Now believe me, Proctor, how heavy be the law, all its tonnage I do carry on my back tonight. I have a warrant for your wife…I am given sixteen warrant tonight, sir, and she is one…The court bid me search your house, but I like not to search a house. So will you hand me any poppets that your wife may keep here?
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. Ezekiel Cheever makes his first appearance in this scene, arriving at the Proctor home to serve a warrant for Elizabeth’s arrest. He already has a horse wagon full of prisoners falsely accused of witchcraft, with Elizabeth next on his list of sixteen. Claiming to carrying out his legal duty, he demands that any poppet dolls Elizabeth has be handed over. A poppet doll and Cheever will play an important role in the framing of the blameless Elizabeth.