The Crucible (2)

In Act 1, John feels guilty about what he did with Abigail but he is very much motivated to right his wrongs. When Abigail calls Elizabeth “a sickly wife”, John defends her, saying, “You’ll speak nothing of her”. This shows that John is trying to protect Elizabeth and treat her like he should. As the audience yet haven’t seen Elizabeth, their first impression of her is gained from Abigail’s opinions that she is a “cold snivelling woman”. She also describes John as “burning in your loneliness”. This contrast of hot and cold is used as a metaphor; John and Elizabeth are contrasted here.
During Act 2, John and Elizabeth’s relationship changes from beginning to end, at first it is very cold and John says his words carefully as to not offend Elizabeth, e.g. when John is eating his stew, he says “It’s well seasoned” so he doesn’t offend Elizabeth as he tasted the stew earlier and seasoned it with salt and pepper before Elizabeth gave him a bowl of stew. When John speaks to Elizabeth he is over polite and when Elizabeth replies, she uses very few words and replies bluntly. This shows they are emotionally distant. When John mentions that he was alone with Abigail, Elizabeth becomes very accusative and it seems to John as if she has suspicions, John says “Woman. I’ll not have your suspicion any more”, she then replies “I have no” as John cuts her short and then this escalates into an argument between the two. John mocks himself for “confessing” to Elizabeth and tells her to “look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not”. Elizabeth insists, “I do not judge you” and says she has always thought of him as a “good” man. These ideas of forgiveness and goodness are carried on throughout the play to culminate in Act 4.
When Hale arrives in the Proctor household he tests John and Elizabeth’s faith to Christianity by making them repeat the Ten Commandments to him. When John cannot repeat them all, Elizabeth has to tell him the one he forgot. Ironically this is Adultery. John then says that “between the two of us we know them all”, that together they can prove that they are good and not evil. But “adultery” carries on in Elizabeth’s mind and reminds the audience of the couples’s rift.
At the end of Act 2, Elizabeth vents her wrath on Abigail but she is taken away quietly. She is no longer cold and blunt towards John and he cannot bear to have her chained up and shouts to Herrick “Herrick! Herrick, don’t chain her!” He assures Elizabeth that “I will fall like an ocean on that court! Fear nothing.” This is ironic as she has everything to fear. Elizabeth screaming “Oh, John, bring me soon” suggests her need for him emotionally.
In Act 3, John publicly confesses to adultery and cheating on Elizabeth with Abigail to discredit Abigail and save Elizabeth. He loses the good name he made for himself to save her, showing the depth of his love for her. When Elizabeth is brought in to the court, Danforth isolates her from John and his fixed gaze. However she searches for his eyes as if seeking his guidance. Ironically she lies to protect John, when Danforth asks “Is your husband a lecher!” she replies, “No, sir”. She was trying to save him and protect his name but as he had already confessed, she condemned him by doing this. Again at the end of the act they are physically separated to be imprisoned.
In Act 4, Danforth uses Elizabeth to try and get John to confess. Finally she wants to speak with him after she finds out he is to be hanged and this way they are brought together physically for the final time. The stage directions show how neither John or Elizabeth how to react to each other becoming closer physically and mentally but finally find that they have grown closer throughout the course of the play. At first they are unsure and they show great tenderness in their speech. Their conversation slowly becomes more intimate and this shows that they are becoming closer emotionally as well as physically. The concept of sin and forgiveness is later brought to a climax as it is ironically Elizabeth who begs John for forgiveness after sending him to his death. At the very end of the play she rushes to him before he is hanged and they kiss with passion. This is a very emotional climax of both the play and John’s life and his relationship with Elizabeth. After arguing with Danforth over keeping a good name he knows he is going to die as a good man by keeping his name. Elizabeth would not try to persuade him to confess and save himself as she knew this is what he wanted.
The relationship of John and Elizabeth is a rocky one but is one that becomes stronger with every passing moment, both physically and emotionally, and at the end of the play, when their relationship is at it’s peak, it is also at its lowest as they both know that John is soon to be killed and it will be the end of their relationship.
In conclusion, I think that the relationship between John and Elizabeth grew stronger with every act in the play and every little thing helped their relationship. Emotionally, they become closer as the village finds out that John committed adultery but they grew a lot closer after Elizabeth was taken away and when John was convicted. At first in the play they were not physically close but the further away they were taken from each other, the more they longed to be closer. At the end of the play, John and Elizabeth being together drew a massive physical climax to the play and to their relationship. The end of the play also gave an emotional climax as all the feelings that John and Elizabeth couldn’t express throughout the play were released trough that kiss.