Feeling expressed at the end by the characters...
The ending was interesting about how things turn out to be. Several of the judges still felt strongly about the accusations and wanted a confession to prove it true. I think it was because if they confessed they wouldn't feel guilt for locking them up, and the system wouldn't look bad. Other like Parris and Hale, felt guilt for some of the victims were there because of them, and because they were once part of that system that sentence many to death. Elizabeth felt sadness, I think because her husband was going to be hanged, and she was bearing a child. John Proctor when given his confession felt shame, more than when he confessed to adultery. At the end, those who were hanged that day felt pride, as did Rebecca Nurse and John Proctor because the judgement they had there didn't matter but God's once they passed over. To lie and say they were what they were not would be a sin, and they stood proudly knowing they would die good Christians.