During Mary Warren’s questioning, and particularly when she is told to faint, the audience feels acutely her desperation at being requested to perform such an impossible feat. It is easy to understand why she cannot faint without the girls and Danforth’s pressurising does not help. First he turns around and tells her to “Faint!” when she is not expecting it, then when she tries to explain why she cannot faint right there and Danforth replies with “Why? What is lacking now?” Mary cannot find an answer to this because physically, nothing is lacking. We can see her frustration at not being able to explain how the atmosphere effected how she fainted before and this leads us to sympathise with her, whilst at the same time feeling frustrated towards Danforth and his lack of understanding of human nature. Because of this, even when she accuses Proctor of being “the Devil’s man”, we can see that she was under a great deal of pressure, driven to hysterics, and it was the only way out for her.
Danforth’s utter naivety and complete lack of ability to see what is really happening becomes more apparent and increases our frustration with him throughout the scene. For instance, when Elizabeth Proctor is questioned, it is obvious to Hale what has happened; Elizabeth has lied to save her husband. Danforth cannot see this – he says, with apparent conviction, “She spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied!” This shows that he is also rather biased, whether it is intentional on his part or not. His use of the word “lechery” may well have provoked Elizabeth into lying. Up until the moment when she is directly asked, “is your husband a lecher?” she hesitates but as soon as he puts the question bluntly to her she lies. This is because she associates the word ‘lecher’ with a bad person and she cannot see, nor wishes anyone else to see her husband as a bad person and so she lies to save his name. Although Danforth may not have done this deliberately, we as the audience can see his biased view. He cannot believe that the girls have lied, but he instantly proclaims Proctor, and those who say they have not committed the crime of witchcraft, to be liars. To him the girls are young innocent children; this is shown in the way he addresses Abigail as ‘child’ even after Proctor has claimed to have slept with her. As far as Danforth is concerned, Elizabeth spoke true and therefore Abigail is innocent of all charges.
The scene also increases our frustration with Parris. He is very annoying throughout the scene, interjecting with such comments as “This man is – ” and “Your Honour, this – ”. However, the audience does gain a sense of satisfaction when Danforth silences him (repeatedly). His interjections also make the audience more aware of how much of what is said is motivated by his own self-interest. The audience’s frustration with Danforth is also increased by his failing to see this.
In this scene, out sympathy for Proctor and Elizabeth is increased. Proctor’s desperate actions, which he hopes will “cast away his good name” and yet save his wife, show how much he loves her, and in return her lying to “save [his] name” shows that she loves him. They both find great difficulty in doing these things, which is emphasised by Proctor in the fact that he tries to keep his affair with Abigail secret until he cannot see any other way of winning his case. Elizabeth’s stage directions whilst she’s being questioned show her nervousness through hesitation “starting to glance at Proctor”. This difficulty they go through for each other shows the extent of their love.
Our liking for Hale is also increased in this scene, because although he is being selfish and defending Proctor to save his conscience, he is one of the only officials of the court that can see what is really happening – that Abby is lying and Proctor is telling the truth. We respect him for understanding human nature and not blinding himself to emotions such as love, which is what Danforth is doing.
One of the reasons that this scene is so compelling is that the audience is so sympathetic to the aims of Proctor (the protagonist), and finds Danforth and Parris (the antagonists) so alternately repulsive and incomprehensible, and yet the protagonist is fighting an uphill battle. This makes the scene very tense, as the audience wants Danforth to “see the light” and understand what Proctor is saying, but we cannot tell if it will happen or not.
Something else compelling about the scene is the “little bird” and it’s ‘effect’ upon the girls, and more importantly, Mary Warren. The audience can see Mary cracking as more and more pressure is put upon her as Abigail provokes her by leading the other girls to copy what she says. “Mary: She sees nothin’! Abigail: She sees nothin’! Mary: Abby, you mustn’t! Abigail and all the girls: Abby, you mustn’t!…” It is easy for the audience to see Mary’s distress and relate to her frustration which makes us more sympathetic towards her. This part of the scene is also very dramatic when performed, because the girls are screaming and running around, which makes it even more compelling.
Miller also uses dramatic irony in this scene, by making it blindingly obvious to the audience that the girls are lying and that Proctor is telling the truth, and yet having Danforth possessing such a basic grasp of human nature that he cannot see what is directly in front of him. This makes the scene supremely frustrating for the audience, who, like Proctor, is helpless to change the course of the tragedy.