Mary Warren
Encyclopedia
Mary Ann Warren was the oldest of the accusers during the 1692 Salem witch trials
, in her teens. She was a servant for John
and Elizabeth Proctor
. Renouncing her claims after being threatened to be hanged, she was later arrested for practicing witchcraft herself, but did not confess. Her life after the trials is unknown.
Her parents and sister died early in her life, forcing her to become a servant.
. John Proctor told her she was just seeing his shadow, and put her to work at the spinning wheel
, threatening to beat her if she had any more fits. For some time, she did not report any more sightings, but she started to have fits again in his absence.
Warren was kept hard at work at the Proctor home and was told that if she ran into fire or water during one of her fits, she would not be rescued. When her seizures did stop, she posted a note at the Meeting House one Sabbath eve to request prayers of thanks. That night, Mary said that Elizabeth’s spirit woke her to torment her about posting of the note. On April 3, 1692, Samuel Parris
read Mary’s note to the church members, who began to question Mary after the Sunday services. Some took her answers to their questions to mean that the girls had lied. Mary told them she felt better now and could tell the difference between reality and visions. The other girls became angry with Mary and began to accuse her of being a witch. Mary Warren was accused of being a witch because she told the high court that all the girls were lying that they saw the devil. Warren was accused of witchcraft on April 18, 1692. During questioning she continued to have fits, confessed to witchcraft and began to accuse various people, including the Proctors, of witchcraft.
by Arthur Miller
. True to the historical record, she is a maid for John Proctor
, and becomes involved in the Salem witch hunt as one of the accusers, led by Abigail Williams
. Mary Warren is a very weak person in the play, who gives in to pressure a number of times.
Proctor manages to convince her to reveal that she and the other accusers have been fabricating their stories and ‘supernatural experiences’ that have resulted in the arrest of many innocents. However, Warren’s confession comes to nothing, as Williams accuses Warren of witchcraft, which leads to Warren renouncing her confession and accusing Proctor of forcing her to make it. Proctor is later hanged as he renounces his confession to save his heart and soul.
In the 1957 and 1996 film adaptations of Miller's play, she was depicted by Pascale Petit and Karron Graves, respectively.
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
, in her teens. She was a servant for John
John Proctor
John Proctor was a farmer in 17th century Massachusetts. He married three women in his life, and divorced the first two. The last one he married was Elizabeth Proctor, who gave birth to two children, William and Sarah...
and Elizabeth Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials. She was the third wife of John Proctor, and remarried after his execution. Part of her life was fictitiously dramatized as part of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and later adaptations.-Early life:Elizabeth was the daughter...
. Renouncing her claims after being threatened to be hanged, she was later arrested for practicing witchcraft herself, but did not confess. Her life after the trials is unknown.
Her parents and sister died early in her life, forcing her to become a servant.
Accusations and involvement in the trials
In early March 1692, Warren began to have fits, saying she saw the specter of Giles CoreyGiles Corey
Giles Corey was a prosperous farmer and full member of the church in early colonial America who died under judicial torture during the Salem witch trials. Corey refused to enter a plea, and was crushed to death by stone weights in an attempt to force him to do so...
. John Proctor told her she was just seeing his shadow, and put her to work at the spinning wheel
Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibers. Spinning wheels appeared in Asia, probably in the 11th century, and very gradually replaced hand spinning with spindle and distaff...
, threatening to beat her if she had any more fits. For some time, she did not report any more sightings, but she started to have fits again in his absence.
Warren was kept hard at work at the Proctor home and was told that if she ran into fire or water during one of her fits, she would not be rescued. When her seizures did stop, she posted a note at the Meeting House one Sabbath eve to request prayers of thanks. That night, Mary said that Elizabeth’s spirit woke her to torment her about posting of the note. On April 3, 1692, Samuel Parris
Samuel Parris
Samuel Parris was the Puritan minister in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials; he was also the father of one of the afflicted girls, and the uncle of another.-Life:...
read Mary’s note to the church members, who began to question Mary after the Sunday services. Some took her answers to their questions to mean that the girls had lied. Mary told them she felt better now and could tell the difference between reality and visions. The other girls became angry with Mary and began to accuse her of being a witch. Mary Warren was accused of being a witch because she told the high court that all the girls were lying that they saw the devil. Warren was accused of witchcraft on April 18, 1692. During questioning she continued to have fits, confessed to witchcraft and began to accuse various people, including the Proctors, of witchcraft.
The Crucible
Mary Warren is a character in the play The CrucibleThe Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
by Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
. True to the historical record, she is a maid for John Proctor
John Proctor
John Proctor was a farmer in 17th century Massachusetts. He married three women in his life, and divorced the first two. The last one he married was Elizabeth Proctor, who gave birth to two children, William and Sarah...
, and becomes involved in the Salem witch hunt as one of the accusers, led by Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams was one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of over 150 innocent people.-Salem Witch trials:...
. Mary Warren is a very weak person in the play, who gives in to pressure a number of times.
Proctor manages to convince her to reveal that she and the other accusers have been fabricating their stories and ‘supernatural experiences’ that have resulted in the arrest of many innocents. However, Warren’s confession comes to nothing, as Williams accuses Warren of witchcraft, which leads to Warren renouncing her confession and accusing Proctor of forcing her to make it. Proctor is later hanged as he renounces his confession to save his heart and soul.
In the 1957 and 1996 film adaptations of Miller's play, she was depicted by Pascale Petit and Karron Graves, respectively.