The Crucible Pride and Reputation Quotes

Parris was in his middle forties. In history he cut a villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him. He believed he was being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God to his side. In meeting, he felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without asking his permission.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. We are provided with a snapshot of Reverend Samuel Parris’s character in this description at the beginning of the play. He comes across as intolerant and quick to take offense, selfish and self-centered, arrogant and prideful. A thoroughly dislikeable man, he thinks himself superior to others and wants them to ask permission before shutting the door, the narrator says.

And what shall I say to them? That my daughter and my niece I discovered dancing like heathen in the forest?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Reverend Parris worries what people will say after finding his daughter Betty and niece Abigail dancing in the forest with other girls. In a simile, he compares the girls’ antics to those of heathens, or uncivilized people who don’t worship the God of the Bible. With rumors of witchcraft circulating, he is concerned how any scandal might be used against him by his enemies. Dancing was a forbidden pleasure in the intolerant world of the Puritans.

Now look you, child, your punishment will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Reverend Parris questions his niece Abigail about the girls’ ritual in the woods. Aware that rumors of witchcraft are spreading around Salem, Parris is very concerned about what any scandal involving his household will do to his reputation as a minister.

Then why can she not move herself since midnight? This child is desperate! It must come out – my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Reverend Parris, quizzing Abigail about what happened earlier in the woods, is worried over his daughter falling sick. But he is even more worried about people thinking Betty’s illness is a result of witchcraft and possession by the Devil. Protecting his reputation is Parris’s number one priority here.

PARRIS: I cannot blink what I saw, Abigail, for my enemies will not blink it. I saw a dress lying on the grass…Aye, a dress. And I thought I saw – someone naked running through the trees!
ABIGAIL: No one was naked! You mistake yourself, uncle!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Parris tells Abigail that he cannot pretend he didn’t see what he saw in the woods with the girls, including one of them running naked. He is worried that his enemies will discover this and use it against him to harm his reputation and standing in the community. True to character, Abigail simply lies and says no one was naked.

And I pray you feel the weight of truth upon you, for now my ministry’s at stake, my ministry and perhaps your cousin’s life.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. A narcissistic Parris, speaking here to Abigail, shows great pride in himself and his ministry. He urges his niece to tell the truth about what happened in the woods. But in doing do, he thinks about the impact on his personal reputation and position as a church minister before the wellbeing of his sick daughter Betty.

I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. An insecure Parris, who says this to his niece Abigail, is obsessed with being highly regarded by the people of Salem. For him his status and authority in the town is more of a priority than serving his parishioners and preaching the word of God. He is fearful that Abigail and his daughter’s involvement in a ritual in the woods may destroy his reputation.

PARRIS: Your name in the town – it is entirely white, is it not?
ABIGAIL: Why, I am sure it is, sir. There be no blush about my name.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. This exchange between Parris and Abigail takes place after Parris sees the girls dancing in the woods. He uses a metaphor to ask if her name in the town is "entirely white" or unblemished. Abigail assures him that there is nothing to tarnish her reputation and cause people to blush at her name.

Abigail, is there any other cause than you have told me, for your being discharged from Goody Proctor’s service? I have heard it said, and I tell you as I heard it, that she comes so rarely to the church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled. What signified that remark?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. For Reverend Parris, Abigail’s dancing in the woods has reignited suspicions about his niece’s behavior. He refers to rumors that she acted improperly when working in the Proctors’ service, with Mrs. Proctor not wanting to sit close to her in church. With Elizabeth avoiding being associated with something "soiled" or impure, this puts Abigail’s reputation under the spotlight.

My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Abigail sharply defends her reputation to her uncle, Reverend Parris, against rumors that she didn’t behave properly while working as a servant for the Proctors. In an outburst of temper, she calls Elizabeth "a gossiping liar." This is ironic, since Abigail’s main role in the play will be to lie.

Thomas, Thomas, I pray you, leap not to witchcraft. I know that you – you least of all, Thomas, would ever wish so disastrous a charge laid upon me. We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such a corruption in my house.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Parris knows that he cannot have his household associated with witchcraft. Otherwise he will be driven out of Salem and lose his career as a minister. He pleads with Thomas Putnam not to jump to conclusions about witchcraft being the cause of their children’s illness. Parris is trying desperately to preserve his reputation, but doesn’t seem over-concerned about his daughter.

He was a man with many grievances…the eldest son of the richest man in the village…he regarded himself as the intellectual superior of most of the people around him.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. This explanation about Thomas Putnam paints him as arrogant and afflicted with excessive pride in himself and his own superiority.

His vindictive nature was demonstrated long before the witchcraft began. A former Salem minister, George Burroughs, had had to borrow money to pay for his wife’s funeral, and, since the parish was remiss in his salary, he was soon bankrupt. Thomas and his brother John had Burroughs jailed for debts the man did not owe. The incident is important only in that Burroughs succeeded in becoming minister where Bayley, Thomas Putnam’s brother-in-law, had been rejected; the motif of resentment is clear here. Thomas Putnam felt that his own name and the honor of his family had been smirched by the village, and he meant to right matters however he could.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. This explanation about Thomas Putnam reveals his vindictive and vengeful nature. When his brother-in-law was rejected for position of town minister in favor of another man, he ensured that the man was jailed for debts he didn’t owe. This was in retaliation for what he felt was a smirch on the family name.

Oh, Abigail, what proper payment for my charity! Now I am undone.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. A fearful Parris says this, after Abilgail denies she was conjuring spirits the previous night, but admits that Tituba and Ruth were. Parris is concerned that Abigail may have ruined his reputation.

PUTNAM: Now look you, sir. Let you strike out against the Devil, and the village will bless you for it! Come down, speak to them – pray with them. They’re thirsting for your word, Mister! Surely you’ll pray with them.
PARRIS: I’ll lead them in a psalm, but let you say nothing of witchcraft yet. I will not discuss it. The cause is yet unknown. I have had enough contention since I came; I want no more.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Thomas Putnam exerts his considerable power in the community to persuade Parris to take spiritual charge and lead the battle against Lucifer. A cautious Parris, worried for his reputation, agrees to lead everyone in prayer and a psalm but refuses to accept any mention of witchcraft.

Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites. He was the kind of man – powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led – who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly – and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. In these character description note by Miller, protagonist John Proctor is portrayed as a man of integrity who possesses an independent mind and spirit. He didn’t support any particular group in town and didn’t suffer fools or hypocrites gladly. That made him a target of calumny, or attacks on his reputation. This passage is foreshadowing of a number of things: Proctor’s biting criticisms of the hypocritical Reverend Parris and greedy Thomas Putnam, and the accusations of witchcraft leveled against Proctor himself.

ABIGAIL: Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be – .
PROCTOR: You’ll speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!
ABIGAIL: She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Abigail is deeply jealous of John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. This is borne out by her name-calling of Elizabeth in this conversation with John. Resentful that Elizabeth is his wife instead of her, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of spreading lies about her and sullying her name in the village. John defends his wife

The salary is sixty-six pound, Mr. Proctor! I am not some preaching farmer with a book under my arm; I am a graduate of Harvard College.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Parris is involved in an undignified argument with Giles Corey and Proctor about his salary. Here he disputes Proctor’s claim that his salary is sixty pounds, plus six for firewood. He insists that his pay is sixty-six pounds, and the firewood is provided free. This is an example of greed by the head of the church in Salem. It also shows him consumed with pride, boasting that having a degree from the prestigious Harvard University should command a higher salary. Parris sees himself at a higher level than the typical Massachusetts farmer or craftsman.

Mr. Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pounds a year! I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in the Barbados to serve the Lord. I do not fathom it, why am I persecuted here? I cannot offer one proposition but there be a howling riot of argument. I have often wondered if the Devil be in it somewhere; I cannot understand you people otherwise.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Reverend Parris is very concerned with material wealth, as shown by this speech. But as well as being a man of greed, this passage tells us also that he suffers from the sin of pride.

You people seem not to comprehend that a minister is the Lord’s man in the parish; a minister is not to be so lightly crossed and contradicted.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Parris says this in an argument with Proctor over the parsonage. It shows how highly he thinks of himself and his position of authority as a minister.

This is a beloved errand for him; on being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for. Like almost all men of learning, he spent a good deal of time pondering the invisible world, especially since he had himself encountered a witch in his parish not long before. That woman, however, turned into a mere pest under his searching scrutiny, and the child she had been allegedly afflicting recovered her normal behavior after Hale had given her his kindness and a few days of rest in his own house.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. In this explanation by the narrator, we learn that Reverend John Hale is proud of his specialist knowledge in the field of witchcraft. He has been called to Salem by Reverend Parris to investigate his daughter’s illness. In his own parish of Beverly he encountered accusations of witchcraft. But he determined that the "witch" was merely a "pest" and the child allegedly afflicted by witchcraft recovered after a few days rest.

They must be; they are weighted with authority.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. A good example of the sin of pride is provided by Reverend John Hale. He makes this reply to Parris who comments that the books he is carrying are heavy. Hale sees himself as intellectually superior to the people of Salem.

It’s strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverly.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 1. Reverend Hale says this upon meeting Rebecca Nurse. This shows how well-respected this elderly citizen is. Hale was aware of her reputation for charitable work outside of Salem before he met her in person.

PROCTOR: You will not go to court again, Mary Warren.
MARY WARREN: I must tell you, sir, I will be gone every day now. I am amazed you do not see what weighty work we do.
PROCTOR: What work you do! It’s strange work for a Christian girl to hang old women!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 2. In this act we witness Mary Warren’s transformation from a shy and timid serving girl for the Proctors to an outspoken and assertive young woman of power. This follows her involvement in the witch trials. She boasts with pride of the "weighty work" she and the other girls are doing to help drive the Devil out of Salem. But the irony is, and Proctor sees it, the "work" she is doing is helping to hang vulnerable women like beggar Sarah Osburn.

You must see it, sir, it’s God’s work we do. So I’ll be gone every day for some time. I’m – I am an official of the court, they say.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 2. Newly empowered teenage servant Mary Warren challenges her master John Proctor, when he commands her not go to court again. With a sense of pride in her new powerful role as court witness, she boasts that she must attend court daily to do "God’s work." The irony is that that means hanging innocent people. Mary is part of a group of young girls, led by Abigail, who are falsely accusing people of being witches.

The Devil’s loose in Salem, Mr. Proctor; we must discover where he’s hiding!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 2. Flaunting her new power as an "official of the court," Mary Warren makes her contribution to the growing hysteria about devil worship rampaging through Salem. Proud that she has joined the hunt for the Devil, she presents herself as being on the right side of the battle between good and evil. But the irony is that the real evil in Salem is in the form of the lies of Mary and the other attention-seeking girls, the greed of adults and a court that follows the maxim of "guilty until proven innocent."

It’s hard to think so pious a woman be secretly a Devil’s bitch after seventy year of such good prayer.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 2. John Proctor cannot believe that a woman with a reputation for pious and prayful living like Rebecca Nurse could be secretly in league with the Devil. He is responding to Reverend Hale’s news that she has been "mentioned somewhat" in the Salem witchcraft investigations.

GILES: They be tellin’ lies about my wife, sir. I – .
DANFORTH: Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?
GILES: Your Excellency, we mean no disrespect for – .
DANFORTH: Disrespect indeed! It is disruption, Mister. This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. When Giles Corey tries to tell the court that people are lying about his wife Martha being a witch, Judge Danforth immediately shuts him down. Displaying both arrogance and intolerance, he accuses Giles of disrupting the highest court in the province. Danforth refuses to allow Giles make a submission in defense of his accused wife, showing he has already made up his mind. This shows Danforth abusing his powers as a judge.

Do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from Marblehead to Lynn, and upon my signature?…And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. Deputy Governor Danforth proudly boasts to Francis Nurse about the number of people he has convicted and sentenced to death for witchcraft. Danforth represents rigidity in interpreting the law, excessive pride and refusal to allow anyone jeopardize or question his authority. It seems that justice in his court is all about maintaining high conviction rates, and has little to do with fairness or truth. Drunk on his own power, Judge Danforth has used his position to promote a climate of fear and hysteria in Salem and towns around.

Excellency, does it not strike upon you that so many of these women have lived so long with such upright reputation.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. John Proctor appeals to Massachusetts Deputy Governor and presiding Judge Danforth to consider the long-standing good reputations of the people being accused. He is suggesting that the accusations of witchcraft made by young children and teenagers lack credibility. Among those charged is Proctor’s upstanding wife Elizabeth.

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