Lies to Protect

Why do people to lie?  It's a simple question with many answers.  To cover something up, to protect someone, or even just for the heck of it.  In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor lies in order to protect her husband and his reputation, because she doesn't know that he has admitted to lechery. We talked a little bit about why people lie about a month ago in class, but it's not really a topic that goes away.  In the book, Elizabeth is the image of purity and a saint.  She forgave her husband for cheating on her, she knows the 10 Commandments perfectly, and, according to her husband, she can't tell a lie.  But then she does.  And her whole image of being a saint should shatter, but when I read about her lying, it made me think of her as an even better person.  She was willing to protect her husband over telling the truth and hurting him.  The truth hurts, it's true, but a good person isn't necessarily someone who always tells the truth.  I think the lie that Elizabeth told was a noble one because of the way that she put her husband first.  But then again, had she told the truth and said she had known of her husband's lechery, then the whole plot of book would have changed.  Her solid no-lying status wouldn't have changed, her husband had already admitted the lechery, and the court's ruling would have most likely changed.  So maybe the lie wasn't a good idea...