Thursday, June 4, 2015

In "The Crucible", what is Elizabeth's most important quote?

I consider her very last line, and the last line in the play, the most important.  In speaking of John's decision to be hanged to preserve his honor, she says, "He have his goodness now.  God forbid I take it from him!"  This connects with a recurring theme in the book, which is John's struggle to feel like a worthy, good man.  He loathes his sin with Abigail, and feels that he is "not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang!"  He had just said that "My honesty is broke, Elizabeth; I am no good man."  However, in choosing to die, he earns his goodness back, and Elizabeth sees this.  She fights through her desire to have her husband back, alive, and with her after a very touching reconciliation, and instead declares that in ensuring his doom, he also ensured his own peace of mind and goodness.  It takes a strong woman to do that, and shows the true grit of her character.

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