Paul Shelley: Reverend John Hale’s doubt

Actor Paul Shelley, who plays the Reverend John Hale, says that by the end of Act 2, Hale starts to doubt the girls’ stories and is aware that some people may have confessed falsely. His doubts are amplified in Act 3 when Mary Warren comes into court and says that she hasn’t seen any spirits. At the end of the Act, when Elizabeth Proctor hesitates when asked if her husband is an adulterer, Hale is already aware of the truth and “no” confirms as much for him as “yes”.