Where Does Elizabeth Want John to Go and What Does She Want Him to Do There

Many readers have the same question about  Human activity 2 of The Crucible: why does Elizabeth want John to go to Salem? This article provides both short and long answers to this question. It should help y'all to sympathize the reasoning backside her request, why it changes slightly over the course of the act, and how it connects to the lingering tension in their marriage.

Why Is This Question Tricky?

This question addresses an important simply somewhat confusing aspect of the plot in Act 2. John and Elizabeth Proctor have several one-on-one conversations in this act that introduce the audition to the issues in their marriage that take arisen as a result of John'south matter. Elizabeth asks John to go to Salem twice, changing her request slightly when she learns additional information about the courtroom proceedings from Mary. Her first request is driven by an urgent business concern for the others who have been accused, but her 2nd request is an even more dire plea equally she realizes that she herself is in danger from the trials. We'll look at what the different requests are and why Elizabeths makes them from both a practical and psychological standpoint.

Short Answer

Elizabeth initially wants John to go to Salem so he can show that Abigail told him Betty'south illness had naught to do with witchcraft. When Elizabeth finds out from Mary that she was accused in court, however, she decides she wants John to speak with Abigail directly. She says he must tell Abigail that they will never enter into a romatic relationship again. Elizabeth hopes this will dissuade Abigail from making additional fake accusations designed to remove her from the picture show.

Elizabeth'due south promise is that John volition be willing to set the record straight, beginning on an official level and then on a personal level. This is the only way he tin testify his loyalty to her over Abigail. Every bit she says, "I will be your only wife, or no wife at all!" (pg. 59) For Elizabeth, this is about more than just protecting herself from accusations. Information technology symbolizes John's renewed commitment to their marriage and the concluding nail in the coffin for his infatuation with Abigail.

Long Answer

Elizabeth Proctor first urges John Proctor to go to Salem and so he tin can testify that Abigail and the other girls are frauds.John knows this to exist a fact because when he and Abigail spoke alone in Act one, Abigail scoffed at the suggestion that Betty'due south illness had anything to practice with witchcraft.

Here'south the exact commutation between John and Abigail (on page twenty):

PROCTOR: The road by my house is a pilgrimage to Salem all morning time. The town's mumbling witchcraft.

ABIGAIL: Oh, posh! Nosotros were dancin' in the wood last nighttime, and my uncle leaped in on u.s.. She took fearfulness, is all.

John is hesitant to go into boondocks and produce this evidence considering he'south not certain he will be believed. It'due south his word against Abigail's. He says, "If the girl'south a saint now, I think it is not so easy to prove she's fraud, and the town gone so dizzy. She told it to me in a room alone - I have no proof for it" (pg. 51).

Elizabeth is frustrated because she believes that some of his reluctance actually stems from the fact that he nonetheless has feelings for Abigail. She says, "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I recall not" (pg. 52).Her trust in him is shaken by the fact that he spoke with Abigail lone, a detail that he kept to himself until now. Elizabeth needs John to give his testimony discrediting Abigail to prove that he has moved on from her and his loyalties aren't divided (and because it's the honest thing to practice).

After Mary Warren reveals that Elizabeth was accused briefly during that 24-hour interval's trial, Elizabeth's request regarding John's visit to Salem changes.She sees that the situation is more than dire than they originally thought; her life may really be in danger considering of Abigail'south vendetta against her.She now wants John to go to Salem so he can speak with Abigail and tell her that the two of them volition never end upwardly together nether any circumstances.She knows that Abigail wants her out of the picture show so that she can take her place as John's wife. If Abigail hears direct from John that this will never happen, she might be persuaded to give up her charade. Elizabeth urges, "Whatever promise she may sense - break information technology, John, interruption it" (pg. 59).

She understands that the hysteria surrounding the trials has grown to a betoken where addressing the root of the problem (Abigail) may be more than effective than attempting to convince the court officials that the girls are lying. Also, if John speaks to Abigail himself, Abigail won't be able to mistake his intentions in the future. If he'southward willing to exercise this, it will prove to Elizabeth that he actually is washed with the matter psychologically as well as physically.

The psychological wounds of John's thing run deeper than his romatically obtuse encephalon tin encompass.

Summary: Why Does Elizabeth Want John to Go to Salem?

Ok, allow's recap the respond to this question with some snappy bullet points:

• Elizabeth originally wants John to go to Salem and so he can tell the court that he knows the girls are lying.
• Then, when she finds out she was accused in courtroom, she wants him to go to Salem to speak directly with Abigail.
• Elizabeth makes these requests with an center towards correcting injustice and saving her own life.
• Even so, she too has a more emotional motive, which is to force John to show his loyalty to her and fully renounce his connection to Abigail.

What'south Next?

Want more than details well-nigh what exactly happens in Act two of The Crucible? Cheque out our full summary of Deed two, including key quotes and thematic assay.

We've also written in-depth analyses that focus on the main characters of the play. Read a complete breakup of John Proctor'south relationships, motivations, and personality traits.

Looking for some good quotes to include in your essay for English language class? We have a full list of the most important quotes in The Crucible along with explanations of their thematic relevance.

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Nearly the Writer

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other bookish challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth Higher as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, v's on all 7 of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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