One of the most shocking statements in the extract comes from Hale who declares that the Devil “can
never overcome a minister.” Automatically, religious figures have total immunity from any accusation of
contact with the Devil. This puts them in a very strong position throughout the witchcraft trials. Around
them, nobody is safe from malicious accusations but they are. This is ironic because later on in the play,
it is claimed that the Devil is more likely to possess upright, morally sound people. Ministers being
invincible to the accusations hints at the chaotic injustice that is to come later in court. The Church is an
extension of God, and the court is theocratic. So, in the play they have effectively becomes one and the
same. To oppose the court is to oppose the Church, which is to oppose God and thus be in league with
the Devil. Certain people being supposedly immune to it all is a foreshadowing of the injustice later to
come in court.