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Why is Reverend Parris praying at the beginning of Act One?

The Crucible opens in the upper bedroom of a home in Salem, Massachusetts. We find Reverend Parris knelt in fervent prayer at his daughter's bedside. Betty, who is ten years old, has come down with some mysterious illness. It seems that she cannot wake, and an assistant from the local doctor arrives to say that unfortunately no medicine can be found for her. Reverend Parris fears that his daughter has been cursed, or "witched," after dancing in the forest. The Reverend accuses his niece Abigail of having tricked Betty into performing a rite of witchcraft in the forest, and now Betty has been overtaken by some spirit. The rumor of Betty's illness having been caused by witchcraft quickly spreads, with people beginning to gather in and outside the house to demand answers.

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