Consquences of a Pertinacious Authority

“The villain of any story is often the most compelling character” –John Hodgman. Hodgman quotes here that often in a story the villain is known to be the most overpowering character. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Judge Danforth, due to his misuse of privilege as a naïve dignitary, is the most villainous character in the play. This creates the tragedy in Salem because his ill-judgement and desire for power leads to the deaths of the accused citizens who in reality are innocent.

One’s greed for power blinds their sense of pity for humanity which creates chaos in society because of their ignorance. In the text Danforth explains to Francis Nurse, “But you must understand sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between” (Miller 94). In this quote Danforth explains to Nurse that a citizen of Salem cannot be against the court’s justice system: One must comply with its rules or else they will be counted as guilty. Danforth claims power over the people through the court and anyone who does not obey his demands will be persecuted which shows that this trial is for himself and not for the town. For the sake of his power, Danforth apprehends innocent individuals who are not compliant thus foreshadowing the misfortunes of uninvolved people who are suspects. Without knowing, Danforth intends to create a disorder in society because of his need for more control, which justifies his inexperience and his abuse of authority. Danforth also tells Nurse, “And do you know that near to four hundred are in the jails from marble head to Lynn, and upon my signature? […] And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” (Miller 87). Here Danforth attempts to intimidate Nurse by bragging with h...

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... hang! Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!” (Miller 117). He shouts that if she does not confess what he wants her to then he will hang her for it. This depicts that Danforth hangs the suspects based on no solid evidence and discriminates pure individuals because of his opinion that they are guilty. In the same manner, Danforth ignores the idea that Mary Warren could possibly be innocent which means that he is inclined towards his own suspicion of her and so he plans to take unnecessary actions based on his own self-centered beliefs. To sum up, Danforth makes prejudiced decisions which show his ignorance and abuse of the command he has over others eventually creating the calamity in the play.

Works Cited

BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible, a Play in Four Acts. New York: Viking, 1953. Print.