The previous night, he saw Abigail and Betty dancing in the forest with Tituba. He also saw a dress on the ground and a girl running naked through the woods. Parris demands to know whether witchcraft was involved. Abigail continues to insist that the girls were just dancing. At this point in the conversation, a tormented middle-aged woman named Ann Putnam enters the room along with her husband, Thomas Putnam.
Ann is a firm believer in witchcraft because seven of her babies have died in infancy, leaving her with only one living child. She sees no possible explanation for this that is not supernatural in nature. The Putnams are glad that Parris has summoned Reverend Hale to investigate the situation because Hale supposedly caught a witch in Beverley recently.
Parris is still trying to shut down the witchcraft conversation because of the damage it might do to his reputation. Ann reveals to Parris that she actually sent Ruth to consult with Tituba the night before because Tituba can communicate with the dead. Ann wanted Ruth to talk to her dead siblings and find out who killed them. The Putnams say they are convinced that a baby-killing witch is running rampant.
Abigail admits that Tituba and Ruth were conjuring spirits. Parris is convinced his livelihood is ruined now that someone who lives under his roof has been revealed to be a witch. Thomas Putnam tells Parris he should get ahead of the situation and make the witchcraft accusations himself so no one can accuse him first.
Abigail and Mercy are left alone, and they try to rouse Betty to no avail. The two girls decide their official story will be that they were just dancing, and there was no magic involved.
Then, another teenage girl named Mary Warren enters the room. Suddenly, Betty gets a burst of energy. She reveals that Abby drank chicken blood in the forest in an attempt to cast a spell to kill Elizabeth Proctor.
Abigail slaps her and tells everyone that they had better stay quiet about the details of what really happened. Abigail says that she's seen some stuff i. John Proctor, a farmer, then enters the room. He yells at Mary Warren, who is his servant, for leaving his house when he forbid her from doing so. Mary and Mercy both leave, and Abigail and John are left alone.
Abigail and John had an affair that was discovered by his wife, which was the reason for her dismissal from their household.
Abigail is still in love with Proctor, but he wants to distance himself from her and recommit to Elizabeth. She insults his wife and continues to insist that he still loves her. Reverend Parris, the Putnams, and Mercy Lewis all rush in to check on her. Rebecca Nurse, and old and highly respected woman in Salem, enters the room along with an old man named Giles Corey.
Rebecca stands calmly next to the bed, and Betty quiets down. Everyone is impressed with this, and the Putnams ask if Rebecca can also help Ruth, but Rebecca doesn't think there's anything supernatural going on.
Betty is just acting up as kids are prone to do. Rebecca suggests that they should rely on the doctor and avoiding bringing Reverend Hale into the situation because it will cause unnecessary conflict. Thomas Putnam takes issue with this, and he tells Parris that when Reverend Hale arrives they must look for signs of witchcraft. He then implies that Proctor is the leader of a faction against him in the church.
He expects Giles Corey to be on his side, but Giles unexpectedly suports Parris because he thinks there may be something to the witchcraft hypothesis. Giles has been in court six times that year for various lawsuits. He says that everyone has been suing each other left and right, so there must be some sort of dark magic going on behind the scenes.
Proctor points out that Giles is the cause of many of these suits because he is always suing people for defamation for no reason. Proctor and Putnam argue briefly about who owns a certain tract of land near the woods where Proctor plans on gathering lumber. Reverend Hale enters the room with a stack of academic books.
Hale views the investigation of witchcraft as serious scientific inquiry. He brought the books because they explain all the different forms the Devil can take. With this information on hand, he's sure that he can find out whether Betty's illness is linked to the work of Satan. Rebecca Nurse is skeptical of the whole situation, and she leaves the room before Hale begins his investigation. Giles tries to consult Hale about his wife, Martha, who he says has been reading strange books.
He is worried that this might signify something sinister because he was unable to say his prayers while she was reading. Hale is somewhat intrigued and says they can discuss the issue later.
Hale addresses Betty, asking her if someone is bewitching her. Betty does not respond to his questions at first. Abigail is pressed with more questions about what exactly was going on in the woods. Parris says that when he came upon the girls, he saw that they had a kettle with a frog in it.
Faced with this damning evidence of black magic, Abigail admits that Tituba called the Devil. Tituba is dragged into the room to face these charges. Immediately, Abigail places all the blame on her, claiming that Tituba made her drink chicken blood from the kettle.
Tituba protests that Abigail was the one who instigated the meeting in the woods, but she is drowned out by further accusations from Abigail. Parris and Hale also talk over her attempts to explain herself.
Tituba is terrified, so she breaks down and says the Devil forced her to work for him. Putnam, Parris, and Hale encourage her to tell them who she has seen and plant the names of Goody Good and Goody Osburn in her mind as potential witches. Tituba says the Devil told her to kill Reverend Parris, and he promised her a better life if she worked for him. Abigail soon chimes in with her own hysterical set of confessions , claiming that she saw the Devil and wrote in his book.
Abigail adds more people to the list of the accused. Betty suddenly wakes up and joins her in shouting out additional accusations. Hale and Parris rejoice at Betty's apparent miraculous recovery. Putnam summons the marshal so that they can arrest the witches and bring them to justice. The Devil apparently has some kind of special friendship book that he makes people sign when they join his crew.
In this section, I'll go over a few quotes that I think are important in establishing the themes and characterizations that emerge in Act 1. This quote shows the gravity with which Parris views his position in the town and the degree of authority he thinks should accompany it.
I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! The value of a person's name is a recurring topic in The Crucible. Putnam claims Francis had no right to the land and, therefore, could not sell it. Reverend Hale arrives from another town to investigate the strange events in Salem. The people of Salem have summoned him as an expert in witchcraft to determine if witchcraft is behind the children's illnesses.
Hale learns that the girls were dancing in the woods with Tituba, and that Tituba can conjure spirits. Abigail blames Tituba for enticing her to sin. Abigail also confesses to witchcraft, stating that she had given herself to the Devil, but that she now repents. Betty wakes up, and she and Abigail name individuals that they say they have seen with the Devil. Eight days later, Elizabeth discovers that Proctor spoke to Abigail privately while in Salem. Elizabeth and Proctor argue over this.
Mary Warren comes home from Salem where she is serving as an official of the court, and gives Elizabeth a poppet doll that she made for her while sitting in the courtroom. Mary Warren tells Proctor that some of the girls accused Elizabeth of witchcraft, but the court dismissed the charge because Mary Warren defended her. Hale arrives at the Proctor house and questions Proctor about his poor church attendance. He asks Proctor to name the Ten Commandments.
Proctor names nine successfully, but he forgets the commandment forbidding adultery. Hale questions Elizabeth as well. Proctor reveals that Abigail admitted to him that the witchcraft charges were false.
Marshal Herrick then arrives and arrests Elizabeth. Earlier that evening, Abigail feels a needle-stab while eating dinner, and she accuses Elizabeth of attempted murder. The authorities of Salem search the Proctor house and discover the poppet, along with a needle. Hale questions Mary Warren and learns that she sewed the poppet and stored the needle inside. Mary Warren also tells him that Abigail saw her sew the poppet and store the needle.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth is arrested. The court convicts Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse of witchcraft. Giles Corey tells the court he has proof that Putnam is accusing his neighbors of witchcraft in order to gain their land.
Theater Expert. Wade Bradford, M. Updated September 10, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Bradford, Wade. The Role of Witch's Cake in Salem. Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of George Burroughs and the Salem Witch Trials. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes.
0コメント