Proctor and Elizabeth in Court
Setting:
Dark setting to depict the court, with the stage lights shining down upon Danforth. This gives officials of the court an air of authority and being on the good side (since light is symbolic of purity).
- Mary Warren is being questioned about her sudden turnabout.Mary’s use of pauses in her denial of accusations of Proctor’s threats (“No sir”) helps depict her weakness in the face of interrogation. This is even more evident in the play as she can be seen sitting down on the floor beside Proctor while the rest of the people on stage stand; this gives both characters a position of submission.
- Danforth’s use of authoritative language with sudden, sharp increases in volume during the interrogation helps further the viewers’ impression that he is in complete control of the court proceedings. This can be seen through the repeated use of words such as “Answer me!” throughout the proceedings. While being tasked to oversee the proceedings as the judge of Salem, he also shows a certain level of partiality by allowing his anger to get the better of himself in some cases, and refusing external help .This can be seen in the play and text, when he uses some level of sarcasm against Mary Warren in “How were you instructed in your life? Do you not know that God damns all liars?” The play allows this fury to be depicted even better through facial expressions and attempts to talk in measured tones.
- However, this is where the similarities between the text and the play begin to end. In the text, Danforth interrogates Mary Warren in the absence of the Abigail and the girls, while in the play Abigail and the girls are already in the court at the start of Mary’s interrogation. The play also omits Danforth’s orders for Abigail to rise, does not make any mention of the puppet found in Elizabeth Proctor’s possession as well as the incident where the girls dance naked in the forest. In omitting these incidents from the court scene the play fails to raise the point that the Abigail should no longer be treated as a girl as dancing naked shows that she has already reached a certain level of maturity and therefore should not be treated as an innocent child. It also means that the audience will not know that Parris lied in court for personal reasons, which may affect the meaning of the play somewhat. However at the same time by positioning Abigail on the table with her legs dangling, she appears more confident that the proceedings will work in her favour.
- Danforth’s movement to the centre of the stage with both hands on the table in the play further shows his frustration when Mary is unable to faint at will to prove herself.
- Parris’ sentence “Surely Your Excellency is not taken in by this simple lie”, while showing signs of his attempt to influence Danforth in the text, is further exaggerated in the play when the actor makes use of a slow, smooth voice, which shows his slyness.
- Danforth’s movement to question Abigail by her side in the play makes his attempt to pressure Abigail even more obvious as the stage directions in the text only mention “turning worriedly to Abigail”. In this aspect the desperate feelings of Danforth in the text are made evident through the use of complementing body language. At the same time, the fact that Abigail does not directly face Danforth during his interrogation of her makes it even more evident that the court proceedings are partial; while Abigail is not forced to face Danforth, Elizabeth Proctor is.
- The sudden accusation of Mary is dramatised in the play, helping readers better understand how Abigail manages to successfully turn the tables on Mary by introducing the presence of a cold wind and getting the other girls to follow suit in “feeling cold”.
- The blocking of multiple characters (Proctor, Mary and Abigail) speaking at once on stage helps create conflict in the courtroom with opposing claims being made simultaneously against each other in the play, which is something the text did not direct, but has enhanced the chaotic atmosphere in the play. This is a good leadup to Proctor’s confession where he calls her a whore who has slept with him. His outburst is further amplified by his actions in the play when he goes up to the table and slams it with both palms. The deep breaths he takes after letting it go, coupled with the deathly silence thereafter allows the confession to sink in with the audience.
- Thereafter, the interrogation of Elizabeth begins in order to confirm Proctor’s innocence and to lend credibility to his claim. By sticking to Danforth’s repetitive use of authoritative language such as “look at me only” in the play, it helps display Elizabeth’s weakness and reliance as Arthur Miller intended in the text. However the omission of the act of holding Elizabeth’s face as directed in the text reduces the emotional pressure Elizabeth would have felt from Danforth about airing the Proctor family’s dirty laundry in public. Under such emotional pressure, Elizabeth finally breaks down and lies to Danforth out of love, drastically reducing Proctor’s credibility in the process.
- Proctor: Attempt to expose Abigail fails when he loses credibility. Mary Warren's betrayal to save herself makes him appear even more anti-Christ, considering his background where he does not follow mainstream community practice's of going to church.
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