John Proctor uses this metaphor to describe Elizabeth's icy demeanor towards him. He thinks he's gone out of his way to make amends for his affair with Abigail Williams. Yet Elizabeth still acts coldly towards him. Her heart, previously so warm and loving, now appears to be permanently trapped at the center of a never-ending funeral cortege.
Note how John is putting the onus on Elizabeth to repair the broken bonds of trust in their marriage, bonds that he himself broke by engaging in an adulterous liaison. Very much a man of his time, John expects Elizabeth to forgive him and move on as if nothing's happened. But Elizabeth can't and won't. If there's a funeral marching round her heart it's because something in her died the day she found out that her husband was cheating on her.
John Proctor applies the funeral metaphor to his wife Elizabeth's demeanor. Ever since learning he had an affair with their teenaged servant Abigail, Elizabeth has been cold towards John. She is hurt by his infidelity and unable to forgive him despite her religious beliefs.
John is annoyed and dismayed by Elizabeth's coldness. When he kisses her, she does not return his passion. When they speak to one another, there is an emotional barrier between them at all times. John feels he's already said he's sorry and does not know what else he can do to make his wife forgive him.
So when he says there is a funeral around her heart, he is speaking of the death of the love they once shared. Elizabeth seems to view their marriage as dead until the events of the play lead her to finally forgive John.
In act two, Elizabeth encourages her husband to travel to Salem and expose the girls as frauds. When John discloses that he was in a room alone with Abigail, Elizabeth's attitude instantly changes and she appears as if she has lost hope in her husband. Elizabeth is still suspicious of John after his affair ended with Abigail and has not forgiven him. Elizabeth's reaction upsets John, who begins to criticize her for her callous attitude and unforgiving personality. John demands that his wife learn charity and resents the fact that he has tiptoed around his house for seven months since Abigail was dismissed from his home. He then tells Elizabeth,
"I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches round your heart" (Miller, 54).
John Proctor's metaphor of a funeral marching around Elizabeth's heart reflects her cold, solemn personality. Similar to a participant in a funeral procession, Elizabeth has been miserable and sad around the home after she discovered that John had an affair with Abigail. John resents his wife's unforgiving demeanor and metaphorically compares Elizabeth's heavy, callous demeanor to a funeral march around her heart. He is essentially saying that Elizabeth has a cold, bitter heart.
When Elizabeth Proctor learns that her husband, John, spoke to his former lover, Abigail Williams, in a room alone, she begins to suspect that he may still have feelings for the girl. She learned of an affair between John and Abigail some seven months prior, and she dismissed the girl from their employment at that time. Now, Elizabeth is angry with him, and he becomes angry with her when he realizes her continued suspicion of him. John accuses Elizabeth of failing to be charitable because she will not forgive and forget his infidelity, telling her that "an everlasting funeral marches round [her] heart." What he means is that she is still cold and distant, still acting as though the injury was just inflicted. She is acting as though someone has died, and it has been seven months since he confessed to the affair and ended it with Abigail. She is still upset with him, despite all his attempts to make her happy.
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