As Act I of the play opens, we see that is very sick. Her , Reverend Parris, sobs at her bedside. Dr. Griggs sends a messenger who says that Dr. Griggs . Abigail enters to tell Parris that the parlor is packed with people who are talking about . We learn that Parris is Abigail’s , and she lives with him because she is a(n) .

Parris pleads with Abigail to tell him more about what happened when Abigail, , and his slave were in the . Abigail admits that they but assures him nothing else happened. Parris tells Abigail that there is a in the church that wants to drive him from the pulpit, so the rumors about in his own family are not good.

He asks Abigail if her is white in the town. She says, “I am sure it is, sir.” Parris questions her further about why she was from Goody Proctor’s home and why Goody Proctor no longer because of Abigail. Since Abigail left the Proctor’s service, she has not been able to find a(n) .

Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Putnam arrive, talking about rumors they have heard that Parris’s daughter was seen . Parris dismisses this as an outrageous lie. Mrs. Putnam says that their daughter is also sick and she is sure that it is the work of the . The Putnams want to make sure that Parris has sent for Reverend Hale, an expert in .

Mrs. Putnam is particularly obsessed with the girls’ affliction because she has buried children and cannot handle burying another. She reveals that she had sent her daughter Ruth to talk to . Since she is from Barbados, Mrs. Putnam thought maybe she could speak to her dead children to find out who murdered them in order to protect her only living child. With this new revelation, Abigail shifts the blame onto Ruth and .

With reluctance, Parris heads downstairs to share a Psalm (Bible passage) with the distraught community. This leaves Abigail alone with Mercy Lewis, who works for the , and Mary Warren. The girls are upset because they, too, were in the , and they fear being accused of . They heard that someone was in Boston for similar charges. Surprisingly, jumps out of her bed and says that Abigail wants to Goody Proctor. Abigail immediately all the girls never to speak of this again.

John Proctor enters and we learn that is his family’s new servant. When Proctor and Abigail are left alone, it becomes apparent that they had a relationship in the past. John says that he would off his before he would touch Abigail again, but Abigail does not feel the same. When Abigail criticizes , who is his , he becomes angry.

Betty begins , and a crowd rushes into the room. They believe she did this because she heard the downstairs. Two older people enter the scene. Their names are and .