What signifies the readin’ of strange books?…It discomfits me! Last night – mark this – I tried and tried and could not say my prayers. And then she close her book and walks out of the house, and suddenly – mark this – I could pray again!
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 1. When the hysteria over witches breaks out, Giles Corey carelessly mentions to Reverend Hale how he often wakes up and night and finds his wife secretly reading strange books. Without thinking of the consequences he complains that this somehow prevents him from saying his prayers. Unwitting Giles helps sentence his wife Martha Corey to death, since she is later executed as a witch. This passage is foreshadowing of Martha being accused of witchcraft.