John Proctor's confessions came way too late. Any reader of "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller had to wonder if the confession would ever come. He thought he could get rid of all the controversy without letting the public know of his affair with Abigail Williams. Proctor tried everything trying to save his reputation. He finally realized how important it was that the let the truth out no matter the consequence. The only problem was that he waited way too long. The fire that was the Salem Witch Trials had blazed too far out of control to be put out.
John Proctor and Abigail Williams had an affair that occurred before "The Crucible" begins. The reader comes to learn that John had ended the affair with Abigail and she is not taking the news too well. Abigail begs Proctor for one last chance. When he denies, Abigail chooses to make him pay.
Map of West Peabody, MA, indicating the 20th centu...
Deposition of Abigail Williams v. George Jacobs, S...
"The witch no. 1" lithographFrom then on, Abigail did all she could to create the monster of the Salem Witch Trials. That is why John thought a truthful confession would be more than enough to end all these problems. That is why the Salem Witch Trials seemed so complex to the normal citizen, while being all to simple for the people who knew the truth.
Proctor seemed to think that his confession would end all the suspicion that had come to haunt Salem. He didn't think there was any chance that people would not believe him. The people did not want to believe him. They never thought the huge ordeal could be so simple. Proctor finally broke down in Act three when he called it a "whore's vengeance" that caused the start of the witch mystery. It was Abigail's revenge on John Proctor for ending their affair and nothing more. Little...