How do the stage directions at the beginning of Act Four set the mood?

The fourth act begins in a Salem jail cell later in the fall. Marshal Herrick enters with a lantern, nearly drunk, and wakes up Sarah Good. Tituba is also in the cell. She says that they will be going to Barbados as soon as the Devil arrives. Hopkins, a guard, tells them that the Deputy Governor has arrived. Danforth discusses with Hathorne whether it is wise to allow the increasingly mad-looking Parris to spend so much time with the prisoners. Cheever remarks on the many cows wandering the streets, now that their masters are in jail. Hale has been begging Rebecca Nurse to admit to witchcraft. The direction and interactions at the beginning of the Act depict a mood of hopelessness.