What Is a Crucible, Anyway?

A crucible is a container in which substances can be heated to extremely high temperatures. It is commonly used to burn away impurities, and comes with a loosely-fitting cap to let out steam.

Hale says the witch trials are conducted to "cleanse our village" (46), and Danforth declares that citizens "no longer live in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with the good and befuddled the world" (94). The witch trials are an attempt to purge Salem of the impure, much like a crucible burns away impurities to leave a valuable metal or compound.

In the process of the trials, however, a different clarity emerges: realization of the hypocrisy, hysteria, and suspicion running rampant. As Abigail tells Proctor in the deleted scene from act two, "It were a fire you walked me through, and all my ignorance was burned away [. . . .] and I will scrub the world clean for the love of Him!" (150). Hale, Proctor, and many others see the fear of witchcraft for what it really is: an opportunity for the greedy and a sensation for the rest.

The intense heat and pressure associated with a crucible suggest the test of integrity the main characters face. Proctor emerges clean, having upheld his name and protected the integrity of the others. Many, however, are internally disgraced; Putnam, Abigail, and Parris are among them.

The fire may also refer to the burnings of witches in Europe, though the method of execution in Salem was hanging.