The Crucible Group

Question:

sancho
sancho
Student
College - Senior

Act 4:

Why does Danforth allow Elizabeth to speak of John Proctor? How has she changed towards her husband? Why doesn`t she take Hale`s advice?

Rate question:

Posted by sancho on Thursday November 15, 2007 at 5:19 PM and tagged with characters, the crucible.

Answers:


  1. teacherscribe Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Danforth allows Elizabeth to speak to John in order to get him to enter a guilty plea and save himself.  Danforth likely knows Proctor is innocent.  However, for the integrity of the court, he cannot simply overturn the guilty verdict.  So he needs John to confess in order to appease the growing discontent of the townspeople toward the court. 

    Elizabeth realizes that she was cold and distant toward her husband and helped drive him away, which is one reason for his affair with Abigail.

    Ultimately, Proctor tears up his confession because he wants to keep a shred of dignity.  Signing a false confession, in his view, would be worse than dying for a crime he didn't commit.  He chooses to die at the hands of an unjust court rather than owe the rest of his life to a lie.

    Rate answer:

    Posted by teacherscribe on Thursday November 15, 2007 at 7:27 PM


  2. sullymonster Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    eNotes Editor

    Elizabeth doesn't take Hale's advice because she has recognized that her husband is a strong, proud man who values his reputation and his independence.  She doesn't want to be responsible for helping to take that away from him.  She has to let him make his own decision.

    Rate answer:

    Posted by sullymonster on Friday November 16, 2007 at 8:46 AM