The Role of Names and Reputation in the Crucible

The Role of Names and Reputation in The Crucible

The majority of the characters' actions in The Crucible are motivated by their concern for their names. Both those accused of witchcraft and the court behave in certain ways to preserve or defend their reputation.

In the beginning of the play, antagonist Abigail Williams is concerned with the fact that her uncle, the town's Reverend Parris, caught her and her friends dancing in the forest. This is because they are suspected of having conjured spirits, and Parris witnessed that one of her friends had been dancing naked. Her reputation was already at stake, with rumors spreading that she had a secret relationship with John Proctor, whose house she served before she lived in her uncle's house. Also, the penalty for suspicion of dealing with witchcraft was death.

Abigail sets the plot in motion by her actions, which were heavily influenced by her concern for her name. Parris voices his suspicion to her, which, to her relief, does not include everything. She threatens her friends, warning them not to break under the pressure and reveal the worst of their actions. Abigail had called on their servant Tituba to help her with a charm. One of her friends, Ruth Putnam, was sent by her mother to Tituba to conjure spirits. In the woods, Abigail drank blood as a charm to kill John Proctor's wife, and Mary Warren danced naked. Later, Parris calls upon Reverend Hale, who is experienced in the issue of witchcraft. The suspicion continues to mount on the girls, so Abigail pins the blame on the servant Tituba.

Tituba is the slave of Reverend Parris's home, from Barbados. As she is in the lowest position in the house and is a slave, she is constantly looked down upon and blamed for most mishaps. So when Abigail blames Tituba, Parris does not hesitate to strike and shout at her. As he and Hale interrogate her, we see they do not ask her what he side of the story is, but rather they pressure her to confess for the crime they think she's committed. At first, she remains truthful and refuses to confess falsely. She is hurt that Abigail had backstabbed her as well. Eventually, she breaks and confesses falsely, "repenting" and declaring her rediscovered love for God. She knows, as she is viewed as less than everyone else, she has nothing more to lose. When asked who she saw with the Devil under the influence of witchcraft, she had to lie once again. Knowing she could not simply accuse anyone, she accuses Sarah Good and Goody Osbourne, both of whom are old and have lowly reputations in the town as a drunkard and as deluded.

Finding this as a opportunity to throw the impending punishment away and clear her name, Abigail also "confesses" and accuses Good and Osbourne. Her friends realize what she is doing, and follow suit to protect their own reputations. This then leads to the arrest and trials of Good and Osbourne.

When we are introduced to the protagonist John Proctor, he is coping with the fact that he had committed adultery with Abigail. His relationship with his wife is strained, but still genuine and strong. He has since tried to distance himself from Abigail and tried to forget what had transpired between them. Abigail confesses to him that there was in fact no witchcraft involved in the original situation. However, because he wishes to have nothing to do with Abigail now, and because he does not want to upset his wife with news of him and her alone in a room during the conversation, he is reluctant to tell the townspeople. But because he lives far enough from town, he is not aware of just how bad the situation has evolved.

John Proctor's indentured servant, Mary Warren, was one of the girls in Abigail's group. She and the other girls have been picked to help the court preside over the hearings of those who are accused of witchcraft. Because Sarah Good also "confessed", there were them more people accused. There was a domino effect caused by Tituba and Abigail, as people were pressured to falsely confess to save their lives. However, because Goody Osbourne chose to stand firm in the truth, she was condemned to hang.

Here we realize that the townspeople have two reputations to worry about: their reputation with those around them, and their name in God's eyes. They are torn in choosing which reputation to keep intact. Those who falsely confessed chose their reputation in the eyes of the townspeople, and those who refused chose their integrity under God.

Mary Warren and Reverend Hale manage to inform the Proctor house of what is transpiring in the village. It has escalated to almost 40 people that are jailed under suspicion of witch craft. Proctor confesses to his wife, Elizabeth, and Reverend Hale what Abigail told him, that no witch craft was actually at play. But before he can use this evidence at court, his wife is arrested, accused of witch craft. It is none other than Abigail, who found the town's hysteria as the perfect opportunity to rid herself of Elizabeth, and have Proctor to herself. She stuck a needle in a doll that Mary Warren made in court, knowing that it was meant for Elizabeth. Then later that night, she stuck a needle in herself and blamed Elizabeth for sending out her spirit to stab her. Proctor then resolves to clear his wife's name