In The Crucible, Abigail is driven by her jealousy of Elizabeth, a hunger for power and sense of belonging, and a yearning for John. Abigail continues to review and edit her memories until they accurately portray her as the center of John’s existence. This obsession and grave desire for revenge puts her in a delusional state, so much so that she develops a detailed plan to acquire John and stops at nothing to see her plan succeed. Abigail lies to conceal her affair, and to prevent charges of witchcraft. In order to avoid severe punishment for casting spells, having an affair and attempting to murder Elizabeth, Abigail shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft.
She is lying a lot, for example, she says “Elizabeth Proctor is an envious, gossipy liar!”. She says things about other people, witch are lies, to distract from herself. She is lying about the meeting in the woods, witchcraft and about his love for John Proctor. On account of Abigail other people died in the play, because she shifts the focus away from herself by accusing others of witchcraft. In the end she steals money for saving John from the death.
You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor” (Miller 19), the reader can clearly determine that Abigail will take any measure to accomplish her selfish goals. This is as Abigail is trying to intimidate the other girls into not saying anything. “She is the consummate seductress; the witchcraft hysteria in the play originates in her carnal lust for Proctor” (Schissel 3). Abigail is the core of “The Crucible”, everything originates in her desire for Proctor, and the way she achieves her goals.
She is mean. She shows that she is mean by threatening the lives of the girls if they say anything about witchcraft. “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (act 1 line 460) She also shows that she is mean when she is coping Mary making the pastors in the court believe that Mary is a witch. “
Abigail is a selfish and manipulative girl. Abigail Williams stirs up the entire town of Salem against many people, including Elizabeth and John Proctor, because of her selfish personal ambition to be John's next wife, as well as her treacherous lust for the power that she gains by accusing innocent people of witchcraft. When Abigail and John Proctor had their affair, Abigail told John “You loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! , pity me, pity me!” Abigail hates that John
It is prohibited to dance because of their religion and soon everyone knew that the group of girls were dancing in the forest naked. Abigail threatened the girls by telling them if they said that they did more than danced in the forest she’ll “come to [them] in the black of some terrible night and [she] will Lopez 2 bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder [them]” (Miller 148).Abigail and the girls started blaming random people in the town. Abigail’s intensions were to blame goody Proctor and have John Proctor all to herself. The girls made bad actions instead of confessing. With the huge act they had going on; they caused people to die based on their lies.
Abigail is a prime example on how love can get out of hand very quickly. Abigail is so caught up in John Proctor to the point she tries to ruin his life because he will not take her back. John Proctor acknowledges their time together but assures her it will not happen again. This theme can also be a tribute to teen culture not knowing the difference between love and lust. It seems Abigail does not love John per say, but instead lusts him.
People in the village had power by influencing others to lie in order not to receive the consequences of witchcraft. Abigail shows power in the play by influencing the girls and what to say and do. She threatened all the girls she will hurt them if they open their mouth and say the truth. Abigail threatens, “Let either one of you breathe a word, or the edge of the other thing and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will being a pointy reckoning that will shutter you.”(Act 1). Abigail tells them she will shutter them with something that will hurt them in a dark night.
There are several people who can be responsible for the evilness occurring during the Salem witch trials of 1692. Due to false accusations, innocent people are being arrested and killed, and the community is in a state of chaos and disorder. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller demonstrates that it is Abigail’s flaws-lust, dishonesty, and jealousy- that lead her to be guilty for the tragedy of the witch-hunts in Massachusetts. During the seventeenth century, Abigail Williams has the reputation of being an intelligent, yet manipulative woman who has single-handedly started the Salem witch trials.
“Now little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law” (Hale) Abigail Williams in the Crucible is a despicable character that is toxic to every person she commerses with. She portrays the evil of the world and the weakness of fear. She longed for love because of her loneliness and guilt that she could feel deep down inside of her soul.
Abigail Williams was a character in a play by Arthur Miller called The Crucible. She wasn’t just a character in Miller’s play, she was a real woman during the Salem witch trials and caused just has much trouble in her actual life as she did in the play. Abigail was extremely selfish, cruel, and possibly insane. She hurts so many people in such a short amount of time and hardly seems to care as long as she doesn’t get in trouble.
Abigail Williams Destined for Hell "The truth doesn't cost anything, but a lie could cost you anything." This quote by an unknown author perfectly sums up the way Abigail Williams acted and treated people. During the Salem witch trials Abigail Williams was no typical Puritan women. She was seventeen years old and did whatever she wanted.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible Abigail- a young, jealous, and empowered girl- ambushes everyone around her with a method of destruction. The people in Abigail's town are religious; knowing this Abigail begins to implement her strategy, which involves accusing and sentencing people to death. Abigail starts her plan when she learns she can never be with John Proctor, who is married to Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail wants to be with John, so Abigail must get rid of Elizabeth; hence, the plan that will create a path for Abigail. Abigail's plan will lead to her gaining love as well as
Psychology and The Crucible The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, showcases a very good example of a sociopath. Abigail Williams, a manipulative girl from the village of Salem, always knows how to work a crowd to her advantage. She conceives a cunning plan to eliminate her enemies and keep her name clean when she is caught up in the Salem Witch Trials. Throughout this play we are given many good examples of how a sociopath typically behaves.
In the late sixteen hundreds, the mania of the Salem witch trials affected various families and individuals. In order for such terrible events to take place, an array of people catalyzed the trials. In Arthur Miller’s theatrical work The Crucible, Miller creates a specific group of young girls who accuses countless amount of men and women of witchcraft. Abigail, the leader of the girls, testifies in many of the executions taken place by lying about the people’s collaboration with the devil. As one of the antagonists of the story, she intends to kill Elizabeth, the wife of her paramour, John Proctor.