A Bit of Proctor

Birthplace of author Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlett Letter) and home to the witch trials of the late 1600s, Salem, Massachusetts is also the setting of my favourite drama of all time, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play captures the insanity and tragedy of the witch trials, focussing on the character of John Proctor. Proctor, a victim of circumstance, is brought to his eventual end by his adherence to a single principle – his refusal to sign his name and confess to witchcraft.
 

I was first introduced properly to The Crucible when I was teaching the play to year twelve at Girraween High School in 1996, the year Chris and I were married. The drama resonated with me strongly at the time, not because of the women being burned at the stake, but because of the character of Proctor.

When Chris and I decided to get married, I made the choice not to change my surname to Sheedy. This didn’t strike me as being an extremely controversial move, but I unexpectedly received a lot of heat from many quarters. Bemused and confused, I could not understand what the big deal was about. I was shocked and upset and deliberated my decision constantly before the big day arrived.

If not for Proctor and the lines, “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” I may have been writing this blog as Jenny Sheedy. However, I thought, if Proctor could stand up to the likes of the judges Hathorne and Danforth and go to the gallows with his name intact, I could certainly cop the criticism and walk to the alter. And so I did. I have never regretted the decision. Of course, my stand did not lead to my death, in fact, quite the opposite - it led to a blissful seventeen years with Chris Sheedy.
 

When we decided to stay for a night in Salem en route to Campobello Island, I was pleased, immensely so. Although we arrived this afternoon in a blizzard and were only able to view the town through a snowy haze, I am thrilled to be walking in the footsteps of Miller’s tragic hero. I have taught The Crucible many times since and I still occasionally read my favourite scenes from the play, if I have a yearning for a bit of Proctor.