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Main Characters Of The Crucible

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Who are The Crucible characters? What practice they do and when do they show up in the play? Find out in this overview of the characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

In this article, I'll get over each of the Crucible characters by name, pinpoint which act(s) each character appears in and/or is mentioned in, and briefly draw each character and what she/he does in The Crucible.

Central Cast of The Crucible

To start off with, I'll discuss the seven characters in The Crucible who are integral to the plot of the drama: John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Reverend Hale, and Elizabeth Proctor. For each of these characters, you'll get an overview of their relationships with other characters in the play, a short description of their personality, and a rundown of the deportment they have throughout the play.

John Proctor

John Proctor is the central character whom the drama of The Crucible revolves effectually. This primacy is helped past the fact that he has relationships with many of the other characters in the play: Proctor is husband to Elizabeth Proctor, former (adulterous) lover of Abigail Williams, employer of Mary Warren, friend of Giles Corey and Francis Nurse (and by extension their wives), and not a fan (though not precisely an enemy) of Reverend Parris. Proctor is described by Miller as "respected and even feared in Salem," having "a sharp and biting style with hypocrites" even though he "regards himself as a kind of a fraud" (p. 19) due to his affair with Abigail Williams.

Act 1: We observe out that Proctor had an affair with Abigail that he says he no longer wishes to continue. Proctor is skeptical of witchcraft and of Parris'south claims of persecution and leaves shortly after Reverend Hale arrives at the Parris household.

Act 2: Elizabeth and John discuss the events that accept been happening in Salem; Elizabeth encourages John to tell the court what Abigail told him about the girls faking information technology, which triggers a give-and-take about John'south matter with Abigail and his standing guilt about information technology. Over the course of the act, Proctor becomes frightened of the power the girls have with their accusations, peculiarly once his wife is arrested for witchcraft.

Deed 3: Proctor goes to courtroom to fight the charges against his wife and dispute the veracity of the girls' claims; he eventually ends upwardly being defendant of witchcraft himself.

Act four: Tormented over whether or not to confess to witchcraft to relieve himself, Proctor ultimately ends up tearing upwardly his signed confession and going to the gallows with what remains of his integrity intact.

For a deeper exploration of John Proctor's graphic symbol traits and actions, read our character analysis of him.

Abigail Williams

Also Known Every bit: Abby Williams

Abigail is the niece of Reverend Parris and the cousin of Betty Parris. She besides used to work equally a servant with the Proctors, before she was sent away by Elizabeth Proctor for having an affair with Elizabeth's husband John. She is friends (or at to the lowest degree acquaintances) with Mercy Lewis and eventually becomes the ringleader of the "afflicted" girls (i.due east. the girls who charge people of existence witches). Miller describes Abigail equally "seventeen...a strikingly beautiful daughter, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling" (p. viii); in essence, he is calling her a pretty fiddling liar.

Act ane: Abigail is defendant by her uncle of dancing in the woods (mayhap naked) and of being soiled; she vehemently denies this, merely when he leaves Betty wakes and accuses Abigail of drinking a potion to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Eventually, Abigail manages to become out of beingness punished by first accusing Tituba of forcing her to drinkable the potion then appearing to confess her bewitching and accusing others of witchcraft.

Human activity 2: Nosotros detect out, first via Mary Warren and then via Ezekiel Cheever, that Abigail has accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft.

Act 3: Abigail is questioned about faking her symptoms and denounces it equally a prevarication; she then leads the girls in a hysterical brandish against Mary Warren when Mary tries to ignominy them and succeeds in influencing Mary to carelessness her testimony.

Act 4: We hear from her uncle, Reverend Parris, that Abigail has run off with Mercy Lewis and some of her uncle's money.

For more most Abigail Williams and her role in The Crucible, read our in-depth discussion of Abby, and our assay of important Abigail Williams quotes.

body_abigailwilliams-2.jpg Me? Charge someone of witchcraft so I could marry her husband and run off with my uncle's money when that didn't piece of work out? Whyever would you think such a affair?

Mary Warren

Mary Warren is a servant to John and Elizabeth Proctor and part of the group of girls accusing people of witchcraft. Described by Miller as "seventeen, a subservient, naïve lone girl" (p. 17), Mary is motivated both by her want to be a part of "the corking doings in the globe" (p. 20) and her fears of getting in trouble (whether with Abigail or the Proctors).

Act 1: Mary shows up at the Parris household to confer with Abigail and Mercy near what's going on (since they were all dancing in the woods the night before).

Human activity ii: Mary arrives back at the Proctors' slightly more confident due to her role in the court; she brings Elizabeth a poppet she made and both the Proctors news of what has been happening in Salem and reveals that she managed to stave off one accusation of witchcraft confronting Elizabeth (although it turns out that after Mary left, Elizabeth was accused once again). After Elizabeth is arrested and taken away, Mary is yelled at by John Proctor and told she has to testify in court about how she made the poppet, stuck a needle in it, and gave it to Elizabeth.

Act 3: Mary is bullied by John Proctor into testifying how there is nada supernatural occurring in Salem. This ends up backfiring when she is accused of sending her spirit to torment the girls; eventually, Mary accuses Proctor himself of beingness a witch and returns to the fold of accusers.

Discover more virtually Mary Warren's role in The Crucible with our character analysis of her.

Giles Corey

Giles Corey is husband to Martha Corey and friends with John Proctor and Francis Nurse. A cantankerous old human who has no trouble suing even his friends for perceived insults, Giles is described by Miller as "a creepo and a nuisance, but withal a deeply innocent and brave man" (p. 38).

Deed 1: Giles wanders into the Parris business firm to observe out what'south going on. He tells Reverend Hale that he thinks information technology's weird his wife Martha reads all the fourth dimension and that whenever she reads, Giles has trouble praying (conveniently omitting the information that Giles has just started to go to church more regularly and then naturally would have difficulty remembering his prayers).

Act ii: Giles comes to the Proctors' house forth with Francis Nurse to report that both their wives accept been arrested for witchcraft; he asks Proctor's advice for what to do

Human activity iii: Giles storms into court to try to show his wife isn't a witch. He ends up beingness condemned for antipathy of court when he won't name the person who told him that Putnam'south daughter defendant George Jacobs of existence a witch in gild to exist able to purchase George Jacobs' forfeited country.

Act 4: We learn via Elizabeth Proctor that Giles was pressed to death (with stones on his chest) since he refused to respond the accusations confronting him one mode or another so his belongings would stay in his family.

For a more detailed word of Giles Corey and what happened to him, read our dedicated Giles Corey character assay.

Rebecca Nurse

Besides Known As: Goody Nurse

Rebecca is married to Francis Nurse. She is friendly with everyone in Salem except for Ann Putnam, whose concerns over her daughter Ruth Rebecca kind of brushes off in Act one.

Act ane: Rebecca comes over to the Parris household and tries to calm anybody down, saying it's probably just girls being girls and not annihilation supernatural. When it becomes clear that everyone else wants to go alee with the investigation of possible witchy causes for the girls' beliefs, she departs.

Act 2: The audition learns from Francis Nurse that Rebecca has been arrested for the murder of Ann Putnam'south vii children who died in infancy.

Deed 3: The audience learns via Unhurt that Rebecca has been plant guilty of witchcraft in court (p. fourscore).

Human action 4: Rebecca is saddened to learn that John is going to confess to witchcraft, then uplifted when he decides not to; they both go to the gallows together.

For more word of the function of Rebecca Nurse in the play, brand sure to read our consummate analysis of Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible The Crucible.

Reverend John Hale

Reverend Hale is an "expert" on witchcraft, chosen in from Beverly by Reverend Parris as a precautionary measure (in example Betty Parris's affliction is supernatural in nature). Described by Miller at the beginning of the play every bit "nearing forty, a tight-skinned, eager-eyed intellectual," (p. thirty), Unhurt changes over the course of the play from an idealist who believes he has the power to root out the Devil to a disillusioned man who realizes he has added to a hysteria and acquired the deaths of innocents.

Act ane: Hale appears in response to Parris'due south summons. Excited to utilize his specialized skills to hunt out the Devil, Hale ends upwardly (inadvertently) pressuring Tituba into confessing until she names names.

Act 2: Hale comes to the Proctors to cheque in on them, since he's heard some agonizing things nearly them (John doesn't go to church often, Elizabeth was defendant of being a witch that day, etc); he quizzes John on his commandments and is upset/shocked to hear that the girls might exist faking their fits and lying to the courtroom. He seems conflicted ("in keen pain") but yet unwilling to completely take how thoroughly he'southward screwed everything up (p. 68).

Human action 3: Hale ineffectually tries to finish the juggernaut he has set into motion; he at present realizes that witchcraft isn't equally black and white as he thought considering at to the lowest degree some of the accusations clearly stalk from ulterior motivations and in that location's no evidence besides hearsay for convictions…but it's too late. Storms off after Proctor is ordered to jail by Danforth (p. 111), denouncing the courtroom and what it is doing.

Act 4: Hale has returned to Salem to try to become the accused witches to confess and save their lives and so he can feel less guilty/accumulate less blood on his hands. He does non succeed.

body_dejection.jpg Reverend Unhurt, by the end of The Crucible .

Reykjavik statue/used under CC By 2.0/Cropped from original.

Elizabeth Proctor

Elizabeth Proctor is married to John Proctor. Elizabeth dislikes Abigail Williams, likely due to the fact that John Proctor committed adultery with Abigail. While Miller does not give Elizabeth any specific stage direction descriptions they way he does with many of the other characters, we learn through diverse bits of dialogue that Elizabeth had been sick the previous wintertime (p. 61).

Act ii: Elizabeth tries to urge her husband to go to town to tell everyone Abigail is a liar – kickoff because information technology'due south the right matter to practice, and then because she's worried Abigail is going to accuse Elizabeth of being a witch in society to take her place in John's life (and bed). She is disappointed that John met with Abigail alone and somehow failed to mention that detail to her, only is not allowed to defend herself because John'south internal guilt causes him to react angrily and volubly to her fears.

Elizabeth accepts a poppet from Mary and tries to protect Mary from John'southward wrath at Mary's having neglected her duties at home to become off to the court and accuse people of witchcraft. At the end of the act, Elizabeth is arrested and taken in afterward it'due south revealed Abigail called her out equally a witch (afterward Mary Warren and Hale left for the day) and she has that damning poppet with a needle stuck in it.

Act 3: Elizabeth is brought into the courtroom to ostend that Abigail Williams was dismissed from her position for sleeping with John Proctor, since John has boasted that Elizabeth never lies. In a crisis of faith, Elizabeth chooses to lie to protect her husband'south reputation; this unfortunately ends up having a negative effect as it undercuts John'due south accusation that Abigail is accusing Elizabeth of being a witch in order to marry John.

Act 4: Elizabeth is asked by Danforth and Unhurt to convince John to confess to save his life; instead, she basically just acts as a sounding board while John agonizes over what to practice. She also tearfully confesses that John Proctor is the best and that she shouldn't accept judged him because but he can judge himself, and tells him that whatever he chooses is okay past her (p. 127):

Do what you volition. But let none be your judge. There be no higher gauge under Sky than Proctor is! Forgive me, forgive me, John—I never knew such goodness in the world! She covers her face, weeping.

When Parris and Hale effort to get Elizabeth to cease John later on he's torn upward his confession and is on his mode to the gallows, she does not, stating, "He have his goodness at present. God forbid I have it from him!" (p. 134).

Other Salem Residents in The Crucible

Aside from the vii central Crucible characters listed to a higher place, at that place are likewise many other Salem residents who appear in this play. Whether they accuse others of being witches, are accused of beingness witches themselves, or are simply townspeople with an axe to grind against Reverend Parris, the characters below all contribute to move the action of the plot forward.

Reverend Samuel Parris

Reverend Parris is the father of Betty Parris, uncle of Abigail Williams, and government minister of Salem. He is not portrayed in a positive light in this play, beingness described by Miller from the very beginning as someone who "cut a villainous path through history" who "believed he was being persecuted wherever he went." Through his deportment and words, Parris "very fiddling proficient to be said for him" (p. three).

Human activity one: Parris is worried that Betty is ill, so he has called on Dr. Griggs for medical care and sent for Reverend Hale for spiritual care. He questions Abigail about her dancing in the woods with Betty and Tituba and discusses how he thinks there are people plotting against him and his fears about how people will perceive him if witchcraft is discovered under his roof.

Act 3: Still cocky-important and lilliputian, Parris accuses people who he perceives every bit a threat or who state they don't believe in witchcraft of lying or having "come to overthrow the court" (p. 82).

Human activity 4: Parris asks Danforth and Hathorne to run into him in jail to hash out the dangers attendant on hanging well-respected members of the community like Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor. Parris explains that he and Hale have been praying with the bedevilled witches and hoping they'll confess; for Parris, this is considering the people almost to hang are influential and and so their deaths might cause trouble for him. He likewise mentions that Abigail has disappeared and seems to take stolen his life savings, which prompts Danforth to call him "a dotterel human" (p. 117).

Parris also tells Danforth that he'southward been threatened as a result of his actions in the witch trials: "Tonight, when I open my door to get out my house – a dagger clattered to the ground" (p. 119), but Danforth does not seem to intendance.

Betty Parris

Betty is the 10-year-old daughter of Reverend Parris and cousin to Abigail Williams...and doesn't get much more than of a character description/development than that. She is the tertiary person in Salem to accuse people of witchcraft (after Tituba and Abby). Other than a brief time onstage in Act 3 (when she chants in unison with the rest of the witch-accusing girls), Betty is only onstage during the opening human action of the play.

During Act 1, Betty falls ill later on dancing in the woods with Tituba and some of the other girls of the village (Abigail Williams, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, and Ruth Putnam). When she temporarily rouses from her stupor, Betty accuses Abigail of drinking a potion to impale Goody Proctor (p.18), before falling back into an inert state. Betty livens up again at the end of the act to chime in with her own hysterical accusations of witchcraft.

Tituba

In her forties, Tituba is Reverend Parris'south slave that he brought with him from Barbados. She is devoted to Betty (p. 7, p. 41) merely possibly harbors some resentment against Parris that comes out in her "confession" of witchcraft (p. 44):

TITUBA, in a fury: He say Mr. Parris must be kill! Mr. Parris no goodly man, Mr. Parris hateful man and no gentle human, and he bid me rising out of my bed and cutting your throat! They gasp. But I tell him "No! I don't hate that man. I don't want impale that homo." But he say, "You piece of work for me, Tituba, and I brand y'all free! I requite y'all pretty dress to vesture, and put you way loftier up in the air, and yous gone wing dorsum to Barbados!"

Diverse townspeople (Abigail, Mrs. Putnam) seem to think that Tituba also tin can "conjure" spirits, which at some points information technology seems that Tituba herself may too believe ("Devil, him be pleasure-man in Barbados, him exist singin' and dancin' in Barbados. Information technology's you lot folks – you lot riles him upwardly 'round here; it be also cold 'round here for that old Boy. He freeze his soul in Massachusetts, but in Barbados he just as sweet...", p. 113).

Human action 1: Tituba tries to find out how "her dearest" Betty is doing, but Parris shoos her away; subsequently, she is accused by Abigail of forcing the girls to do the Devil's piece of work. When pressured by Hale and Parris to confess and give the names of those who are abetting her, Tituba eventually does by naming Goody Good and Goody Osburn (the two women Putnam had previously suggested every bit witch candidates).

Human activity 4: Tituba is in the jail with Sarah Good, acting as if she very much believes in the Devil. She and Goody Good are hustled out by Herrick to make style for the judges.

Susanna Walcott

Susanna works for Medico Griggs and is described by Miller as "a piffling younger than Abigail, a nervous, hurried girl" (p. viii). Eventually, she joins in with Abigail, Betty, Mercy, and Mary as the "afflicted girls" who accuse others of witchcraft.

Human activity 1: Susanna tells Reverend Parris that Doctor Griggs is concerned Betty'south illness is supernatural in origin (p. nine).

Human action 2: Susanna has become part of the group of accusers; is one of the people Mary Warren says would've witnessed Mary sewing the poppet in court (p. 72).

Act 3: Susanna joins in with Abigail and Mercy in accusing Mary Warren of bewitching them via Mary's bird-shaped spirit (p. 107).

body_fluffyyellowbird.jpg steve p2008/used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original.

Mercy Lewis

Mercy is a servant to the Putnams and seems to be the item caretaker of Ruth. She also appears friendly with Abigail Williams (which makes sense, as they were dancing in the wood together) and cynical of Mary Warren. Mercy is described by Miller as "a fat, sly, merciless [get it, get it, considering her name is MERCY yet she shows no mercy] girl of eighteen" (p. 16).

Human action 1: Mercy has come to the Parris house to detect out what'due south going on. She gets to confer with Abigail about getting their stories straight about what happened in the woods (since Mercy was apparently running around naked in the wood) before she'southward sent away to become Doctor Griggs for Ruth.

Human action 3: Mercy is one of the girls in courtroom who accuses Mary Warren of bewitching them via Mary's bird-shaped spirit (p. 106).

Act iv: Parris says that he believes Mercy has run away with his niece, Abigail Williams (p. 116).

Mrs. Ann Putnam

Besides Known Equally: Goody Putnam, Goody Ann

Ann Putnam is married woman to Thomas Putnam and the mother of the affected Ruth (who we never meet onstage) and seven other dead children (who we also never see onstage — because they're dead). At that place appears to exist some friction between her and Rebecca Nurse, possibly because Rebecca Nurse has many living children and grandchildren while Ann only has the one child; it besides seems that Rebecca may accept chided Ann in the past for not being up to snuff (p. 36):

Let God blame me, not you, not yous, Rebecca! I'll not take you judging me whatever more!

Miller further describes Ann as being "a twisted soul of forty-five, a decease-ridden woman, haunted by dreams" (p. 12). And so clearly the woman has some problems.

Act i: Ann comes to the Parris household to find out what's going on and report that her daughter is being affected by something perhaps supernatural. She knows that the cause of her daughter'southward illness is something supernatural considering she sent her girl to Tituba to find out (via supernatural means) who murdered Ann'south other vii children in infancy.

Ann is ready and willing to believe any explanation for why her children died except that it was natural causes (understandable for a grieving mother). She seizes eagerly upon Tituba's saying that Goody Osburn was a witch, saying, "I knew it! Goody Osburn were midwife to me three times. I begged y'all, Thomas, did I not? I begged him not to call Osburn because I feared her. My babies always shriveled in her hands!" (p. 44).

Thomas Putnam

Thomas Putnam is hubby to Ann Putnam and begetter of the afflicted Ruth. Described by Miller as "a well-to-exercise, hard-handed landowner, well-nigh fifty" (p. 12) and "securely embittered" with "a vindictive nature" (p. xiv), Putnam has quarrels with nearly every major (male person) grapheme who appears onstage in this play. He dislikes Francis and Rebecca Nurse (since their family helped block Putnam's candidate for minister), Reverend Parris (since he got the job instead of Putnam'southward blood brother-in-law), John Proctor (because he is chopping down wood that Thomas Putnam believes rightfully belongs to him), and Giles Corey (because Corey accuses him of conspiring with his daughter Ruth to kill another human being for his state).

Human activity 1: Putnam urges Parris to investigate possible supernatural causes of Betty's (and his daughter Ruth's) ailments. Miller intimates (via phase directions) that Putnam doesn't necessarily believe in witchcraft – he just is looking for a way to proceeds power and/or brand Parris do something dumb that he can and then exploit: "at the moment he is intent upon getting Parris, for whom he has just contempt, to move toward the abyss" (p. 14).

Act 3: Putnam briefly shows upward in courtroom to say that Giles' accusations against him are a lie (p.89).

Francis Nurse

Francis is the husband of accused witch Rebecca Nurse and friends with Giles Corey and John Proctor. Francis is described by Miller as "one of those men for whom both sides of the argument had to have respect," although "as he gradually paid for [the land he'd originally rented] and raised his social status, there were those who resented his rise" (p. 24). Basically, Francis is seen as a off-white and ethical citizen of Salem, although in that location are some who resent his social-climbing. Through one of Miller's graphic symbol essays, nosotros acquire that Francis is part of the faction that opposed Thomas Putnam's candidate for minister of Salem (p. 24), which led to bad feelings betwixt the two families (that may have motivated the accusations of Rebecca equally a witch).

Act ii: Francis lets the Proctors know his wife's in jail and charged with supernatural murder (p. 67).

Deed 3: Francis appears in court to nowadays show of the girls' fraud jointly with John Proctor and Giles Corey (p. 80); brings a petition signed by neighbors attesting to his wife's good name that is then used by the court equally a source for arrest warrants, much to Francis'south horror (p. 87)

Sarah Proficient

Also Known As: Goody Proficient

The commencement adult female to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, Sarah Good is described by Elizabeth Proctor as "Goody Good that sleeps in ditches" (p. 58).

Human action 1: Thomas Putnam floats her name as a possible witch (p. 43); Tituba then picks upwardly on this priming and names her as a co-conspirator (p. 44), followed shortly by Abby (p. 45)

Act two: Mary Warren reports that Sarah Skilful confessed to attacking the girls supernaturally and then won't hang; too, Sarah is meaning at historic period 60.

Act 4: The first (and only) fourth dimension Sarah Skilful appears onstage is at the beginning of this act: she is hanging out with Tituba in the jail, acting a piffling crazy, and seeming to run into the Devil. It's unclear whether she thinks the Devil is real or if she'southward just playing along at this point because she doesn't have anything to lose and won't be hanged since she'southward confessed and is pregnant.

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The Court Officials

As well the general residents of Salem, The Crucible as well has the characters involved in the "legal" part of the witch trials and the "justice" system.

Ezekiel Cheever

Cheever was originally an "honest tailor" (p. 69) merely by the time of his appearance in the play (in Deed ii) has become "a clerk of the court" (p. 68). Elizabeth that he "knows [John Proctor] well" (p. 50), but by the time of the trials it is clear that he is no longer held in quite as loftier esteem ("You lot'll fire for this, do you know it?", p. 69).

Act 2: Cheever comes to abort Elizabeth Proctor on orders from the court; he is convinced of her guilt when he finds a poppet with a needle stuck in it (p. 70), and isn't willing to believe other explanations for it, fifty-fifty though Mary Warren conspicuously states that she's the one who made the poppet and stuck the needle in it.

Human activity iii: Cheever testifies about his feel with Goody Proctor and John Proctor in the previous Act (finding the poppet after Elizabeth denied keeping them, John ripping up the abort warrant); though he prefaces his testimony with an apology to Proctor

Align Herrick

Herrick is the marshal for the courtroom system in Salem, which is to say that he is the person sent to gather up prisoners, stop people from leaving the court and from attacking other people in the court, and lead bedevilled witches to exist hanged.

Act 2: Along with Cheever, Herrick comes to the Proctors' house to take Elizabeth Proctor away to the jail, as per orders of the court.

Human activity 3: Herrick vouches for John Proctor's graphic symbol (p. 86) and acts as the arm of the court (he stops Proctor from attacking Abigail, stops Abigail from leaving when she'southward accused of whorishness, and is asked to take Proctor and Corey to jail).

Human activity 4: Herrick drunkenly clears Sarah Skillful and Tituba out of on cell of the jail to make way for the judges' discussion with Parris and Hale. He also shepherds the prisoners (Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor, and Rebecca Nurse) dorsum and along between the cells, the chief room, and (ultimately) the gallows.

Guess Hathorne

Approximate Hathorne is a Salem judge presiding over the witchcraft trials. Described past Miller in the phase directions as "a bitter, remorseless Salem judge" (p. 78), Hathorne lives upwardly to that depiction in both word and deed – he shows no mercy to the defendant witches or their families and is always willing to believe the worst of people. Judge Hathorne appears in Acts three and 4 of The Crucible.

Human activity 3: Hathorne is very concerned with all civilians showing the proper respect to the court and the law (although he's less shrill most information technology than Parris is).

Act 4: Hathorne comes to the jail to confer with Danforth; he is confused by and suspicious of why Unhurt is back, disapproves of Parris's increasingly "unsteady" and wishy-washy demeanor (p. 115), and seems to call up everyone is filled with "high satisfaction" (p. 117) at the hangings of the witches.

Fun fact: The character of Gauge Hathorne is based on the historical Hathorne who was so reviled that his descendant, author Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Alphabetic character, House of the Seven Gables), inverse the spelling of his last name to avert being associated with him.

Deputy Governor Danforth

At the time of the events in the play, Danforth is the Deputy Governor of the unabridged Province (of Massachusetts). Danforth oversees all of the court proceedings in the play as the highest legal dominance. He is described by Miller as "a grave man in his sixties, of some humor and composure that practise non, however, interfere with an exact loyalty to his position and his crusade" (p. 79). While no one in the play seems to like him, exactly, he does command respect from most of the characters, at to the lowest degree at first - every bit the play continues and it becomes clear that Danforth is more concerned nearly procedure than justice, characters (including Giles Corey and John Proctor) vocally display their loss of respect for Danforth.

Deed iii: The audience start sees Danforth in his position as the presiding court judge for the witch trials. Danforth is not swayed by emotion but is swayed by the girls' demonstrations of witchcraft (possibly because he can see it with his own eyes, experience their damp skin, etc). The combination of his dispassionate questioning and his belief in witchcraft means that what logically follows is him ordering the arrests of everyone who signed the petition affirming the expert characters of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey, property Giles in antipathy of court, and ordering Proctor'southward arrest.

Human activity iv: Danforth fills the audience in on what has been going on in Salem between Acts 3 and 4. He continues to lack detectable emotions and base his decisions on legality (e.chiliad. it wouldn't be fair to postpone the hangings of these witches because we already hanged others) instead of morality (nosotros should avert killing people unless admittedly necessary and unless all other avenues have been wearied). When he senses that John Proctor might non be entirely aboveboard in his confession, he warns that if Proctor is lying about being a witch, then he tin't stop Proctor from hanging; when Proctor rips upwards his confession, Danforth feels no qualms about sending him to the gallows (p. 134):

Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption! He sweeps out past them.

Hopkins

A guard at the Salem jail who helps Herrick clear Tituba and Goody Good out of the room to make way for Danforth in Act 4. Hopkins doesn't even get a first name, and only has one line (p.113) - he's by and large there to announce Danforth's inflow.

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Unseen Characters in The Crucible

In that location are several characters in The Crucible who don't actually evidence upwards onstage but however play an important role in the play. In one case, a graphic symbol actually has more than lines from offstage (Martha Corey) than some other character does onstage (Hopkins), while in other cases these offstage, unseen characters are used to move forth the action of the play.

Martha Corey

Martha Corey is the (third) wife of Giles Corey, accused of witchcraft direct by Walcott (and indirectly by Giles himself). We learn through Francis Nurse that Martha Corey is highly thought of in boondocks - or at least, she was until she was accused of witchcraft (p. 67):

...Martha Corey, there cannot be a adult female closer all the same to God than Martha.

While Martha never appears onstage, she is mentioned in all four acts and has iii offstage lines in Human action 3.

Human activity 1: Giles first brings up his suspicions that Martha'southward bookishness is somehow causing him to falter at his prayers (despite the fact that he merely started regularly going to church when he married her, and and so "it didn't take much to make him stumble over [his prayers]" (p. 38).

Human action two: Giles reports that Martha's been taken away later Walcott accuses her of bewitching his pigs; Giles explains that he didn't hateful to imply his married woman was a witch because she read books (even though that is admittedly what he implied).

Act three: Martha is heard from offstage existence questioned by Gauge Hathorne nearly witchcraft at the opening of the act; later, she is mentioned as being one of ii defendant witches who 91 people declared their proficient opinion of in a petition (p. 86-87).

Human activity 4: Martha is mentioned every bit one of the defendant witches Hale is trying to convince to confess; later, when John Proctor asks if Martha's confessed, Elizabeth confirms that "[southward]he will not" (p. 125).

Ruth Putnam

The just surviving child of Thomas and Ann Putnam, Ruth, similar Betty Parris, shows signs of being bewitched. According to Ruth's parents, Ruth was sent by her female parent to Tituba to figure out who supernaturally murdered Ruth'due south seven expressionless baby siblings; this is no doubt the reason why Ruth "never waked this morning, simply her optics open and she walks, and hears naught, sees zippo, and cannot eat" (p. xiii). While she never appears onstage, Ruth (and her strange illness) is used in absentia to corroborate the presence of some supernatural evil in Salem during Human action 1.

Ruth is merely brought up again a couple of times during the residuum of the play: in Act 3, the audience learns that Ruth is said to have defendant George Jacobs of being a witch (p. 89), and that she is not in the court when John Proctor brings Mary Warren to confront the other girls (p. 94).

Sarah Osburn

Also Known As: Goody Osburn

The name of Goody Osburn commencement comes up in Human action 1, when she is suggested by Thomas Putnam as a possible witch (p. 43). This proffer is so corroborated by the accusations of Tituba (p. 44) and Abigail Williams (p. 45). In Act ii, we learn that Practiced Osburn is the first witch to exist condemned to hang in Salem (p. 54). We also acquire that it'southward non all that surprising that someone would accuse Goody Osburn of beingness a witch, since she is "boozer and half-witted" (p.58).

George Jacobs

In the get-go act of The Crucible, George Jacobs is named equally a witch by Betty Parris (p. 45). His name briefly comes upwards in Act 2 as the owner of a heifer John Proctor is thinking about ownership for his married woman (p. 48), but it is not until Act 3 that he becomes more important. In Act 3, Giles Corey alleges that he's heard that Ruth Putnam accused George Jacobs of witchcraft considering convicted witches forfeit their property, and the simply person who has enough money to purchase upward that property merely so happens to be Ruth's father, Thomas Putnam (p. 89):

...the day [Putnam's] daughter cried out on Jacobs, he said she'd given him a fair gift of state...

The accusation that Ruth had basically handed her begetter George Jacobs' property by accusing him of witchcraft, however, is never brought to trial considering Giles refuses to reveal the proper noun of the person who told him almost Putnam's words; therefore, George Jacobs becomes the indirect crusade of Giles being arrested for contempt of court (and, ultimately, pressed to death).

Bridget Bishop

Also Known Every bit: Goody Bishop

Bridget Bishop is a tavern proprietor in Salem (p. 4) and is the start witch named past Abigail who wasn't also named by Tituba (p. 45). Goody Bishop'due south main role inThe Crucible is as a contrast to Rebecca Nurse; to illustrate how the people hanged earlier in the play were of lower moral graphic symbol than those prepare to hang during Act 4, Parris mentions how Bridget "lived iii year with Bishop earlier she married him" (p. 117).

Doctor Griggs

Doc Griggs is mentioned in Act i as the human Parris has consulted with to notice out what'south wrong with Betty (p. eight) and in Act ii as the man who confirms Sarah Proficient is pregnant (p. 56). He's also the employer of Susanna Walcott.

Other People Mentioned in The Crucible

In add-on to all the characters who we've previously discussed, there are also several other people mentioned over the class of the play. Some of these names are useful to know because they give context to character relationships that shape how events unfold in The Crucible (for instance, James Bayley is the blood brother-in-law of Putnam who was passed over for minister of Salem due to opposition past other townspeople, including Francis Nurse, which causes bad blood between the two families). Some of the other names might be useful if your teacher asks you to list off people accused of witchcraft over the course of the play, or to list people who accused others of witchcraft.

Whatever the reason, if y'all want a list of every name mentioned in The Crucible, nosotros're hither for y'all: see below for the nittiest-of-the-grittiest table of all the named people in The Crucible.

Name

Clarification

Citation

Mr. Collins

Reports seeing Betty Parris flying.

p. 12

Ingersoll

Owns the befouled over which Betty Parris is said to have flown.

p. 12

James Bayley

Blood brother-in-police of Thomas Putnam who was prevented from condign government minister of Salem by "a faction" (including Francis Nurse & family).

p. 13

John Putnam

Brother of Thomas Putnam who helped Thomas jail George Burroughs.

p. 14

George Burroughs

Minister of Salem jailed for debts he didn't owe by Thomas and John Putnam (possibly out of spite because Burroughs became minister where Bayley wasn't able to)

p. 14

Edward Putnam

Signer of the showtime complaint against Rebecca Nurse; brother of Thomas Putnam.

p. 25

Jonathan Putnam

Signer of the first complaint against Rebecca Nurse; brother of Thomas Putnam.

p. 25

Goody Howe

Accused of being a witch by Betty Parris.

p. 45

Martha Bellows

Defendant of being a witch by Betty Parris.

p. 45

Goody Sibber

Accused of being a witch by Abigail Williams.

p. 45

Alice Barrow

Defendant of being a witch by Betty Parris.

p. 45

Goody Hawkins

Accused of being a witch past Abigail Williams.

p. 46

Goody Bibber

Defendant of being a witch past Betty Parris.

p. 46

Goody Booth

Accused of beingness a witch by Abigail Williams.

p. 46

Jonathan [Proctor]

Son of Elizabeth and John Proctor. Is not the person who snared the rabbit eaten for dinner by John and Elizabeth in Act 2.

p. 48

Walcott

Father or other relative of Susanna Walcott. Accuses Martha Corey of witchcraft against his pigs.

p. 68

Judge Stoughton

Approximate at the Salem witch trials.

p. 86

Judge Sewall

Judge at the Salem witch trials.

p. 86

Mr. Lewis

Male parent of Mercy Lewis; reports he idea his daughter was staying over with Abigail Williams for a night.

p. 116

Isaac Ward

Drunk Salem resident hanged as a witch; John Proctor is compared favorably to him.

p. 117

Goody Ballard

Named by Elizabeth Proctor equally someone who confessed to existence a witch.

p. 124

Isaiah Goodkind

Named by Elizabeth Proctor equally someone who confessed to beingness a witch.

p. 124

Common Word Topics for The Crucible Characters

Now yous know all about the characters in The Crucible. Only what might you lot be asked about them? Here are some mutual essay questions/discussion topics nearly characters in The Crucible. Practice answering them for yourself to gain a deeper understanding of the play (fifty-fifty if your teachers don't finish up request you these specific questions).

  • Cull a character who you think might represent a certain "blazon" of person. In your essay, argue which type of person this graphic symbol represents. Use evidence from the play to support your claims. Exist sure to explain why Arthur Miller might have called to accept this character represent this blazon of person.
  • Compare and dissimilarity Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams. How is each woman affected by her position in the Puritan theocracy of Salem?
  • How practice different characters serve as foils for each other (due east.g. Elizabeth and Abigail, Unhurt and Danforth)?
  • How do characters change throughout the play, namely John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Reverend Hale?
  • How does John and Elizabeth Proctor's relationship bulldoze the play?
  • Cull one grapheme from The Crucible. And then, argue whether their deportment throughout the drama are selfish or sacrificial. Are they heroic or villainous?
  • Was Proctor's conclusion not to confess foolish or noble? Is John Proctor a tragic hero? Is The Crucible equally a whole a tragedy?
  • How does John Proctor'due south dilemma modify over the course of the play?
  • Tin we fully arraign Abigail for the events in the play?

For more well-nigh how to write effectively well-nigh the characters of The Crucible, be sure to read our article on grapheme analysis in The Crucible.

What's Next?

Looking for specific graphic symbol analyses from The Crucible? Nosotros've got detailed guides to John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, Giles Corey, and Rebecca Nurse on our web log.

Want a rundown of the play's action? Then be sure to read our total plot summary of The Crucible.

Are you wondering, "What themes does this play embrace? Is McCarthyism somehow involved?" Find out with our discussions of The Crucible themes and McCarthyism in The Crucible!

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About the Author

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master'due south degree in Limerick from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

Main Characters Of The Crucible,

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