What do Hale and Danforth request of Elizabeth Proctor?

In The Crucible, Hale and Danforth ask Elizabeth Proctor to speak with John Proctor and persuade him to confess to witchcraft so he can avoid hanging.

Hale’s request is the more urgent and emotional one. By Act 4, he believes John and the others condemned for witchcraft are innocent, but he has lost faith in the court’s ability to stop the executions. He begs Elizabeth to convince John to give a false confession, arguing that saving his life matters more than preserving his moral principles. Hale even says he will count himself John’s murderer if John dies, because Hale helped start the machinery of accusation that has now condemned innocent people.

Danforth’s request comes from a different place. He refuses to pardon or postpone the executions, since doing so would undermine the court and make the earlier hangings look unjust. Still, he allows Elizabeth to meet with John because he hopes her influence, as his pregnant wife, will lead John to confess. Danforth wants a confession because it would support the court’s authority and make the executions seem legitimate.

Elizabeth agrees to speak with John, but she does not force him to confess. She tells him that the choice is his, and after John first agrees to confess, he finally tears up the written confession rather than let it be posted publicly. Their request to Elizabeth places her in a dilemma between love and conscience: she can try to save John’s life, but only by helping him sign a lie that would damage his integrity and strengthen the court’s false judgment.