itself out, or go on forever--there's nothing to stop it anymore.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT IV, SCENE 1At the end of every play the loose ends have to be handled. This is called the "denouement." Usually it comes in the last few minutes of the play, following the catastrophe, that moment when the hero's fortunes hit bottom.In a way, all of Act IV of The Crucible, is denouement. The catastrophe occurred at the end of Act III when Proctor was betrayed by Mary Warren. Things can't get any worse. But there are still loose ends, and Arthur Miller uses Act IV to tie them up. He does this by once again focusing on the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor. They have not seen each other in the three months that have elapsed since Act III. Considering what their last meeting was like, their reunion is likely to be intense.But first it must be set up. In this first scene we see two deranged women, Tituba and Sarah Good, being cleared out of their cell by a drunk Marshal Herrick. Apparently something important is about to take place, because it's the middle of the night.NOTE: In one short stroke Arthur Miller sets the mood and hints at what's happened in the last three months. A cow bellows outside the window, and both women jump up and answer, thinking it's the Devil finally come to take them home. The ordeal those poor souls have been through has unhinged their minds. They have taken refuge from the insanity of the real world in a blissful fantasy of singing and dancing where it's always warm and the "Devil, him be pleasureman in Barbados."But Herrick knows it's not Satan, "just a poor old cow with a hatful of milk." It's a strange image, a cow in the middle of the town, complaining through the night because she hasn't been milked. We'll soon find out what it means.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT IV, SCENE 2After Tituba and Sarah have been removed, Danforth and Hathorne come in, followed by their stolid assistant, Cheever. In this brief ...
