The Crucible

In Arthur Mille's The Crucible, only a handful of characters symbolize truth and lies. One character in The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor, remains honest throughout the entire situation that surrounds her. However, as an honest and loving Christian wife who passionately loves her husband, Elizabeth hides the truth when a dire situation arises, evidently leading to the demise of her husband. She realizes that the truth is something that must be continuously followed and one should never stray from it. Elizabeth Proctor is a symbol of truth because she values it as her most vital moral. Throughout the play, Miller presents Elizabeth as a loyal loving wife and mother. In Act II of the play, when Reverend Hale comes to Proctor's home, Elizabeth notices John arriving home late. She grows suspicious of his honesty and begins to doubt the certainty behind his words. She states, "You come so late I thought you'd gone to Salem this afternoon", suspecting that John had been with Abigail again (Miller 1061). Although Elizabeth is surrounded by deception during the play, it never affected her honesty. However, when her husband lies to her once, her beliefs become corrupted. This leads to her questioning John Proctor even when he speaks the truth. This strongly symbolizes that honesty is a powerful moral that Elizabeth advocates. During Act III of the play, Elizabeth Proctor is placed in a situation in which her husband's life is in jeopardy. Faced with a ultimatum, Elizabeth tells her one and only lie, resulting in the tragedy of the story. Her one false testimony evidently leads to her lose the life dearest to her, and the devastation of the trials. She abandons her upmost moral, resulting into the gravest mistake of the story. In Act 4, during closing of the play, Elizabeth apologizes to John for her hastily assumptions confessing, “John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did. . . . It were a cold