By definition, a crucible is a pot used for melting materials at extremely high temperatures to undergo chemical reactions. Crucibles were commonly used by alchemists in their search for gold. With this in mind, it is clear that “the crucible” is simply an allegory for the overall events of the play, which the alchemist will reenact.
For a chemical reaction to take place, several things are necessary: ingredients, a catalyst, energy or heat production, and the creation of a new product.
The “ingredients” of the play are the characters (their backgrounds, their personalities, etc.) and the setting (including cultural, religious, and political circumstances that may shape the outcome of the plot). Once the alchemist has placed all of these reactants the same vessel, the stage is set for the experiment.
A catalyst is something that prompts or sets off a series of events like a domino effect. The catalyst in The Crucible is the accusation of witchcraft, which in itself, leads to the turmoil that ensues. The spark has been lit.
Next comes the melting, churning, and intermingling of the original ingredients of the experiment. This is witnessed by the intense emotion, fiery anger, sheer terror, and general state of extreme tension or stress in the story. Accusations are flung, secrets are discovered, relationships are betrayed, and sides are changed on the spot; it is a state of all out neighbor versus neighbor war, as the expectations and proceedings of normal society are turned upside down. The heat of the situation as the ingredients churn in the crucible can be felt through the pages.
Finally, the reaction has taken place, the heat has dispersed, and an entirely new scene emerges through the soot. A husband is dead, friendships are shattered, points-of-view are altered, and a community’s history has been shaped for centuries to come. Something entirely unforeseen and irreversible has resulted.
That is the story of the alchemist’s experiment, however one more important step remains. The scientist must peer into the crucible and determine if that treasured golden substance has been created by the chemical reaction. What the alchemist sees in that pot is a whole, ugly stew of undesirable waste. However, a glimpse of yellow has caught the alchemist’s eye in the form of a John Proctor. Though his fate may be morbid, he, of all, has found his truth. While the rest around him have helplessly sunk, Proctor remained honest, stayed true to himself, and emerged as the hero in the story; a small, but very bright strip of gold, lost, but shining through the debris.
