Act II begins with Elizabeth preparing dinner for John in their home eight days after Betty, Abigail, and the other girls blamed multiple women in Salem of witchcraft. While John eats, he and Elizabeth discuss these current events and specifically Abigail’s involvement with them which creates tension. Soon, Mary returns to their home after being in court and mentions that Elizabeth had been accused by Abigail during the trial. The readers also discover that thirty nine women have already been placed in jail. This news completely shocked me as I immediately was scared for these innocent people who could be hanged all because of a silly prank. Suddenly, Hale appears in their doorway to confront the couple about their large sum of absences from church. John attempts to prove himself of being a good Christian man by claiming he helped build the church and by reciting the Ten Commandments. However, he ironically cannot remember one: “Thou shall not commit adultery”. Eventually, Giles and Cheever show up at the Proctor house, and so does Francis but with a warrant to arrest Elizabeth. She is accused of stabbing Abigail by performing some sort of voodoo ritual by stabbing a doll that represented her. Finally, John promises to expose the truth to the town with the help of Mary. Overall, the extreme amount of paranoia and imagination the townspeople are experiencing is frightening. I am also surprised that Hale and the other leaders of the trial are not trying to convert the “witches” back to Christianity but instead threaten them with death.
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