't make sense to offer such an irresistible inducement to life.But remember how difficult it is to prove the "invisible crime" of witchcraft. There are only two witnesses, the witch and the victim. If the judges can get the witch to confess, it will release the victim from suffering, and spare the judges a difficult decision. In addition, a confession is, ipso facto--to use Danforth's terminology--a renunciation of witchcraft. With a confession, the judges not only spared a victim, they rescued a soul from hell.This reasoning doesn't completely answer the objection, but it does give some idea of how the judges see the situation. Hathorne may be narrow-minded and bitter, but he's not blood-thirsty. And Danforth is more concerned than anyone with doing the right thing--not only legally, but as a man who has considerable power over the souls of others.^^^^^^^^^^THE CRUCIBLE: ACT IV, SCENE 9For this reason, he has Rebecca Nurse brought in to witness Proctor's confession. Proctor has great standing among the condemned, and if Rebecca can be persuaded to join him in confessing, maybe the others will follow, and no one will have to hang this morning.It'll never work. As Elizabeth says, Rebecca has one foot in heaven already, nothing can hurt her now. Proctor is filled with shame under Rebecca's astonished gaze, though he tries to keep going in the evil he's decided to do. He hits a snag when he's asked to name others he's seen with the Devil.NOTE: Up until now, every confession the judges received implicated others. Naming names proved the witch was now on God's side and wanted to do everything possible to defeat the archenemy Satan. Inside information on the Devil's "troop strength" was obviously the most valuable service a repentant witch could provide.We saw it happen at the end of Act I, when the girls, prompted by Tituba, reeled off names in a frenzy. If every witch did the same in her confession, it's easy to see why this madness spread ...
