“Now look you, child—I have no desire to punish you; that will come in its time. But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest, I must know it, for surely my enemies will, and they’ll ruin me with it…” 

In the first scene of Act I, Reverend Parris nervously questions Abigail about her ritual in the woods. Herein, Parris reveals that he is less concerned with his daughter Betty’s well-being than he is with his reputation. Parris knows that rumors of witchcraft are spreading wildly through Salem, and that dissenting factions within the community—who disapprove of his “fire and brimstone” preaching, his worldly ambitions, and his selfish use of church money—will seize any opportunity to discredit his reputation and remove him from his position.

“You are not undone. Let you take hold here. Wait for no one to charge you—declare it yourself. You have discovered witchcraft…” 

In this moment, Putnam—one of the wealthiest members of Salem—urges Parris to precede community suspicion by calling out local witches himself. Putnam suggests that this announcement of “discovery” will not only deflect negative attention from Parris’s family, but give him full control over how the community “discovers” and sentences other “witches.” In short, Putnam advises Parris to turn a situation that could potentially undermine his reputation into a situation that enhances his reputation (as a holy “fire and brimstone” reverend who casts out the “witches” from Salem).

As a powerful former “enemy” who held a grudge against Parris, Putnam’s recommendation also carries a great deal of weight. Later on in the play, Putnam has his own suspect motives in calling out Salem’s “witches” (as he hopes to buy up his neighbors’ property at a cheap price).