When asked to define love, people may answer with many different things. The formal definition of love as a noun is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love as a verb is to feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses character pairings and their actions to illustrate his own definition of love.
The main pairing in this play is John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth. Their love is put to the test when John commits adultery on Elizabeth with their old maid Abigail Williams six months before the play takes place. Elizabeth is still hurt by this so John does everything in his power to make up for his mistake. John suggests “It’s winter in here yet. On Sunday let you come with me, and we’ll walk the farm together; I never see such a load of flowers on the earth,” Miller 1236). Although John is a man who would probably rather not talk about flowers, he is trying to make a romantic gesture to Elizabeth that is sentimental and heartfelt. He is realizing he messed up but is trying to fix it the best he can because he truly does love Elizabeth.
On the other hand of things, John’s mistress Abigail is head over heels in love with John and would do literally anything for him; even sentence his wife to her death in order for her to be in the picture. Cheever, an
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He believes that love is something that a person should make their actions based on love and make sacrifices for the ones a person shares this connection with. This relationship two people share may waver at times but he believes that if it is true, love will always come back to the people who share it. Miller once said “Can anyone remember love? It’s like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume,”. Miller used this quote and applied it to his famous tragedy because one cannot have love without having the
Proctor knows it is his fault that the accusation was made and he now know he must do anything to save his wife. As the play goes on Proctor begins to realize that his wife is the one who really loves him, as Abigail will so quickly throw anyone, including him, under the bus. John
German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel once said, "Nothing great in this world has been accomplished without passion." Even though this may be a basic statement, its fundamental meaning is applicable to the world around us. The theme of that dedication – that passion – being a driving force for action and change can be observed from a scientific example to a historical paradigm. In history, if there were no influencers that were willing to offset the delicate societal frame to give ground to their belief, such as Martin Luther King Jr or Mahatma Gandhi, then humanity would either be in chaos or painfully indistinguishable. For this reason, as well as many others, I disagree with The Crucible's Reverend Hale in his assertion that "no principle, however glorious," is worth dying for.
The reader learns that Proctors marriage is not in the best place at the moment through the discrepancy between what John Proctor does before he sees his wife and when he talks to her. Miller illustrates in his stage directions, “He is not quite pleased. He…takes a pinch of salt, and drops it into the pot,” (49). Here, the reader can understand he is not pleased with his wife’s cooking, however, he fixes it to his liking and then compliments her at dinner. He is not honest with Elizabeth because he is trying to please her and not add any more problems to their marriage.
The Relationship Between Guilt and Preservation Many people in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible pretend to be guilty for the preservation of self and others are truly guilty. Abigail confesses to her charges falsely for her life , and lies to the court to aid her in her determined way to obtain John Proctor’s hand. John proctor is guilty of adultery, and deals with the consequences for things he didn’t do. Tituba confesses to calling the devil , so she won’t be hanged.
Abigail was in love with John, and the only thing she thought was in her way of being with him was Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was arrested, John knew the time for inaction was over. He knew that he had let her down once, and that he couldn’t do it
John Proctor represents the connection between these two women. Thus, he is Elizabeth’s husband but has an affair with Abigail. This fact immediately opens the reader’s eyes towards how one’s flaws or mistakes can reveal other person’s qualities and virtues. Both,
Abigail did this because she loved John and she knew that if she got his wife out of the picture they would have a better chance of being together because Elizabeth had recently kicked Abigail out of their house in fear that her and John had something going on. John knew his actions were wrong and that if he
Goodness and nobility is determined by an individual’s morality and their willingness to follow a virtuous path in their life. It is also determined by the ability of an individual to acknowledge their shortcomings and become more self-aware. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor is a good man as he showcases righteous morals and principles. This is shown, as he ends his affair with Abigail, protects his wife and his friends’ wives, and dies to preserve his integrity and honour. First, John Proctor shows his goodness, by refusing the physical advances of Abigail, who wishes to continue their love affair.
Then, Abigail, not thinking straight, wonders why John Proctor won’t leave his wife for her and she says, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let a such a sickly wife be - she is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a -” (23-24).
For example, Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor who was married to Elizabeth Proctor at the time and got discovered. However, Abigail Williams still “loved” John Proctor and was rejected. Later, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft, an action she uses as her revenge. These acts of cruelty ultimately affect all the victims and their families in this play as their consequence is to be hung. The vulnerability and sense of helplessness are all revealed in the victims as they are facing their
The Truth About John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s Marriage Marriage is one of the most beautiful ways for people to connect and show their love for each other. They make vows and promise to always take care of each other no matter what happens. However, marriages can be very deceiving. In Act II of The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses language to show how awful and broken John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s marriage is.
In the play along with the movie The Crucible, John Proctor and Abigail Williams have interesting relationship bound by adultery and lies. Abigail becomes obsessed with John and will do anything to be with him. John quickly shuts down her fantasy ideas and tells her that what happened between them was a one-time thing that will never take place again and a mistake on his part. With this knowledge, she soon spends all her time plotting to get John all to herself and to make him fall in love with her, even if that means taking out John’s wife, Elizabeth. We see many examples of this forbidden relationship through their secret encounters and arguments in both examples of the story, still, there were more scenes of John and Abby alone in the movie than in the play.
John Proctor’s words towards Elizabeth signal irritation and annoyance. John Proctor, the main character of The Crucible, has an affair with a much younger girl, Abigail Williams, breaking his wife, Elizabeth’s trust in him. Her suspicion of him rises when he tells her he was in a room alone with Abigail. Elizabeth’s growing mistrust begins to aggravate John, which is revealed when he says, “I’ll not have your suspicion any more” (489). Elizabeth is doubtful after learning about John’s affair with Abigail and her lack of trust in her husband begins to anger him.
What is Love? If you were to search it up you get the vague definition which reads: an intense feeling of deep affection. But it’s so much more, it has so many different meanings to people. Even wrong meanings that people associate it with. Love comes in many different forms, such as: friendship, family, and partnership.
Love is defined by most dictionaries as having a strong affection for others. Love is a feeling universally experienced, yet difficult to describe. The concept of “Love” holds many meanings, is unconditional, and is a sacrifice. If the question “How do you define love” was asked among a group of people, each person would hold his or her own definition of love.