Rachel questions her own beliefs as she gains awareness of the respect that Drummond and Hornbeck have for Cates. Later, when her father holds a prayer meeting and prays that Cates be destroyed, Rachel automatically defends Cates, only to have her father call for retribution against her also. Disappointed and disillusioned, Rachel must face the fact that her father and his beliefs — and embarrassingly her own beliefs — are narrow-minded and intolerant.
When Rachel testifies against Cates, the stage directions compare her to Brutus, a character in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar who betrays his friend Caesar. By testifying, Rachel betrays Cates. The situation becomes unbearable for Rachel when she is on the witness stand, and it results in her near breakdown.
After reading On the Origin of Species by Darwin, Rachel admits to Cates and Drummond that she doesn't agree with the theory of evolution but realizes and understands the importance of having the freedom to think. Rachel acts on her newfound awareness by leaving her father and his influence over her. She leaves Hillsboro with Cates.
