Why Does Proctor Use Coercive Power In The Crucible

As Proctor pressures Mary to utilize informational power against Abigail, but she fails to effectively use her power within the court. Starting Act III, Proctor takes Mary to court to present a signed deposition as evidence against Abigail. Proctor uses coercive power to force Mary to use her informational power, for if she doesn’t testify she will be punished. Proctor’s use of coercive power goes against Judge Danforth’s use of coercive and expert power on Mary. Danforth places Mary in a challenging position by stating “you are either lying now, or were lying in the court, and in either case, you have committed perjury and you will go to jail for it”, by saying this he threatens Mary to not recant her statement and instead stick to it for it she doesn’t she will go to hell

Danforth’s expert position further weakens Mary because as a Judge he has the power to make the final decisions. Despite this Mary continues to use her informational power to share her knowledge about Abigail’s deceitfulness, she also provides reasoning for the seeing of spirits and fainting. Once she reveals to Danforth and the rest of the court that her fainting was just a pretense, Hathorne questions “Then can she pretend to faint now?” (Miller 3.736). At this moment Mary has the potential to stop Abigail, for if she faints she can prove she and the girls were previously faking. But Mary admits “I have no sense of it now”, which leads to her credibility diminishing (Miller 3.750). The power Proctor placed in her hands granted her the opportunity to defeat Abigail, but Mary doesn’t effectively use it to faint and instead weakens under the court's questioning. Abigail detects Mary’s power abating and claims “A wind, a cold wind, has come.”, Mercy continues by asking “Mary, do you send this shadow on me?” (Miller