The Crucible (1)

When Arthur Miller wrote the play, he made John and Elizabeth’s relationship central to the play. Although the play is about witchcraft and the Salem witch hunts which took place in the 17th century, it uses John and Elizabeth’s as a key point to the story. It is relevant to the witch hunts in a way as Abigail Williams is somewhat in the relationship after having an affair with John when Elizabeth was sick. She later drags John and Elizabeth into the witch hunts by trying to shift the blame of witchcraft onto Elizabeth and taints Johns name by making him sound like a witch. The relationship also gives the audience an interest in the play rather than having the one story line of the witch hunts in the play. From Act 1 onwards we see the relationship develop and see how the witch hunts affect John and Elizabeth’s relationship. Miller helps us engage with the characters as individuals and uses this to represent his concerns.
Throughout the play we see John and Elizabeth drift closer together and also further apart in a physical and mental sense. In Act 1 we do not see Elizabeth, this shows that John and Elizabeth are both physically and emotionally distant throughout this act. Although Abigail is with John in this scene, John is not close to her in any sense as he regrets everything he did with her, Abigail thinks that they are both emotionally and physically close and is almost obsessive over John. This feeling is not mutual. At the start of Act 2, although they are in the same room they are very distant in both senses but towards the end, when Elizabeth is separated from John physically they are much closer emotionally. In Act 3, although in the same room, Danforth isolates Elizabeth from John but John and Elizabeth want to reach out to each other and save themselves from the fate that they know will soon come. In Act 4, after being kept apart for such a long time that they are together for the first time which we see in the play but also the last time for them as after this John is taken away to his death.
John and Elizabeth’s relationship is very personal but can also be regarded as very public. In Act 1, John is openly discussing his relationship with Abigail. This could be regarded as private as Abigail is somewhat involved in the relationship but she may not be trusted with information as she could tell the village what she had been told. John telling information to Abigail could mean that he trusts her not to tell things to the whole village. In Act 2, when Mary Warren returns from court and Hale comes to question John and Elizabeth, John’s adultery with Abigail verges on becoming public. In Act 3, John’s lechery becomes public and Elizabeth is brought before Danforth in court and they are not allowed to interact personally. This shows their relationship has become a public affair and the village worries about John and Elizabeth’s personal life. In Act 4 Elizabeth is used by Danforth to influence John as she is the only person who would be able to influence John.