The Crucible
The title : theCrucible
Crucible is a ceramic container in which substances melt down from heating. Arthur Miller uses the title “the crucible” as a metaphor of the Church in Salem where people’s integrity is teared down by the hysteria. Arthur Miller attributes the melting process of solutions of crucible to the development of relation between Elizabeth Proctor and John Proctor. Proctor says “It’s winter in here yet, … Massachusetts is a beauty in the spring”(49). Elizabeth and John are introduced in a cold scene in which the bond between the two characters are detached due to the previous John’s affair with Abigail. The change in the relationship between Elizabeth and John initiates when Elizabeth is accused by Abigail in the court. The two characters reconstruct their relationship and protect each other in the court. John Proctor, furious of rescuing his wife from the witch trials, defames Abigail in the court as a prostitute. Not only does John extricate his wife from the gallows, but also Elizabeth forgives John. She says “John, it come to naught that I should forgive you, …. no honest love could come to me!”(126). The Church where the trials proceed in the play eventually melts the tension between Elizabeth and John. Without the crucible, Elizabeth would not have regained the credibility of John and John would not have proved to Elizabeth the love he has for her.