Plot Summary for The Crucible
by Arthur Miller published in 1953

Set in 1692
Salem Massachusetts

The Story,
The Reverend Samuel Parris prayed over his daughter, who lay stricken with a nameless malady. As he prayed, he was angered by the interruption of his Negro slave, Tituba , whom he had brought with him from the island of Barbados. Parris was frightened and furious, for he had discovered his daughter Betty, Tituba, and some of the village girls dancing in the woods. Now two of his girls, Betty and Ruth Putnam, lay ill and witchcraft was rumored about the village. His daughter Betty and his ward and niece, Abigail Williams, had been participants in a secret and sinful act. Parris felt his position as minister to the community of Salem was threatened. Moreover, he suspected that more than dancing had taken place.

The frightened Parris sent for the Reverend John Hale, a reputed scholar and familiar with the manifestations of witchcraft. While waiting for Hale to arrive, the parishioners revealed the petty grievances and jealousies hidden beneath the veneer of piety of the Puritan community. Parris felt that the community had failed to meet its financial obligations to him. He suspected John Proctor, a respected farmer, of undermining his authority. Proctor resented Parris for preaching of nothing but hellfire and the money owed to the parish. Thomas Putnam a grasping landholder, disputed the boundaries of his neighbors' farms. Ann Putnam had lost seven babies at childbirth, and she suspected witchcraft of mothers with large families, most especially Rebecca Nurse, who had had eleven healthy children.

Amid this discontent, the learned Reverend Hale arrived with his books of weighty wisdom. Under Hale's close questioning concerning the girls' illicit activities in the woods, Abigail Williams turned the blame away from herself by accusing Tituba of witchcraft. Terrified by the threat of hanging, Tituba confessed to conjuring up the Devil. Thomas Putnam asked Tituba if she had seen the old beggar Sarah Good or Goodwife Osborne with the Devil. Sensing her survival at stake. Tituba named both women as companions of the Devil. Abigail Williams picked up the accusations and added the names of other villagers. Soon the rest of the girls began hysterically chanting out names of village men and women seen in company with the Devil.

At the Proctor farm, Proctor told Elizabeth that Abigail Williams had revealed that the dancing in the woods was only "sport." When Proctor hesitated to go to the authorities with this information, Elizabeth Proctor quietly reminded her husband of his past infidelities with Abigail Williams. Their argument was interrupted by the arrival of the Reverend Hale, who had come to inquire into the sanctity of the Proctor home. Elizabeth Proctor suspected that Abigail Williams meant to destroy her so that she might become Proctor's wife. Mary Warren, another of the afflicted girls and the Proctors' servant, returned from the court where she had been giving testimony. She gave Elizabeth a rag doll that she had made in court.

At this point, officers of the court arrived at the Proctor farm with an arrest warrant for Elizabeth Proctor on the charge of witchcraft. They searched the house for poppets (dolls) and found the one Mary Warren had given to Elizabeth. They discovered a pin in its stomach and took it for proof that Abigail Williams' stomach pains were the result of Elizabeth Proctor's witchcraft. Elizabeth was taken away in chains. Proctor confronted Mary Warren, demanding that she tell the court the truth. At the court of Deputy Governor Danforth, Giles Corey, Francis Nurse, and John Proctor presented evidence to save their wives from the charge of witchcraft. Danforth confiscated the list of names brought by Francis Nurse testifying to Rebecca Nurse's good character and marked the petitioners for arrest. Giles Corey refused to name the people who backed him, so the deputy governor had Corey arrested. When Proctor brought Mary Warren to court to recant, Abigail pretended to be possessed by the evil sprits brought by Mary Warren. Proctor accused the girls of lying and confessed to having committed adultery with Abigail Williams. Danforth refused to believe that Abigail could be guilty of so great a sin, but Proctor swore that Abigail was dismissed as the Proctors' servant by Elizabeth because she knew of the affair. Danforth brought Elizabeth to court and questioned her regarding Proctor's adultery with Abigail. Elizabeth lied to Danforth to save Proctor's name, and ironically condemned him as a perjurer.

In the Salem jail, the Reverend Parris and the Reverend Hale begged Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor to confess to witchcraft in order to save their lives. Hale and Parris realized too late that the accused had been victims of the girls' hysteria and the townspeople's private grievances. Rebecca Nurse remained firm in her convictions, refusing to confess, but John Proctor wavered. Full of self-contempt, Proctor confessed to witchcraft. Having confessed, he refused to let the court keep his signed confession. He recanted his confession and went to the gallows to save his name.

This summary is from: Masterplots, Revised Second Edition, Salem Press: Pasadena CA 1996, vol 3 pages 1410-1413
Last updated: May 7, 2001

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