The Crucible Characters

John Proctor

John Proctor is a staunch Gospel Christian. His affair with Abigail Williams torments his family and causes his death. After confessing to his wife, Elizabeth, he decides to mend his marriage.

Elizabeth Proctor

She becomes a tragic victim of the Salem witch hunt because of Abigail’s desire for vengeance.

Reverend Parris

A Salem minister, Reverend Parris is insecure about his position in the theocracy. He is one of many to believe that the Devil is thriving in Salem.

Abigail Williams

She is an attractive and sly 17-year-old girl who has an affair with John Proctor. She attempts to reignite their romance, but John refuses to do so. Unwilling to accept this refusal, Abigail seeks vengeance by plotting to have his wife convicted as a witch and hanged so that John would marry her instead.

Reverend Hale

He is a sensible man, although he is anxious to prove his worth as an expert in witchcraft. He questions the arrests of good, Christian women, and when John Proctor and Giles Corey are arrested, he denounces the court.

Giles Corey

A farmer who owns 600 acres of farmland and woods, Corey innocently asks Reverend Hale why his wife Martha seems to enjoy reading so much. In doing so, he inadvertently implicates his wife. When he tries to prove his wife’s innocence, Giles Corey is arrested for contempt of court. He is crushed to death when heavy stones are piled on his chest.

Rebecca Nurse

A steadfast Christian woman, Rebecca Nurse is accused by Anne Putnam of murdering her babies through sorcery. Though she finds herself under pressure to falsely admit that she practices witchcraft, Rebecca refuses to do so and is sentenced to death.

Tituba

Tituba, a forty-year-old woman from Barbados, is a slave in the Parris household. She represents the plight of the downtrodden, who were easy targets during the witch trials. Discriminated for being black, she is thought to be the cause of Betty Parris’s “illness” and is the first to be accused of witchcraft.

Thomas Putnam

Thomas Putnam is almost fifty years old and is the oldest son of the town’s richest man. He is highly vindictive and considers himself superior. He is notorious for using force to get what he wants. Deeply embittered, he accuses many people of being witches and also frequently testifies against those accused of witchcraft.

Deputy Governor Danforth

Danforth is the judge overseeing the witch trials in the highest court of the province. In his sixties, Danforth is an intelligent and open-minded man. However, he gets swayed by the girls’ demonstration in court.