Hale enters the play as an authoritative figure and his actions and body language are powerful representation of his thoughts and feelings. He is shown dramatically on stage with his hands held high when talking to all, and his body erect and tall. He shows his directness by looking straight into people’s eyes, and by doing this he gains their respect. Hale is a confident and well-meaning scholar and arrives carrying ‘half a dozen heavy books’ which are ‘weighted with authority’. He believes unquestioningly in the authority of written texts. He takes the proceedings seriously saying he is intent on ‘tracking down the old boy’. He greets those present courteously and with admiration as he ‘had not expected such distinguished company ’. His unique recognition of witchcraft enables him to regard others with supremacy and he sometimes seems slightly aggressive. Hale believes the villagers need his guidance, ‘Now let me instruct you’ and are not able to separate superstition from fact. His self-assured, assertive, yet calming nature holds an influence over the other characters. He is initially convinced that the accused are guilty, he doesn’t expect to fail, if Lucifer is present he means to ‘crush him utterly’. Speaking in Latin, Hale tries to exorcise the Devil from Betty, ‘Domini Sabaoth sui filiique ite ad infernos’ (In the name of the Lord of Hosts and of his son, go to hell), and the other characters are suitably impressed. Hale shows manipulative power when interrogating Abigail and Tituba. When questioning Abigail Hale seems to accept everything she says because she is a child. He sees her merely as an instrument who may posses vital information. For a while Abigail manages to get away with evasive answers but Hale directly asks ‘did you call the Devil last night?’. Running out of lies Abigail mentions Tituba, Parris’ black slave from Barbados and accuses her of corrupting her ’she made me do it’. He immediately turns his attention to questioning Tituba. He is forceful with his questions to the terrified slave and when Parris says ‘you will confess yourself, or I will take you out and whip you to your death’; Hale shows kindness and compassion. ‘He takes her hand’’, and says ‘You must have no fear – we will protect you’, ‘You know - the Devil can never overcome a Minister`. Feeling that Tituba is the responsible adult he asks ‘are you gathering souls for the Devil’ . Hale tells Tituba she can free her soul from Satin if she names others as witches, ‘you are chosen to help cleanse our village. So speak utterly’. Tituba knows that her life depends on giving Mr. Hale the information he wants and so she accuses two old women. Abigail sees her chance to escape punishment and joins the accusations supported by Betty. Hale is delighted with his success when Tituba confesses crying `Glory to God! It is broken, they are free’. The two girls name eight more women - the witch-hunt has begun.
In Act two Hale visits the house of John and Elizabeth Proctor, where he starts to struggle with theology and morality. Hale arrives with ‘a quality of deference and even guilt’ about his involvement in the court proceedings, because his action in questioning the girls has resulted in their hysterical accusations. He says that he is visiting houses in the area to form an opinion ‘of them that come accused before the court’, but his visit is ‘without the courts authority’. He is embarrassed at having to cross-question respectable families but is still convinced that his interpretation of events is correct. The fact that he is making his own enquiries suggests he feels uneasy about the witch-hunt and he is striving to find the truth. It is clear that he believes in witches but he is uncertain about the accusations. He has just come from Rebecca Nurse’s house as she has been mentioned in court although not charged. He disagrees with Proctor when he says he finds it impossible to believe that ‘so pious a woman’ could be a ‘Devils bitch’ but Hale reminds him that the ‘Devil is a wily one’. Hale then questions the Proctors to test the Christian character of the house. The minister questions John Proctor about his absence from church and Proctor reveals his strong dislike of Parris saying, he sees ‘no light of God in that man’. Hale then asks why only two of his three boys have been baptised, Proctor replies that he did not want Parris to lay hands on his son but he had helped with carpentry on the church and this impresses Hale. Hale asks the Proctors if they know their commandments. They both answer yes and he asks John Proctor to repeat them. He forgets the sin of adultery and has to be reminded by Elizabeth. Proctor says that between them they know all ten, a ‘small fault’. Hale replies that ‘no crack in the fortress of theology can be accounted small’. Hale is disturbed by the Proctors answers, ‘he seems worried now’. Hale is on the point of leaving when Proctor tells him that the girls’ behaviour has nothing to do with witchcraft, ‘Mr. Parris discovered them sportin’ in the woods’. Hale points out that everyone he has examined has ‘confessed to dealing with the Devil’ and Proctor replies ‘And why not, if they must hang for denyin’ it’. Hale struggles to stay impartial and is deeply troubled when he discovers Rebecca Nurse has been charged. If ‘Rebecca Nurse be tainted, there is nothing to stop the whole world from burning’. He is certain that Rebecca is innocent and insists ‘the court will send her home’. Hale is shocked by Elizabeth’s arrest and although he knows the accusations are untrue, he asks ‘ what may have drawn from Heaven such thundering wrath’. Hale is still insisting that the court is just when Proctor calls him a ‘Pontius Pilate’. Hale’s cowardice is shown when he refuses to act on his suspicions.
Act Three opens in the vestry room of the Salem meeting house. Proctor submits a deposition to Deputy Governor Danforth signed by ninety-one citizens attesting the good character of Rebecca, Martha Corey and Elizabeth. Parris seems fearful of the court being overturned and tries to turn Proctors defence of his wife into ‘a clear attack upon the court’, demanding that these ninety-one be summoned for questioning. Hale asks ‘Is every defence an attack upon the court?’, illustrating the initial change in his views, no longer having complete faith in the courts decisions. Giles later wants to give his evidence in the court but is disallowed entry, so he says to Hale ‘go in there and demand I speak’. Giles believes that Hale has authority in the court – but he no longer has. Hale is now showing the start of his progressive loss of power. This is partly due to the villager’s reluctance to listen when his views begin to change. He has lost power but is still striving for the truth, and can no longer suppress what his conscience and common sense are telling him. This could be shown on stage by the Judges, who are now the authoritative characters, sitting on the bench and Hale standing underneath, the judges looking down upon him. This emphasises that the Judges are of a higher status than Hale. Proctor brings Mary to testify that the girls’ original hysterics were lies and that they never saw any spirits. Hale insists that they must ‘hear the girl’. This gives the impression Hale is having doubts about the girls’ truthfulness. As Proctor presents his evidence Hale attempts to halt proceedings ‘let him come again with a lawyer’. When Cheever and Parris try to discredit Proctor by saying that he is seldom in church and ploughs on a Sunday, Hale says ‘I can not think you may judge the man in such evidence,’ which shows a complete change of opinion from Hales original interview with the Proctors, where he judged them on the same evidence. Hale is now extremely agitated. Proctor attacks Abigail and admits to the court that he has had an affair with her, giving reason for why she charged Elizabeth. Elizabeth was called for but lied to protect Proctor when asked if he has been adulterous. Hale quickly rises to their defence saying ‘it is a natural lie to tell’’ and he believes Elizabeth to be a morally upright woman. Hale now strongly believes the Proctors, ‘I believe him’, and now reveals that Abigail ‘has always struck me false’. By the end of Act three Hale sees the courts proceedings for what they are – a sham, ‘I denounce these proceedings, I quit this court’. Throughout the act Parris denounced all challenges to the court as challenges to God himself. It is Parris’ defence of the trials that finally causes Hale to offer a defence to the Proctors, Coreys and Nurses. Hale now swaps the supernatural explanations for legal explanations. He redeems himself from being a ‘Pontuis Pilate’ by fighting for justice. Hale now has to grapple with his conscience knowing he has sent innocent people to their death.
As Act Four commences Hale is bitter and disillusioned. To soothe his conscience he returns to Salem and tries to persuade the prisoners to confess to avoid hanging. Hale’s last desperate appeal proves he has lost sight of everything but his own sense of guilt, ‘for if he is taken I count myself his murderer’. Hale is now a broken man, he knows he is responsible for the deaths. He finally faces up to his part in the arrests and says ‘there is blood on my head. Hale has tried to do what he believes to be right and can admit his mistakes but he is a weak man. He gives up his principles and lacks the courage of the victims.
Hale’s function throughout the play changes dramatically. In Act One he stands for intelligent, educated people. Arthur Miller needed someone with authority to have responsibility for setting off events, and as it is too early to bring in the judges the role falls on Hale. In Act Two Hale visits the houses of the accused querying their Christian faith. Here Hale is different and he feels a little guilty as he feels his original convictions were wrong. Hale is unable to suppress what his conscience and common sense are telling him and he speaks against the court, but they brush aside his complaints and Hale quits the court. Hale is a broken man by Act Four. He realises that he is responsible for the deaths. To try and clear his conscience he tries to persuade the prisoners to confess but Proctor and the others show bravery and courage as they die for their belief in their principles. Hale is perhaps the most pitiable character in the play. His self-knowledge brings a weight of guilt that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
