Summary Hale informs Danforth that none of the prisoners will confess. Hale asks Danforth to pardon the seven individuals condemned to die, or allow him more time to persuade them to confess. Danforth refuses. Hale summons Elizabeth. He asks her to convince Proctor to admit his guilt so that the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2
Summary Parris summons Danforth and Hathorne and informs them that Hale is attempting to convince the prisoners to confess their crimes. Parris also tells Danforth that Abigail and Mercy Lewis have disappeared. Abigail robbed Parris, and he believes she and Mercy boarded a ship. Danforth and Parris discuss a recent […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1
Summary Act IV begins in the Salem jail. Marshall Herrick wakes up Sarah Good and Tituba to move them to a different cell. Sarah and Tituba tell Herrick that they are waiting for the Devil. They plan to fly to Barbados with the Devil. Analysis Several months have passed since […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 3
Summary Danforth summons Abigail and three of the girls into the vestry room, where he questions Abigail. She denies Mary Warren’s charge that she is lying and that she falsely accused Elizabeth Proctor. Danforth learns that the girls danced in the woods. Hathorne questions Mary Warren and asks her to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 2
Summary Proctor and Mary Warren enter the vestry room. Proctor tells Danforth that Mary Warren did not see spirits. Although Danforth refuses to accept Mary Warren’s signed deposition, he does agree to talk with her. Danforth asks Mary Warren about the spirits that she saw. She tells him that she […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 1
Summary Act III begins in the Salem meeting house. The court questions and accuses Martha Corey of witchcraft. Giles Corey interrupts the court proceedings and declares that Thomas Putnam is “reaching out for land!” He is removed from the courtroom and taken to the vestry room. Judge Hathorne, Deputy Governor […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 4
Summary Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick arrive at the Proctor house with a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. Cheever discovers the poppet that Mary Warren made for Elizabeth, and he finds a needle inside the doll. Cheever tells Proctor and Hale that Abigail has charged Elizabeth with attempted murder. Cheever says […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 4Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 3
Summary Reverend Hale visits the Proctor house. Hale tells Elizabeth and Proctor that Elizabeth was named in court. Hale questions Proctor about his poor attendance in church. Hale asks Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor can only recall nine and Elizabeth reminds him of the one he forgot — […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 2
Summary Mary Warren returns to the Proctor house. Proctor is furious that she has been in Salem all day, but Mary Warren tells him she will be gone every day because she is an official of the court. Mary Warren gives Elizabeth a poppet that she made while in court. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 1
Summary Act II begins in the house of John Proctor eight days after Abigail and Betty began accusing individuals of witchcraft. Proctor returns late after working in the fields and eats dinner with his wife Elizabeth. Proctor tells Elizabeth that he is striving to make her happy. Elizabeth questions Proctor […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act II: Scene 1