Proctor: You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband any more. I have forgot Abigail, and - Elizabeth: And I. Proctor: Spare me! You forget nothin' and forgive nothin.' Learn charity, woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven months since she is gone. I have not moved from there to here without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart. 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!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- John Proctor urges Elizabeth to stop judging him and focus on self-improvement, highlighting the tension in their marriage after his affair.
- In plain terms
- Stop criticizing me and look at your own faults instead.
- What can you take from it?
- Mutual forgiveness is needed to repair a broken relationship.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you respond when constantly judged?
- What does true forgiveness require?
Another view
The speaker may be deflecting responsibility by shifting blame to the listener.
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