s time as this.Ironically, it is Danforth's strength and courage that allow the witch madness to grow to such monstrous proportions. A weaker man would have broken under the strain; a man less brave would have quailed before hanging someone like Rebecca Nurse. Under a shakier hand, the court's authority might have disintegrated, and after some confusion, life would have returned to normal.But for all his rigidity, there seems to be no malice in Danforth, as there is in Parris and Hathorne. His mentions are good, heroic, even. He just happens to be wrong. And nineteen innocent people are hanged on his signature.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: REBECCA NURSEAlthough she appears only twice in The Crucible, Rebecca Nurse is important to everyone else in the play. Her reputation in Salem is so high that when she's first accused of witchcraft, hardly anyone can believe it. To Reverend Hale, "if Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing's left to stop the whole green world from burning." To those like Proctor who don't believe in witchcraft, Rebecca's being "cried out" is the most monstrous lie imaginable. To the witch-hunters, she's a great catch.Rebecca is perhaps less a "person" than a symbol of sanity in a world that's lost its mind. She retains her dignity and courage to the very end. When asked one last time if she will confess, she says, "Why, it is a lie, it is a lie; how may I damn myself? I cannot, I cannot."But her answer may express something else besides courage. She's an old woman, close to her end anyway. Her life so far has been blameless, why spoil it now? It's not common sense.Perhaps this sensible attitude helps her keep her humor as well. Her last line, spoken as she almost collapses on her way out to be hanged, is, "I've had no breakfast."^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: GILES COREYGiles Corey is superstitious about his wife's reading books, and he's forever taking his neighbors to court on the smallest excuse. He's afraid of no one, and has a...
