Initially, John Proctor's dilemma has to do with repairing his broken marriage and staying away from Abigail Williams, the young woman he had an adulterous affair with while she worked in his home as a servant.
Proctor tries and tries, for several months to win Elizabeth's trust back, but to no avail. She is distant and formal with him when we meet her in Act II. Proctor pleads with her to accept the fact that he will not stray again. But his wife has a hard time trusting him, when he returns home late she believes that he has spent time with Abigail.
When he tells her that there was no witchcraft in the forest and that the girls were just having fun, and Elizabeth finds out that he was alone with Abigail, all her fears are renewed.
It is in this atmosphere that Elizabeth is arrested. His dilemma changes completely from a private one between he and Elizabeth to a very public one, his private life is exposed and his credibility and dignity are put on trial.
Proctor bares his soul in the public arena, the court, in an effort to save Elizabeth's life.
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