John Proctor was thought of as a well-respected man because of his land. His character has many dynamics to it and changes throughout, albeit not as much as some others. The way the author presented Proctor had us questioning his morals when it was revealed he had an affair with Abigail Williams. Through his actions and dialogue from when he tries to get his point across that Abigail was the one lying, readers can tell that he's obviously doing his best to prove to his wife that he doesn't have feelings for Abigail and to everyone else that Abigail was lying.
From the four acts, many facets of his character are shown. He has a guilty conscience for cheating on his wife. He has a desire to stand up for his actions even though other people wouldn't understand his reasons for those actions. He's determined to keep his and Elizabeth's relationship from getting worse. He seems to be unable to defend himself when being questioned, maybe from nervousness and lack of preparation.
He was hung for witchcraft, which he was not guilty of. The sins he was guilty of were ones only Elizabeth and Abigail knew of-adultery and lying. He did rip up official court documents out of both temper and pride, which also led up to his execution.
I think that Proctor didn't have the weight of guilt when he was hanged. To me, he was noble to give up his life to save other people from being accused as witches in the chain of lies throughout the town. He isn't exactly the hero of the story, but he is as close as we can get to one.
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