Reverend Hale visits the Proctor house. Hale tells Elizabeth and Proctor that Elizabeth was named in court. Hale questions Proctor about his poor attendance in church. Hale asks Proctor to recite the Ten Commandments. Proctor can only recall nine and Elizabeth reminds him of the one he forgot — the commandment forbidding adultery. The fact that Proctor forgets this particular commandment is not unintentional. Irony is created here because the audience, along with Proctor and Elizabeth, realizes that he really “forgot” the commandment when he had the affair with Abigail. Proctor has not incorporated this commandment into his life, so it fails to remain in his memory.
Proctor tells Hale that Abigail admitted to him that witchcraft was not responsible for the children's ailments. Hale asks Proctor to testify in court that Abigail is a fraud. Hale then questions Elizabeth to find out if she believes in witches. Giles Corey and Francis Nurse arrive and tell Proctor, Hale, and Elizabeth that the court has arrested both Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse for witchcraft.
