ow Abigail's lead, each one building on the other's fantasy until they've worked themselves into a proper "torment"--cold skin, chattering teeth, shivering from the same "icy wind."The judges' reaction is automatic. They've seen this happen before, they know what it means. Danforth immediately wheels on Mary Warren:Mary Warren, do you witch her? I say to you, do you send your spirit out?It's a brilliant move on Abigail's part, but it almost blows up in her face. Proctor, seeing Mary's nerve give out, is driven to the wall. In a total rage he leaps at Abigail and jerks her up by the hair. "How do you call heaven! Whore! Whore!"Now it's out, and Proctor's done for. Whether Abigail is exposed or not, Proctor's just destroyed himself. There's no way he can win. But maybe by unmasking Abigail he can save his wife and his friends.Danforth's shining image of Abigail has been tarnished, but this new charge of Proctor's is too shocking. It must be proved. So Danforth sends for Elizabeth Proctor.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT III, SCENE 6Elizabeth knows nothing of what's happened in the room, but she senses almost immediately that this is a test. What's going on is not entirely clear to her, except that John's in trouble and his fate depends on her answers to Danforth's questions. From where we sit, it's amazing that Elizabeth doesn't see the trap. But remember what she's been through in the last week: arrested in the middle of the night and hauled off in chains to jail; tried as a witch, with the girls in full cry throughout the trial; convicted and sentenced to hang; allowed no contact with the outside world, especially her husband. If she's exhausted and confused, it's not surprising. And if she's reluctant to even open her mouth, it's no wonder at all--every word she's said so far in her own defense just set the girls to howling all the louder.But even if she has her wits about her, her mistake is easy to understand. She can see where Danforth's...
