The Crucible

Act 1 Quotes

‘A child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still. And, for love, it will soon itself come back.’ (Rebecca) Act 1

‘There is prodigious danger in the seeking of loose spirits. I fear it, I fear it.’ (Rebecca) Act 1

‘For how else is she [Ruth] struck dumb now except some power of darkness would stop her mouth? It is a marvellous sign, Mr Parris.’ (Putnam) Act 1

‘You think it God’s work you should never lose a child, nor grandchild either, and I bury all but one?’ (Goody Putnam is envious of Goody Nurse’s prospering family) Act 1

‘That tract is in my bounds, it’s in my bounds, Mr Proctor… you load one oak of mine and you’ll fight to drag it home!’ (Putnam threatening Proctor and Corey about his land) Act 1

‘It discomforts me! Last night – mark this – I tried and tried and could not say my prayers. And then she [Martha, his wife] close her book and walks out of the house, and suddenly – mark this – I could pray again!’ (Corey to Hale and the Salem elders) Act 1

‘Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined and calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises…have no fear now – we shall find him out if her has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!’ (Hale upon arriving at Salem) Act 1

‘Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut of my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.’ (Proctor to Abigail) Act 1

‘We cannot leap to witchcraft. They will howl me out of Salem for such corruption in my house.’ (Parris) Act 1

‘Mr Corey, you will look far for a man of my kind at sixty pound a year! I am not used to this poverty; I left a thrifty business in Barbados to serve the Lord. I do not fathom why I am persecuted here?’ (Parris is disappointed with his wages as the minister of Salem) Act 1

When one rises above the individual villainy is displayed, one can only pity them all, just as we shall be pitied someday… a witch-hunt was not, however, a mere repression. It was also, and as importantly, a long overdue opportunity for everyone so inclined to express publicly his guilt and sins, under cover of accusations against the victims. (Stage notes from Miller) Act 1

‘Here are all your familiar spirits – your incubi and succibi; your witches that go by land, by air, and by sea… have no fear now – we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face!’ (Hale) Act 1

Act 2 Quotes

‘My wife is the very brick and mortar of the church, Mr Hale…’ (Francis defending his wife when she is arrested) Act 2

‘There be certain danger in calling such a name – I am not Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half-witted… she means to take my place, John.’ (Elizabeth believes Abigail has ulterior motives for accusing her) Act 2

‘Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small.’ (Hale when he is visiting the Proctor household) Act 2

‘I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this house!’ (Proctor to Elizabeth) Act 2

‘…I will be your only wife, or no wife at all! She [Abigail] has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it well!’ (Elizabeth to Proctor) Act 2

Act 3 Quotes

‘Oh Francis, I wish you had some evil in you that you might know me! A man will not cast away his good name. You surely know that.’ (Proctor in court after confession to lechery with Abby) Act 3

‘This man [Putnam] is killing his neighbours for their land!’ (Giles Corey accuses Putnam for his evil plots) Act 3

‘I’m never put upon; I know my rights, sir, and I will have them.’ (Corey in court) Act 3

‘I will give you no name. I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute.’ (Corey in court) Act 3

‘I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people – and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned…’ (Abby in court) Act 3

‘Let you beware, Mr Danforth. Think you be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits?’ (Abby in court) Act 3

‘In her [Elizabeth’s] life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep – my wife cannot lie. I have paid much to learn it, sir.’ (Proctor to the court) Act 3

Act 4 Quotes

‘I am not that man. My honesty is broke, Elizabeth. I am no good man. Nothing’s spoiled by giving them this lie that were not rotten long before.’ (Proctor just before he considers confessing) Act 4

‘There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!’ (Hale just before Proctor hangs) Act 4

‘Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part; reprieve or pardon must cast doubt upon the guilt of them that dies till now. While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering. If retaliation is your fear, know this – I should hang ten thousand that dared to rise against the law…’ (Danforth) Act 4

‘Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption!’ (Danforth) Act 4

The Dressmaker

Part 1 Quotes

Little Myrtle Dunnage had alabaster skin and her mother’s eyes and hair. She seemed strong, but damaged. (Sergeant Farrat upon seeing Tilly again as a grown woman) Part 1

‘They’ll just have to get used to you,’ he said and shrugged.
‘No,’ she said. ‘I’ll have to get used to them.’ (Teddy and Tilly speak about the townsfolk after the Saturday night dance) Part 1

‘Jealousy is a curse and ugliness is worse.’ (Fred Bundle to his wife Purl about the other women of the town) Part 1

She [Molly] gestured at a crowd of invisible people around her bed. (When Tilly arrives and first sees her mother, she is shocked at how mad she is acting) Part 1

As food has nourished her body and therefore her mind, some sense had returned to her. She realised she’d have to be crafty, employ stubborn resistance and subtle violence against this stronger woman (Tilly) who was determined to stay. Part 1

‘Dunny’s mum’s a slut, Dunnybum’s Mum’s a slut.’ (Stewart Pettyman and the other school children tease Tilly as a child) Part 1

‘So you are going to kill me,’ she cried.
‘No,’ said Tilly and wiped her sweaty palms on her trousers. ‘The others were happy to let you die, I saved you. It’s me they’ll try to kill now.’ (Molly and Tilly) Part 1

The disease that crippled Mrs Almanac was rheumatoid arthritis. Her face was lined from pain – some days even her breathing caused her dry bones to grate and her muscles to fill with fire. She could predict rain coming, sometimes a week ahead, so was a handy barometer for farmers – they often confirmed with Irma what the corns on their toes indicated. Part 1

He was a man who touched women, leaned in close to talk, licked his lips and at dances pressed his partners tightly, ramming his thigh between their legs to move them around the floor. The ladies of Dungatar were polite to Councillor Pettyman… but they turned their backs when they saw him coming, busied themselves with a shop window or suddenly remembered something they had to do across the road. Part 1

Tilly kept her eyes to the middle distance. She knew it was a mistake, it was too soon, too bold. A feverish nausea swamped her, guilt, and she said to herself, It wasn’t my fault, but moved to step back anyway. Teddy held her firm, his strong arm about her waist. (Tilly and Teddy attend the social dance together) Part 1

They [the townsfolk] were used to the sergeant’s bachelor ways; he’d often purchased materials for tablecloths and curtains. Muriel said he must have the fanciest linen in town. (Gertrude when Sergeant Farrat buys a bolt of blue gingham fabric from the Pratts’ General Store) Part 1

‘Girls like her [Tilly] need a bloke like me about.’ (Teddy speaks to Molly about wanting to go on a date with Tilly) Part 1

He could sell seawater to a sailor. (Teddy’s entrepreneurial skills) Part 1

She [Tilly] thought about Teddy McSwiney, and wondered if the rest of town would be as friendly. Part 1

‘My future,’ muttered William determinedly, ‘I will make a life worth living here.’ Then self-doubt engulfed him and he looked at his lap, his chin quivering. Part 1

Part 2 Quotes

The town will be quiet again and the children will go back to the creek to play. The adults will wait for football season. The cycle was familiar to Tilly, a map. (The town will revert back to normal after the annual harvest and store in the silos takes place) Part 2

‘Mum says I’m not quite finished. Dad says I’m only five bob out of ten.’ (Barney explaining himself to Tilly) Part 2

‘I can look after you… that is, if you want me to.’ (Teddy’s proposal to Tilly) Part 2

In the morning she found the materials on Muriel’s counter, at inflated prices. The haberdashery counter had expanded its range of buttons, zips and beads which Alvin imported from specialist shops in Richmond, while he purchased accessories from wholesalers in Collins Street then sold them at 100 percent markup to the highly competitive locals. Part 2

At home, Tilly sat by the fire with a glass of beer and a cigarette, thinking about her schooldays with dumpy little Gertrude who had to wear extra elastic in her plaits because her hair was so thick. Part 2

She let the tea-coloured silk negligee slide over her chilly nipples and looked in the mirror again. ‘I am Mrs William Beaumont of Windswept Crest,’ she said. Part 2

‘…we’d jump into the grain trucks as they pulled out of the loading dock then stay on top of the wheat until we crossed the creek, where we’d jump in…’ (Teddy moments before he dies) Part 2

‘It’s not that – it’s what I’ve done. Sometimes I forget about it and just when I’m… it’s guilt, and the evil inside me – I carry it around with me, in me, all the time.’ (Tilly speaking to Teddy about the affect her past has on her) Part 2

‘She has good days and not-so-good, but she’s always entertaining and things come back to her from time-to-time.’ (Tilly talks to Farrat about her mother) Part 2

These days women made their housecoats from ‘imported’ brocade with ivory or diamante buttons, and swanned about their country bungalows in pastel silk chiffons or tapered velvet pants with cummberbund waists and high-necked jerseys, like movie stars. Part 2

Tilly, professional and gracious, took each of her clients one by one to the dining room to discuss their need and visions. She noted the members of the newly formed Dungatar Social Club had acquired an accent overnight – an enunciated Dungatar interpretation of queenly English. Part 2

He [Sergeant Farrat] kissed her [Tilly’s] hand and then wrapped the magenta silk organza about his shoulder… walked[ing] gracefully to the mirror in imaginary stilettos. He twirled, enjoying his reflection… Part 2

‘Why don’t you get that scandalous Tilly what’s-her-name to make you some new things? She’s cheap I hear.’ (Lesley trying to convince Mona to begin wearing some different outfits) Part 2

The women of Dungatar dressed astonishingly well, strolling from the library to the chemist and back again in luxurious frocks… relaxing in the park in sun frocks with asymmetric necklines common to European couture. Part 2

She wondered how Paris had found its way to the dilapidated confines and neglected torsos of banal housewives in a rural province. (The stranger who arrives from the city to offer Tilly a job considers the usual fashions of the ladies in Dungatar) Part 2

He was her good friend and he was her ally. (Tilly about Teddy) Part 2

They [the women of Dungatar] have been renovated, European-touched, advanced to almost avante-garde by Tilly Dunnage. Part 2

The couturiered ladies of Dungatar arrived late and entered the hall at three-minute intervals, poised, their noses aimed at the lights and their mouths creased down. They moved slowly through the gaping guests from Winyerp. Part 2

She [Tilly] prompted them to order new lingerie, and quoted Dorothy Parker – Brevity is the soul of lingerie. She told them about body shape and what complimented theirs and why. She constructed patterns and designs especially for them and warned them that they would need three fittings each, and then she told them they must choose fragrances that reflected the mood of their clothes. Part 2

Part 3 Quotes

Bitterness rested on Tilly’s soul and wore itself on her face. (after Teddy’s death) Part 3

‘Well then I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake,’ said Tilly. ‘ I’m a qualified tailoress and dressmaker. You just need someone handy with a needle and thread.’ (Tilly to Una Pleasance) Part 3

She could tie up the loose ends, leave, go to Melbourne, take a job with the traveller who’d visited last autumn. Yet there was the matter of the sour people of Dungatar. In light of all they had done, and what they had not done, what they had decided not to do – they mustn’t be abandoned. Not yet. (Tilly considering to herself after Teddy and Molly have passed and she is on her own) Part 3

‘…we’re used to being badly treated.’ (Molly) Part 3

But it wasn’t a bin brimming with wheat. It was a bin filled with sorghum…. And Teddy vanished like a bolt into a tub of sump oil and slid to suffocate at the bottom of that huge bin in a pond of slippery brown seeds like polished liquid sand. Part 3

She [Tilly] stood unsteadily and held out a hand to him [Barney] but his mouth screwed open and he turned and stumbled away, yowling, holding his arms across his chest. (The final time Tilly sees Barney after Teddy’s death) Part 3

‘This is the Pratts’ store,’ said Lesley, breaking the trance. ‘The only supply outlet for miles, a gold mine! It’s got everything – the bread monopoly, the butcher, haberdashery, hardware, even veterinary products…’ (Lesley introducing the town to Una) Part 3

Edward always remembered the look on Evan’s face at that moment… when he realised fully what it all meant, what it had come to. (Edward McSwiney reflects on when he told the town how Stewart Pettyman had died) Part 3

Part 4 Quotes

‘I don’t care, Tilly,’ he said. ‘I’m beyond caring what those people think or say anymore. I’m sure everyone’s seen what’s on my clothes line of the years, and I’m about due to retire anyway.’ (Tilly confirms that Farrat wants to attend Molly’s funeral in a black knee-length frock) Part 4

Trudy stepped close to Elsbeth and, leaning down over her, yelled, ‘ You’re always telling me what I can’t do. I can do anything I want.’ (Trudy as the play director) Part 4

‘Tagetes patula’, said Tilly. ‘They deter white fly from tomato plants, and they’re good for repelling eelworm in roses and potatoes as well. The roots have a component that deadens the detector that triggers eelworm release – numbs it completely.’ (Tilly explaining to Marigold what her flowers will do) Part 4

When they came up thirteen seconds later for Act 2, Banquo and Fleance swept onto the stage to find their audience had vanished. Part 4

Sergeant Farrat’s secret wardrobe hung in a locked cupboard next to the front door. Part 4

‘It’s all very hazy now, but you left I seem to remember, because your mother became unwell?’ (Marigold discusses her confusion with Tilly) Part 4

‘Some people don’t think they have to honour their marriage vows either,’ said Nancy.
‘At least I have a preference for men, some sick people in this town…’ (Lois and Nancy are arguing during rehearsals) Part 4