Scene:
Plot summary
Betty is pretending she is sick so she’s lying
in a bed.
Then, her dad thinks that her and Abigail did
something in the forest.
He tries to get answers out of Abigail so
Abigail just says they were dancing.
He accuses Betty of an affair with Proctor.
The ladies blame Tituba because she was
singing and then...Proctor comes and we see
Abigail and Proctor talking- there's sexual
tension between the two characters.
Hale arrives to awaken Betty, and he also
falls for it and blames Tituba, believing she
has some connection to the devil.
Tituba said she had nothing to do with
conjuring but accuses someone else of
asking her to do “conjuring”.
Betty wakes up saying stuff. Saying she saw
one of the community with the devil- Abigail
and Betty go back and forth saying they saw
people with devil.
Political nature of relationships amongst men:
men there’s a strong element of competition
and individualism; women is a much more
communal, unified relationship.
Textual Features:
Layout, setting,
Language is non-realistic to give distance to
the events pf the ply; also creates a sense of
community: we are observers on
How do these features affect the meaning
of the text?
Play texts create a reaction from the
audience, giving a sense of immediacy.
Language- idiomatic vs. Structured/rigid.
Stage directions implying meaning and power
Characters
As you read through the play, consider what
the female and male characters discuss. Is
there a central topic of conversation for
female characters and a central topic for
male characters?
Proctor:
Has not been to church for some time; is
dissenting against the Parris; anti-
authoritarian.
Parris
He feels educated and above the others
and what he uses them for; not appealing
and unpleasant; maybe we feel some pity
towards the character?
Mrs Putnam
Defined by her motherliness; her ability to
mother. This could be an accurate depiction
of the oppression of women in this society:
there are set, rigid and limiting roles for
women. This may jar in a modern
interpretation.
Tituba
Idiomatic use of language compared to
stylised, formal rigid language of others;
creates a counterpoint/counterbalance.
Themes
-Religion
-Supernatural
-Fear of God/religion:
Theocracy: religion has power and makes
the laws of a community.
-Power of reputation/name being “spoilt”
- Relationships and their impact on a
society.
-Oppression (particularly women;
particularly sexuality)
-Secrecy and the resulting accusations
- The power of secrets
- Observed/watched/voyeurism
How do these features affect the meaning
of the text?
Play texts create a reaction from the
audience, giving a sense of immediacy.
Language- idiomatic vs. Structured/rigid.
Stage directions implying meaning and power
dynamics.
Tone of language reflects the idea of
suspicion and gossip and reputation.
Authorial choices:
Oppression of slavery, claustrophobic,
overwhelming.
What do the female characters talk about?
What do male characters talk about?
Stage directions describe the movement,
feelings of the character and describe the
atmosphere, this is targeting the audience
to better understand what is exactly
happening in the play, the reader therefore
feel itself in the play which makes the play
more personalised.
By knowing the feelings of the characters as
a reader that the characters may not know
about each other makes the reader feel
omniscient and may be able to predict the
outcome of conflicts amongst the
characters, such as Proctor and Abigail,
where Proctor denies Abigail’s sexual
offers, which drives Abigail go crazy and
shows punishment towards Proctor,
however in 1692 patriarchy was present is
relationships which means that men always
had a control over women and had more
freedom than women.
The use of language of the characters
makes them appear more knowledgeable
and powerful than others. There is a
comparison in the play because if we look
at Pariss’s diction is often more selective
than for example Tituba’s who is using an
idiomatic language which makes her appear
less educated which is proven by that she is
the slave of Pariss,
From Pariss’s language in some cases he is
more worried about his own reputation
rather than his daughter’s well-being,
because he doesn’t want any of his family
members to be blamed with witchcraft
because it might make him appear as a bad
father whose daughter was dancing in the
forest with other girls which can be
associated with witchcraft.
Personal conclusions/opinions:
I believe that Parris is more worried about
his reputation in Salem than he is about
Betty. He is very forceful when questioning
Abigail and he seems to care more about
dissipating the rumours of witchcraft than
actually finding a cure for Betty.
Abigail is also worried about her name in
the village, not wanting it to be ruined by the
rumours of an affair.
I also believe that the men in Salem seem
more afraid of witchcraft than the women. I
think Abigail and the other women are
denying it because of the punishment that
would follow but that they don’t aren’t
scared of witchcraft itself. I think that the
men are so afraid of witchcraft because it’s
women who are doing ”sinful” things, things
that the men would just be allowed to do,
like being in a group together in the forest.
So I believe that the concept of witchcraft
definitely comes from the oppression of
women and the fear that the men have of
women conspiring.

From my perspective, the relationship

between Proctor and Abigail is also very
unethical. Not only because of the age gap,
which I think only matters because Abigail is
under age, but mainly because of the power
dynamic that they have. Proctor was
Abigail’s employer at the time of the affair
which means that she had to obey him.
Even if she had wanted to have the affair, I
think that Proctor had too much control over
her for it to be an unethical relationship. I
also think that the relationship was bad
because Proctor is married, especially with
their religion I don’t think even they would
think it was ethical.

In my opinion, the way that Tituba is treated

and immediately blamed shows how close-
minded the characters are. Saying that the
songs she sings are ‘gibberish’ and
assuming that she was the one who
initiated the witchcraft in racist and shows
that the characters view her as the ‘other’.
It’s a lot easier to blame people who don’t
look like you for things that scare you, often
times because you don’t want to believe
that ‘one of you’ could do something like
witchcraft, for example. This definitely plays
into confirmation bias because even though
Tituba was originally denying everything,
Parris & Proctor were only hearing what
they wanted to hear. This then forced Tituba
into saying that she saw the devil.

I think the same confirmation bias applies to

the conversation between Hale and Abigail.
Hale is only hearing the things that could
point to witchcraft although Abigail is telling
a completely different story to the one he is
hearing.
Important quotes from the text to support conclusions/opinions:

“Go directly home and speak nothing of unnatural causes.” – Parris (p.7)

“Now look you, child, your punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits
in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” –
Parris (p.7)

“We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my
house.” – Parris (p.10)

“… Abominations are done in the forest-” (Parris) “It were sport, uncle!” – Abigail (p. 8)

“My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a
gossiping liar!” – Abigail (p.9)