Mary Warren's basic goodness is demonstrated on many occasions. She has been hired by John Proctor to help his wife Elizabeth with household chores. Mary proves to be a kind girl who gets along well with Mrs. Proctor. Although Mary has become a court official in Salem, she still gets up early in the morning to clean the Proctors' house. While in court, Mary passes the time by making Goody Proctor a present of a small rag doll called a poppet. Upset by the court proceedings, Mary tells Mr. Proctor that she is "all shuddery inside" because Goody Osburn will hang. When the poppet becomes false proof of witchcraft against Elizabeth, Mary willingly explains that the poppet is hers. She also makes a vain attempt to comfort John Proctor as the court officials drag his wife away in chains.
A basic sense of honesty is another of Mary Warren's traits. In Act I she goes to Salem to convince Abigail to tell the truth about what really happened in the woods. When the witchcraft scare gets out of hand, Mary joins Abigail and the other girls in falsely accusing women of being witches. These false accusations are motivated by hysteria. There is evidence that Mary really believes that the women in court are bewitching her. She tells the judge that she thought she saw spirits. The other girls were screaming, and before she knew it, Mary was screaming with them. When she realizes that there are