John Proctor

When Mercy Lewis was exiting after being scorned by Proctor, the play says she is "both afraid of him and strangely titillated"(Miller 42). This shows that Proctor is feared and intimidating, but he has strong enough of a presence to titillate Mercy.

"You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!"(Miller 43). Abigail says this to John Proctor when he tells her to forget about being with him. Proctor committed adultery with Abigail and he wants to forget about it, but he still seems to care about her. This shows that he is a sinner and it is against his own moral code

"Proctor was a farmer in his middle thirties. He need not have been a partisan of any faction in the town, but there is evidence to suggest that he had a sharp and biting way with hypocrites. He was the kind of man—powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led—who cannot refuse support to partisans without drawing their deepest resentment. In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly-and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore. But as we shall see, the steady manner he displays does not spring from an untroubled soul. He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct."(Miller 41). John Proctor is a sinner, he makes decisions that are bad for his moral beliefs, not just his religious ones. He also is a very strong man in every sense of the word. He easily intimidates others.