may happen in Salem and that the townsfolk with expel the court. John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are soon due to be hanged. The townsfolk are not happy. Threatening messages have been left, such as the dagger found outside Parris' door. Fearing for his own life, Parris wants Danforth to postpone the executions, so Hale has time to extract a confession. Danforth stubbornly refuses. 

Act 4 Scene 3 Danforth learns from Hale that none of the prisoners will confess. Hale wants Danforth to pardon the seven remaining prisoners (Abigail's disappearance has made the court look like a sham). Danforth refuses. Hale asks for more time to draw confessions from the prisoners. Danforth refuses. Hale speaks with Elizabeth. He wants her to try to persuade John to confess so the court won't hang him. She goes to the Jail to see her husband. They talk about their children and the unborn child she carries. Moved by this, Proctor considers confessing in the hope he may one day be a father to his children again.  Proctor worries that he will not be respected if he confesses to a crime he did not commit. Elizabeth tells him she would forgive him and theta she has already firgiven him for his affair with Abigail, which she now partially blames herself for. She thinks it was her own coldness that drove John to seek the comfort of another woman. 

Act 4 Scene 4 In the courtroom, Proctor confesses to witchcraft for the sake of his family. He refuses to implicate anybody else. Danforth tells John that the court demands written testimony of his confession.  Rebecca Nurse is shocked to learn of John's confession. She still refuses to provide one of her own to the court.  John writes and is about to sign his false testimony. However, when he learns that Danforth plans to post the confession on the door of the church, John destroys the document.  At this, the jailers take John toward the gallows to hang. Hale pleads with Elizabeth. He wants her to help John confess again. Elizabeth refuses. With his integrity restored, John goes to hang.