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Transcript

Mary Warren in The Crucible

In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Mary Warren's psychological progression ranges between deceptive and genuine. Mary Warren is genuine when she expresses her honest feelings; however more often she is deceptive because she continues to lie about witchcraft in order to protect herself.

Deceptive

Genuine

Act 3

Act 2

Act 1

“Mary Warren: What’ll we do? The village is out! I just come from the farm; the whole country’s talkin’ witchcraft! They’ll be callin’ us witches, Abby!” (Act 1 18)

“Mary Warren, backing from him, but keeping her erect pos-ture, striving, striving for her way: The Devil’s loose in Salem, Mr. Proctor; we must discover where he’s hiding!“ (Act 2 59)

“Mary Warren: I - I cannot tell how, but I did. I - I heard the other girls screaming, and you, Your Honor, you seemed to believe them, and I - It were only sport in the beginning, sir, but then the whole world cried spirits, spirits, and I - I promise you, Mr. Danforth, I only thought I saw them but I did not.” (Act 3 107)

“Mary Warren: I never knew it before. I never knew anything before. When she come into the court I say to myself, I must not accuse this woman, for she sleep in ditches, and so very old and poor. But then - then she sit there, denying and denying, and I feel a misty coldness climbin’ up my back, and the skin on my skull begin to creep, and I feel a clamp around my neck and I cannot breathe air; and then - entranced - I hear a voice, a screamin’ voice, and it were my voice - and all at once I re-membered everything she done to me!” (Act 2 57).

“Mary Warren: I’ll not hang with you! I love God, I love God.

Danforth, to Mary: He bid you do the Devil’s work?

Mary Warren, hysterically, indicating Proctor : He come at me by night and every day to sign, to sign, to -

Danforth: Sign what? The Devil’s book? He come with a book?

Mary Warren, hysterically, pointing at Procter, fearful of him: My name, he want my name. 'I’ll murder you,' he says, 'if my wife hangs! We must go and overthrow the court,' he says! “ (Act 3 118-119)

In the beginning of the play Mary Warren is extremely concerned about her reputation. She knows tat she will be in a lot of trouble once the community finds out she was dancing in the woods. Mary Warren is indisputably and openly afraid at this part of the play.

At this point Mary is completely dishonest to Mr. Procter while attempting through body language to show her confidence in what she is stating. She does not appear to have any feelings of remorse this time. Mary is untruthful but her poise makes it appear like she even believes her deceptive statements.

Finally Mary Warren admits that she never saw spirits and that she was only pretending. She is experiencing a lot of remorse and is telling the truth in an attempt to save Mrs. Procter from hanging. However, she is still not completely telling the truth; Mary says she only thought she was spirits even though she knows that she never saw them because she does not want the Reverend to think she was lying.

Mary Warren's attempt to tell the truth backfires when the other girls accuse her of witchcraft. Now she has to return to her dishonest ways in order to avoid hanging as well. Accusing Mr. Procter of witchcraft is Mary's biggest lie; she know that Mrs. Procter, Mr. Procter, and herself are not witches but she accuses Mr. Procter anyway.

Now Mary Warren is acting as an accuser in the witch trials against Mr. and Mrs. Procter's wishes. She admits that she feels badly about the accusations that she has made; she genuinely feels remorseful. However, she claims that when the accused deny witchcraft she begins to remember all of the horrible things that person had done to her. Mary Warren probably does feel bad about what she is doing, however, she will not admit that she is lying because she is continuing to protect her secret in the woods.

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