Judge Hathorne Quotes

MARY WARREN: So many time, Mr. Proctor, she come to this very door, beggin’ bread and a cup of cider – and mark this: whenever I turned her away empty, she mumbled…and I thought my guts would burst for two days after.
ELIZABETH: Mumbled! She may mumble if she’s hungry.
MARY WARREN: But what does she mumble? You must remember, Goody Proctor. Last month – a Monday, I think – she walked away, and I thought my guts would burst for two days after. Do you remember it?
ELIZABETH: Why – I do, I think, but – .
MARY WARREN: And so I told that to Judge Hathorne, and he asks her so. "Goody Good," says he, "what curse do you mumble that this girl must fall sick after turning you away?"…Aye, but then Judge Hathorne say, "Recite for us your commandments!" – and of all the ten she could not say a single one. She never knew no commandments, and they had her in a flat lie!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 2. Mary Warren tells the Proctors that the latest woman convicted of witchcraft Goody (or Sarah) Good was condemned after Mary’s evidence. The unfortunate woman "mumbled" something that caused Mary pain and then couldn’t say her commandments. In Salem hysteria and fear of the Devil is so strong that a corrupt justice system has abandoned all reason and fairness. The court makes decisions of life and death without proper evidence or proof. People like homeless woman Goody Good, old and poor and socially marginalized, become easy targets for accusations of witchcraft. In the theocracy that governs in Salem, she is yet another victim of Puritan intolerance.

HATHORNE: Now, Martha Corey, there is abundant evidence in our hands to show that you have given yourself to the reading of fortunes. Do you deny it?
MARTHA COREY: I am innocent to a witch. I know not what a witch is.
HATHORNE: How do you know then that you are not a witch?
MARTHA COREY: If I were, I would know it.

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. The unbending and closed-minded Judge Hathorne is not interested in hearing the case for the defense from the accused in the witch trials. Martha Corey protests that she doesn’t even know what a witch is. This is met by Hathorne asking how did she know she wasn’t one. Hathorne is an intolerant judge who makes up his mind that an individual is guilty and doesn’t allow anyone question his thinking.

FRANCIS: We have proof of it, sir. They are all deceiving you.
HATHORNE: This is contempt, sir, contempt!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. Francis Nurse attempts to convince the court that the girls claiming possession by witches are frauds. He and John Proctor make a bid to present "proof," a deposition by Mary Warren supporting this. But a biased and vindictive Hathorne, who is more prosecutor than impartial judge, tries to silence Francis. He charges contempt, a tactic he uses in court to deny evidence favorable to the accused people. This shows the intolerance of the Salem judges towards any citizen challenging their corrupt court. We have also here an example of dramatic irony, since the audience knows that Francis is speaking the truth.

GILES: He’ll lay in jail if I give his name!
HATHORNE: This is contempt of the court, Mr. Danforth!
DANFORTH: You will surely tell us the name.
GILES: I will not give you no name. I mentioned my wife’s name once and I’ll burn in hell long enough for that. I stand mute.
DANFORTH: In that case, I have no choice but to arrest you for contempt of this court, do you know that?

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 3. The court pressures Giles Corey to provide the name of a man who heard Thomas Putnam admit to getting his daughter to accuse neighbors of witchcraft in order to acquire their land. Giles shows his integrity and refuses, saying how he mentioned his wife had read strange books and she was imprisoned for witchcraft. Judge Hawthorne accuses Giles of contempt and Judge Danforth threatens him with arrest. There are parallels with the McCarthyism Red Scare era, when people were similarly accused on the basis of flimsy evidence and pressured to name the names of other communists.

HALE: Goody Proctor, I have gone this three month like our Lord into the wilderness. I have sought a Christian way, for damnation’s doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie.
HATHORNE: It is no lie, you cannot speak of lies.
HALE: It is a lie! They are innocent!
DANFORTH: I’ll hear no more of that!

– Arthur Miller

The Crucible, Act 4. Reverend Hale has undergone a spiritual metamorphosis after spending some time away from the frenzied atmosphere of Salem’s witch hunts. The allusion to Christ’s 40 days and nights in the desert is used by Miller to portray Hale’s period of reflection away from the madness of Salem. Hale tells Elizabeth that he is counseling the accused witches to lie and confess to witchcraft, which is ironic for a clergyman. He wants her to persuade husband John to do just that to escape hanging. Hale is telling the court that he now believes the witchcraft accusations are a complete fraud. Judges Hathorne and Danforth refuse to accept that.
Close