The
overriding emphasis on conformity is depicted in this play as a problem that corrodes the larger
Salem society by causing people to lie to save themselves.
Conformity becomes
a moral dilemma for John Proctor. He knows Abigail and Mary Warren have lied in accusing his
wife, Elizabeth, of being a witch. However, he is afraid to come forward for fear his affair
with Abigail will be exposed. This adultery would show that he does not conform to the Puritan
moral code. His desire to look like a good Puritan conflicts with the reality that he knows his
wife has been falsely accused.
The small ways John Proctor does not conform
to social norms are used to discredit his family as well as him. The fact, for instance, that
his family does not attend church on a regular basis helps plant the suspicion in people's mind
that his daughter, Better, really was bewitched and that the charges against his wife are
true--and that he, too, is a witch, a crime for which he is executed, although the...
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