This question is drawn from the novel titled <em>The Crucible.</em> The reaction of Rev. Parris heavily leans on his ignorance of what has happened to his daughter Betty.
Betty, Reverend Parris' daughter, and Abigail his niece were seen playing in the woods or what in the background of the text was considered the devil's last frontier, a forbidden place.
One other important factor is necessary to understand what does down between pages 12 and 14 of the novel.
The village (which used to be a town) had sort of degenerated into an unhealthy social culture wherein people were heavily preoccupied with spying on the lives of others and the spreading of gossips.
The culture also forbade anything that had the semblance of social freedom. We know this because, between pages 12 and 14, Abigail recounts to the Reverend that his daughter is not possessed as the rumor mill says, but that she fainted when he sprang upon them surprisingly. Unable to bear the shock, Betty fainted.
The curtain opens with Reverend in a somber mood, praying and hoping that his daughter is not dead. Half scared that he might lose her and half scared about what the people will think is wrong with her.
He is scared that they think the Reverend's daughter is a witch and that if she - Betty does not get well soon, that will be the end of his 3-year work in that town.
By contrast, the Putnams daughter is also ill. But their reaction to Betty the Reverend's daughter does not come from a place of empathy but rather a place of deep satisfaction from knowing that they had a strong basis with which to accuse his daughter of witchcraft. If his daughter was a witch or had practiced witchcraft, then it would become easy for Mr. Putnam, who had longed wished for his relative to be the Chief Cleric of the village to carry out his plans.
Read more about <em>The Crucible</em> here:
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