Characters and action:-

Between Abigail and John proctor.

  • Abigail and John are together.
  • They are alone outside together.
  • Abigail trying to show affection for John.
  • John is telling her to go away, afraid he might get caught by someone nearby.
  • ‘Gah I’d almost forgot how strong you are, John Proctor!’- Abigail sounds quite desperate.
  • She’s jealous that Proctor actually falls to his knees to his wife and he doesn’t for Abigail
  • Abigail starts to feel comfortable around him
  • John calls her child and she gets angry as she likes him and he calls her child- makes her more frustrated.

Themes and context:-

Power– Abigail thinks she has power over John Proctor and thinks she can get him to fall in love with her. John however tries to drift away from her and makes her cry, showing that he has also become quite masculine and shows power to Abigail.

Jealousy– Abigail is jealous that he is married to Elizabeth. Abigail calls Elizabeth cold, snivelling and she is jealous for the fact that he bends to her, which means that Abigail is jealous their relationship is still lasting and they are still together, no matter what.

Status– John Proctor has high status in the society; he says no to Abigail whenever she comes near as he knows he will lose his status in the society of being a proud man when his will get blamed for adultery.

Society – affairs are presented, for example- Abigail and John. Comparing to today’s society, they are quite similar as many people do have affairs when they are in a relationship.

Love– Abigail and John feel affection for each other. But John can hang on for too long as she might tell everyone or someone might find out. However the fact that they feel comfortable around each other, when they are together tells us that they may have had an affair for quite a long time. ‘Heat’-this tells us that passion was growing between them both.

Language / structure and effects:-

‘You sweated like a stallion whenever I come near’
Language- simile – stallion is quite a strong animal the sibilance in ‘s’ makes the quote sound more seductive.
Effect on the reader- the reader is now aware of the affair and Abigail had become more bold and dangerous.
Themes and context- sexualised, immoral lust and betrayal.

‘I will cut my hand before I reach for you again’
Language- shows an aggressive determination. Forceful and masculine language.
Effect on the reader- he is presented as a firm man, and we start to admire him.
Themes and context- shows a man who wants to redeem his sins.

‘I’ll not be comin’ for you more’
This quote tells us that he is starting to hate Abigail. She is not important to her anymore.
Comin’- here the technique inversion is used and it is also colloquial.

‘speak nothing of Elizabeth’
John is getting defensive toward Elizabeth he is starting to dislike anyone that says anything about her.