In the final moments of the play, Elizabeth ‘promises nothing’ when Danforth asks Elizabeth to persuade her husband to ‘plead for his confession’ and the audience’s tension rises as John enters ‘with a sound, the sibilance of dragging feet on stone’. ‘He is another man, bearded, filthy, his eyes misty’. The audience reacts with sorrow as they see John imprisoned for months for the accusations of witchcraft. The audience’s tension is maintained as the couple stand silently in a ‘spinning world of sorrow’. The audience feels great tension when they stand ‘in a world beyond sorrow’ and a ‘strange soft sound’ comes from his throat, she covers his hand with hers and ‘then, weak, he sits’ as they cannot shout out their love as for the events that had been happened to them. They waited uncertainly, how to respond to each other.
The number of pauses between the dialogues creates anxiety for the audience, wanting to know what they will speak next as for the short time they are left with. Tension of the audience grows as John ‘looks at her incredulously when he hears of Gile’s death as he had heard nothing from where he had been kept. The stage directions add to the dramatic tension when he repeats ‘more weight’, numbed of hearing how Giles was killed. Here the audience’s tension increases wanting to know whether John will confess or choose to become a martyr like Giles, his friend did.
John ‘with great force of will’, but not quite looking at her as though he was ashamed says ‘I have been thinking I would confess to them Elizabeth’. The audience feels great emotion as ‘she shows nothing’ and she only says ‘I cannot judge you John’. The audience’s tension increases as they expect her to persuade him to confess. But she with a slight pause says ‘I want you living John. That’s sure’.
The audience’s tension is maintained when John struggles with his conscience that he cannot break his honesty and it is hard ‘to give a lie to dogs’. Then the tension is released, after a pause, he for the first time turns directly to her and asks for forgiveness from her for as he has become an adulterer, earlier in the play.
The high emotion increases when Elizabeth too asks for forgiveness, ‘It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery, suspicion kissed you when I did, I never knew how I should say my love’. Elizabeth talks of him taking her sins upon him and asking for forgiveness. The tension increases when Proctor has to respond to Elizabeth asking for forgiveness. He is already filled with guilt to see Elizabeth blaming it on herself for what he has done to her. He is filled with great grief when he sees she has done nothing wrong.
‘Enough, enough’ was his answer. He avoids her eyes and shouts ‘I take my own, my own’ in anger. The weak smile on their face shows the audience that both have forgiven each other. Even though they could not speak much the love between John and Elizabeth strengthens as they embrace each other in great sorrow.
As he struggles unwillingly to betray his conscience, would he give them such a lie, is it evil? Elizabeth reacts in terror weeping, ‘I cannot judge you, do as you will’ was her answer. ‘I will have my life ‘was John’s answer as Hathrone enters the room. Proctor wants his life and he knows that it is his life that he wants to confess. He knows that it is at the ‘cost if his integrity’. Here the audience feels a moment of relief and happiness. He stood staring blankly and sometimes angrily as Hathrone, Danforth while the other judges rejoice at him.
The suspense of the play is the greatest as Rebecca Nurse enters and appears astonished; ‘Why John’ was her reply seeing John confessing. Her could no longer carry on his lie and refuses to condemn any of his friends. Here the tension increases as the audience knows that John refuses to condemn himself after all. ‘I speak my own sins, I cannot judge another (crying out in hatred) I have no tongue for it’.
As the play comes to a close the dramatic tension increases as John thinks that he has lost the battle against witchcraft, lies and judgment of the court. He considers his name to be the one thing he has left with now. ‘I have given y soul, leave my name’ he shouts at the judges when they insist him to sign the confession. Dramatic tension rises and reaches to a climax when the audience doubt whether he will sign the testimony in which he admits witchcraft. However, the moment of relief is suddenly lost when he refuses to give the signed paper, ‘after glancing at his confession’. His eyes staring, ‘Proctor tears the paper and crumples it’. The audience’s emotion grows as they know he is going to be hanged. The sorrow rises as he ‘kisses her mouth with great passion’.
The audience’s emotion grows, which fill their eyes with ears when Elizabeth cries out ‘he has given his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him’ as the new sun started pouring upon her face.
