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Good or Evil? – A Literary Analysis of Arthur Miller’s "The Crucible"

In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller portrays two women whose characters, when juxtaposed, seem to be in stark contrast to one another. Although the exact words are not used, one woman is essentially presented in the story as “good” and the other woman as “bad”. Such black and white decisions of these characters would be ironic, considering that Arthur Miller wrote his play to expose the dangers of judging people with different mindsets or belief systems. Miller portrayed that such illogical reasoning is dangerous or at least counterproductive.

By exploring the characters and motives of the two main women, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, a rough microcosm emerges, paralleling the message of the story as a whole. The reader begins to understand that more than a superficial translation of “good” versus “evil” is at play.

Abigail Williams, the “bad” girl, is introduced in the play as the leader who led the other girls to a taboo meeting; her main purpose was to cast a spell on Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife – with whom she had an affair while living with them as a servant. It is clear that what for John was a small deviation from the moral path was for Abigail, the gateway to a new world. Abigail was confused and her reasoning was illogical, but that was no different than the logically impaired perspective of many in the town of Salem, even the most powerful and educated. Abigail’s reasoning that if Elizabeth died, she would take John, fits well among the illogical viewpoints of many characters in the play. Her motives were, in a morally certain world, wrong; yet they were so hidden that few saw through her mask of haunted innocence.

If Abigail’s reasoning was illogical and her motives impure, her methods undoubtedly tipped the scale against her character. She was willing to let many innocent people be accused and die. In many cases she sat in the accuser’s chair. Writing the story as a novel could have been helpful at this point, because the only glimpse into Abigail’s point of view is the discussion she has with John Proctor, who for a time was cut off from Arthur Miller’s story.

In that conversation, the young woman seemed fully convinced of the justice of her cause, as well as enthralled by her fantasy that she would have John once his wife died: “God gave me strength to call them liars. .. Oh, John, I’ll make you such a woman when the world turns white again” (150). Perhaps Abigail was truly deceived, or perhaps too good to play the part, even for John Proctor. Almost, at that point in time, she had gone so far that, whether she believed her own lie or was deliberately faking it the whole time, she knew it would be suicidal to stop there.

At the end of the story, the “bad” woman escaped, blameless in many people’s eyes, overnight, having stolen her uncle’s money to get him out of the volatile situation. Here again the reasoning of the people in power can be questioned. If the main accuser got away, having stolen money—which in those days must have been a more palpable crime than sending one’s soul to hurt another in the night—would it not be reasonable that perhaps her testimony would was doubted? However, such an idea never took off and the people who held their lives under the influence of their judgment continued their forgotten path to false convictions and ultimately murder.

Elizabeth Proctor, on the other hand, was the “good” woman. She came fully into the story in the first scene of Act II, a difficult scene to read. The unnatural discourse between man and woman looks like an eggshell covering spread thinly over a wound. When John Proctor burst out at the end of their dialogue, his words acted as a crack in that strained veil, yet Elizabeth simply passed on the power of judgment to him, saying, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart to judge. I never thought of you as anything but a good man” (55). This fiery exchange brings to light issues that have been simmering in their marriage, which do not fully emerge until the end of the play.

The clearest glimpse into Elizabeth’s mind and heart comes from a conversation that took place at the last meeting between her and John: “I have read my heart these three months, John. I have my sins to count. She needs a cold woman to stir up greed… I thought myself so simple, so bad, No honest love could come to me! Doubt kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should I said my love. It was a cold house that I kept” (137).

Here, Elizabeth’s heart was exposed in a way that no other character was, and the deeper reason why they had a strained marriage is revealed. Elizabeth has always thought of herself as inferior, unlovable. One can only imagine the world of her younger years, perhaps one of many children, forgotten and overlooked, most likely judged harshly for minor infractions. One describes little joy in such a community and a one-sided approach to Christianity, which was a form of Old Testament legalism without the promise of love and forgiveness. Never in history were concepts such as lasting joy, abundant life, or forgiving love mentioned. It was all harsh judgments and decisions, the very element that Jesus questioned when he exposed the motives of the religious class of his day, the Pharisees.

The character of Elizabeth represented, in a way, all those who grew up under the control of twisted belief systems. Her perspective and existence were a product of that upbringing, though she was likely blind to it. In this respect, Elizabeth’s character was not very different from Abigail’s. Raised with little love and little real understanding of the world around them, these women’s only survival was in their obedience to rules that in many cases were neither logical nor biblical. Both women were beset by fear: Elizabeth by the fear that she was unlovable and could never truly be loved for who she was; Abigail, afraid that if she didn’t take matters into her own hands, her life would be spent alone and unhappy.

In the end, Elizabeth discovered that she was truly loved. Maybe it was too little too late, but her husband loved her. Her husband was willing to lay down his life, maybe not exactly or entirely for her, but somehow his act represented that selfless love. John Proctor’s love for his wife gave him the strength to confess his deeds to Abigail, and although it cast her in a bad light and brought her death, he chose rather to die for his wife’s love than to live. without it. One analysis states that, “Elizabeth’s noblest act comes at the end when she helps the tormented John Proctor forgive himself just before his death” (Shmoop).

History shows that Elizabeth Proctor, although accused, was not convicted. If Arthur Miller was accurate in his portrayal of her character, one can only hope that her life was transformed by the fact that she learned that she was loved. Maybe she didn’t feel so simple and didn’t act so suspicious, because true love transforms the heart in ways that can’t be explained, only experienced. On the other hand, Abigail escaped the situation, running away from her fear in the end. One can only assume that she followed him to the end of her days. Her story was not a “happily ever after” as she never faced the things she feared the most.

The “good” woman and the “bad” woman were both products of their upbringing. However, they had the power to choose whether that would define their decisions or whether they would rise up and take the more difficult path of truth, acceptance—even their deepest fears—and love. We are not surprised – considering the actions of these two women throughout history – by the decisions they made in the end. There was no character arc for Abigail, but there was for Elizabeth, who came to understand love and forgiveness in a way she never had. Apparently, hopefully, this left him free to truly live.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: The Screenplay. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print.

The Shmoop Editorial Team. “Elizabeth Proctor at the Crucible.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. March 17, 2014.

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