Act I opens on the attic of Reverend Parris, who presides over the Puritan colony of Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem’s theocratic society, religion serves as law, and the Reverend holds great power over the community.

Ten-year-old Betty Parris lies motionless in bed, and a distraught Parris interrogates his niece, Abigail Williams, about her activities the previous night. Abigail is a beautiful young woman with a violent spirit, orphaned when Native Americans killed her parents in King Phillip’s War.

Parris tells Abigail that the night before, he saw her in the woods with his Barbadian slave, Tituba, dancing and attempting to conjure spirits. He claims he saw a dress in the grass and someone naked running away. Parris warns Abigail that if the villagers believe she was conjuring spirits—and practicing witchcraft—the congregation will rise up against him. Rumors of witchcraft are already spreading through the village, and Parris knows that he must respond quickly before he loses all control.

Abigail denies her uncle’s accusations, claiming that she was simply dancing to Tituba’s Barbadian songs. Parris does not believe her, and he questions her reputation prior to joining his household. He recalls that Abigail’s former mistress,

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