Act 2, Scene 4
Ezekiel Cheever and Marshal Herrick enter. They say that they have come with a warrant to arrest Elizabeth, as she is accused of being a witch by Abigail Williams. Abby said that Elizabeth had poppets (dolls) in her house. Elizabeth denies this, but as she does, Cheever sees a poppet on the mantel. Elizabeth swears that the poppet is Mary's. The men think that Elizabeth used a poppet to bewitch Abigail. Proctor is outraged that anyone could think his wife would do such a thing, and he tries to convince them that Abigail planned all of this on her own (to make it look as if Elizabeth did something).
Mary Warren enters and claims the poppet as her own, but Cheever and Hale still want to take Elizabeth with them. Proctor grabs the warrant and tears it, as he is completely disgusted with the whole situation. He cannot believe that Cheever and Hale are going along with a law and an authority that are based on childish schemes:
"'I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!'" Act 2, Scene 4, pg. 73
Topic Tracking: Involvement 7
Topic Tracking: Chaos 7
Elizabeth agrees to go with Cheever and Herrick. She makes John promise that he will bring her home soon. Cheever and Herrick leave with Elizabeth. Giles and Francis ask John what they should do. John tells them he will think about it and Giles and Francis leave. John tells Mary that she is coming to court with him so that she can say that Abby is a fraud. Mary refuses and says that she cannot do it. She also tells John that Abby will charge lechery on him. John is stunned that everyone knows now about his and Abby's affair. He figures that he has nothing left to lose. He grabs Mary and demands that she go with him to the court. He yells and Mary sobs as the scene ends.
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