Scene 5 is pivotal in the play for two reasons. First, this scene establishes the expectation of witchcraft in Salem. Hale warns everyone in the room that he will not examine Betty unless they acknowledge the fact that witchcraft may not be involved. Although everyone agrees, they overwhelmingly expect and hope that he will discover witchcraft. The idea of discovering witchcraft in one's own backyard is not only exciting, but it allows individuals to find an explanation for things that they otherwise cannot explain. For example, Mrs. Putnam’s blaming her children's deaths upon witchcraft is easier than admitting that she did not give birth to healthy children, or that she cannot carry children successfully. Explaining that Betty and Ruth's ailments result from witchcraft is also much easier than admitting that good Puritan girls were out dancing in the woods and attempting to cast spells and are now feigning illness to avoid punishment.
Even though Hale states a disclaimer at the beginning of Scene 5, nearly everyone expects him to find evidence of witchcraft; they will not be satisfied unless he does. As a result, Hale is overcome by the many descriptions of all of the unnatural events occurring in Salem: Betty's illness, Ruth's condition, Tituba's ability to conjure spirits, dancing in the woods, the death of the seven Putnam children, Martha Corey's strange books, and so forth. He might explain any one of these events in isolation, but together, they serve as overwhelming evidence of witchcraft in Salem.
