Summary of Act II

John Proctor

Abigail

Act 2 starts in the Proctor household when John comes in from working on the farm.  Elizabeth asks where he has been all night, suspicious because of his previous affair with Abigail.  Proctor is sick of being questioned and compares the atmosphere of the household to winter.  The Proctors’ find out that their servant, Marry Warren, has been called to the Salem courthouse and Proctor is angered because of the chaos amongst the town. Abby has been naming many people in the town as witches, including Elizabeth. Elizabeth asks John to tell Ezekiel Cheever that Abby is a liar and John replies that he will think about it.  This angers Elizabeth because she takes this as meaning that he is still in love with Abby. John gets mad for Elizabeth’s judgment and they bicker for a little while over John’s allegiances. When Mary Warren comes home, John asks why she went to Salem when she was forbidden to do so and she replies that she is an official of the court. She brings news that 39 women have been arrested and the Goody Osborn will hang for her spell casting. Mary also reports that she saved Elizabeth’s life when she was mentioned in the court by Abby. Elizabeth pleads with John to tell Abby to stop her lies and John reluctantly complies. After this is settled, Reverend Hale comes the to Proctor household to question how religious they are. Since Elizabeth was mentioned in the court, Hale asks them to recite their 10 commandments. Also, when Proctor is asked why his Church attendance is sporadic, Proctor responds that he does not believe that Parris has the light of God in him.  Elizabeth is even offended that Hale suggests the Devil would be present in her household.  Later in the act, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse arrive with the news that their wives had been arrested. The town has officially fallen into madness and Hale is convinced that the court will make a just decision. Then, however, Cheever and Herrick enter with a warrant to arrest Elizabeth from Abby’s implications. Proctor explains that Abby has been making it up as an attempt to get rid of Elizabeth and rips up the warrant. Nevertheless, Elizabeth agrees to go with Cheever and Herrick. Proctor wants to go to the court to say Abby is a fraud, but Mary warns that Abby will go public about their affair. However, John has little to lose and yells at Mary as the scene ends.