Reputation In The Reputationcible In Arthur Miller's The Crucible

In life, reputation is thought to be one of the most important things about an individual. In The Crucible, Mr. John Proctor would go to great lengths to protect his reputation. His lust is uncontrolled, yet he controls the publicity of an affair with Abigail Williams to protect his own name. Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, even lies to protect the reputation of her husband, the adulterer. Mary Warren, the Proctor’s house maid, also participates in the selfish act of protecting her own name instead of doing the right thing. Abigail Williams, the ring leader of the girls, continuously accuses others of witchcraft, instead of confessing to the truth. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, shows the human need to protect one’s reputation. The characters
Abigail and John are alone in a room together in the beginning of the play, Abigail attempts to reignite the flame between the two, and John clearly ignores her. Abigail brings up how John had previously lusted for her, and tells her to get over it. From that point on, her motive was to protect her own name and deny all charges and accusations against her. She denies attempting to conjure spirits in the woods, and also the fact that she is accused being a harlot. When she is questioned she responds with “If I have to answer that, I will leave and I will not come back” (116). She is completely confident with her lies, and she forces the other girls to do so as well. Abigail believes she is assisting god in helping “clearing the evil” from the town, by accusing innocent citizens of practicing the ways of the devil in witchcraft. Abigail is frightened by the fact that John has the potential power to soil her reputation that she has built up for herself. As it is human nature to protect one’s name, Abigail denies all charges. The selfishness of these characters is portrayed throughout the play. These characters all hide and deny the truth to avoid ruining their reputations. They are afraid, but yet they try to stay confident. Throughout the play, John Proctor and Mary Warren give in and confess to their crimes and lies. Although, Abigail Williams never caved in and instead fled the