If Rebecca Nurse be tainted, then nothing’s left to stop the whole green world from burning.
– Arthur Miller
The Crucible, Act 2. Reverend Hale uses hyperbole and a metaphor of the world burning to express disbelief that a woman of Rebecca Nurse’s integrity could be capable of murder. After her arrest, Hale assures her husband Francis that the court will send his wife back home. He tells him to trust the justice of the court. This appears to be the moment Hale realizes that innocent people are being accused and hauled before the witch trials court. However, his confidence that the court will recognize Rebecca’s innocence turns out to be misplaced.