After the betrayal of Marry Warren, paired with the act Abigail performs in the courtroom, John is left accused of being a "devil's man" and condemned to hang. Act four takes place in the town's cells, where Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor are held to be hanged. A few days before Proctor and Rebecca's execution date, Reverend Paris reveals that Abigail had stolen a sum of money from him and ran off with Mercy Lewis. He believes that the revolts in a neighboring town against the witch trials prompted them to depart; Abigail's departure acts as proof of the possibility that she had entirely fabricated her accusations. The night before John and Rebecca's execution date, Reverend Paris also raises his concern for riots. Because John and Rebecca have such a strong social influence, their deaths could lead to a wave of criticism from the townspeople, ultimately leading to riots throughout the city. Paris begs for their execution dates to be postponed, though Danforth denies his request. Unsatisfied with Danforth's response Paris try to further convince Danforth by adding that he has received various threats due to his participation in the trials. Hale enters the scene and demands that the convicted be pardoned. Danforth, faced by Paris and Hale, still does not conceive, stating that 12 people had already been hung and pardoning Rebecca and John would not be fair. Hale returns to convince Rebecca and John to lie and confess to crimes falsely accused of saving their lives.
Hale talks to Elizabeth to try to help him convince John to give a false confession. As Elizabeth's pregnancy is far along, Hale believes this will sway John. Elizabeth agrees and is left to talk to John. Elizabeth and John's conversation concludes with John ready to give a false confession. During John's confession, Danforth becomes adamant about having John sign his disposition, acting as proof for John's admission. John reluctantly agrees. When Danforth reaches for the paper, John suddenly grabs the document and refuses to give it to Danforth. In that short moment, John comes to a revelation. He is willing to sacrifice his integrity to save his own life but does not believe in harming others for his benefit. Ripping up his confession, John is escorted back to his cell. This leaves Paris and Hale frantically begging Elizabeth to talk to her husband again, hoping that she would be able to talk some sense into him. Her response stated that John had finally found his goodness, so she refused to change his mind.
Throughout act four, the themes of integrity and truthfulness are disguised as the conflict between life or death. While John initially chooses to lie over being honest and make his false confession, he would rather keep some integrity than sin and lie. While Rebecca never considered sacrificing her integrity and was willing to die for the truth, Proctor showed a moment of weakness, just as many did before him. However, even though Proctor started down the path of deceit, he ultimately changed course resulting in a moment of needed clarity. This tough choice enabled him to find peace again and finally believe he was a good man with a pure heart.
Questions:
What did you think of the ending?
Did you like the ending, or would you have wanted the story to go another way?
