Abigail Williams was the goody two shoes that kept her reputation high, until she turned on many with a single lie. In The Crucible By Arthur Miller, is set in the year of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts where a witch outbreak has jailed many of the women from a fault of one girl named Abigail. It causes havoc in Salem that will lead to death in the village. Abigail has shown many transformations and showed that she is very dynamic from her emotions, to her actions, and to her experiences throughout the story of The Crucible.
In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, Abigail is most to blame in the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials is based on a period of time where the devil’s work has found its way into the Christian city of Salem, causing everybody accused of witchcraft to confess, or be hanged. Abigail, a teenage girl at the time, has fell madly in love with a man by the name of John Proctor. John is a married man, but in his past he has had an affair with Abigail which nobody knew of. Abigail’s immaturity shows throughout the story, along with major jealousy over Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife. All these events of hanging and sin in Salem lead back around to Abigail’s jealousy overall
Hysteria can be defined as the exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people. This definition proves true and exists throughout the course of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In The Crucible, a group of girls go dancing in a forest around a cauldron, some even naked, and along with a black slave named Tituba. Reverend Parris, the local minister, then catches the girls in the act. As a result, Betty, one of the girls and Parris’s daughter, goes into what it seems like a coma. This sparks rumors about witchcraft within the town of Salem, as everyone looks toward the girls involved in the forest incident for an answer. Abigail Williams, Parris’s niece and another girl who danced in the forest, begins to take
In The Crucible, there could be many suspects to blame for the innocent deaths that happened in Salem. Proctor could be blamed for the innocent deaths because he lied about his affair with Abigail. Speaking of Abigail... in my opinion Abigail Williams is the one to blame for the innocent deaths because of the lies she told, the accusations she made, and the affair she had with John Proctor.
Although Elizabeth was not the best wife at some moments, she loved her husband so much that she lied for him. When questioned by Danforth if Proctor committed lechery she said faintly “No, sir” (Miller 113). Elizabeth lies for the first time to save her husband because she is loving and cares about him. Although Elizabeth is not truthful, she protects her values by doing what she feels is right for her husband. Abigail is revengeful throughout the play at Elizabeth. She accuses Elizabeth of casting a spell on her that caused her to be stabbed, but she really had stabbed herself. Abigail wants revenge on Elizabeth since she is in love with Proctor and Elizabeth is in the way justifying her ethics. In The Crucible Elizabeth is loving towards others unlike Abigail who revengeful.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the setting is Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s where the town’s pious Puritan beliefs directly influence their government. A 17-year-old girl named Abigail Williams had an affair with John Proctor, a wealthy, married man. Abigail is told by John to move on but instead, Abigail starts accusing the townspeople of witchcraft, including John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth. As this hysteria begins to rise, other people such as Thomas Putnam, a rich landowner, start to also allege Salem villagers. In this play, the author illustrates the central idea that people should not allow jealousy to control their actions.
Because of this, logic behind his actions become lost since he begins executing them with a desire to reform the corruptness of his crime. Elizabeth suggests to Proctor, that by telling the court that Abigail and the other girls bewitchments are of pretense, all women who were sentenced to death would be given their lives back. He knows that telling the judges is the most rational, but he pauses before making a choice as he responds “quietly, struggling with his thought” (53). His uncertainty shows his conflicting emotion because Proctor feels he cannot accuse Abigail because his guilt will not allow him to. But he coexisting feels the priority to accuse her in order to keep Elizabeth in high spirits. Proctor his ability to think rationally due to the stigma he feels, the choices he makes, and how it affects his
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws: lust, vengeance, and jealously that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunts in Salem. Abigail Williams started the entire suspicion of there being active member of witchcraft throughout Salem, Massachusetts. She did this for her own benefits and used trickery to get what she wanted. Abigail was corrupt and only cared for her own desires. There are many reasons that these flaws are crucial to the outcome of the play. These flaws will be her downfall.
In the novel the crucible, Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor, and Abigail Williams, mistress of John Proctor are two main roles. Elizabeth, a woman who is loyal and true, or manipulative and ruthless liar, Abigail. She pretends to see spirits and commands the other girls to pretend as well. Elizabeth is the victim of Abigail’s heartless actions and affair. These two women are almost complete opposites. Both characters struggle and fight through the story in their own ways.
She tells lies, manipulates her friends, and the town as a whole, ultimately sending nineteen innocent people to their death. Throughout the hysteria, Abigail's' motivations don't seem more complex than simple jealously and a desire to have revenge on Elizabeth Proctor. In conversation with the girls Abigail exclaims, "Let either of you breathe a word… I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you." This is evidence of Abigail's intimidation, manipulative and control. Through his affair with Abigail, Proctor and Elizabeth's relationship remains strained throughout the majority of the play. Proctor sacrifices his good name to stop the proceedings when he confesses his sins to Danforth declaring the trials a 'whore's vengeance.' Ultimately, Abigail's efforts are in vain as she flees Salem with what she wants most, John, dismissing her pleas to follow, "It's not the ship where we'll meet again Abigail. But, in
One of the most powerful human emotions is desire. Everyone is constantly trying to fulfill their own desires. A desire or passion may be so strong it can conflict with morality. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams, is driven to go against her moral duty and pursue John Proctor. She will stop at nothing to see her plan through. Abigail is willing to accuse any one in her path of witchcraft even if it means taking the lives of those close to her. Abigail Williams’ emotional desire guides her actions even if it conflicts with morality.
Millions of people are in unhealthy relationships, which can be identified in certain ways. In the tragedy, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor, and his wife, Elizabeth Proctor have issues in their marriage. John has an affair with a girl named Abigail Williams while Elizabeth is sick. As a result, this breaks her trust in him, making her come off as cold and reserved. The nature of John and Elizabeth’s relationship is unhealthy because their words and actions towards each other reveal a sense of hostility, mistrust, and lack of affection.
Cruelty is a recurrent theme in literature that often acts as a critical factor in a novel’s development. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the occurrence of cruelty is seen to be gradually increasing as the story goes on from accusations of witchcraft that lead into chaos and death. Through Miller’s depiction of the merciless accusations and murders of innocent people, cruelty reveals a high extent of people’s animosity and vengeance that is greatly influenced by the attitude of the surrounding atmosphere.
Despite how tense their relationship has been after Elizabeth found out about the affair, Proctor and Elizabeth still hold strong mutual feelings for each other. When Hale came to arrest Elizabeth under the charge that she had assaulted Abigail through the poppet that Mary had brought home with her, Proctor defended her vigorously by declaring the statement: “I will not give my wife to vengeance!” (Miller, 77). The vengeance that Proctor refers to in this statement is Abigail and her determination to replace Elizabeth as Proctor’s lover. This statement is evidence that Proctor is trying to protect Elizabeth from Abigail’s clutches and prove that he is loyal to his wife. Likewise, when Elizabeth is brought before Danforth to verify Proctor’s confession, she lies to protect her husband, whom she refers to as a “goodly man,” from suspicion (Miller, 113). The affair may have caused Elizabeth to doubt Proctor but both parties still care deeply for each other and try to protect each other from harm. Even in his last moments, Proctor’s last words- “Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!”- were directed toward Elizabeth and were full of love and care (Miller, 144). Proctor may have sinned but his regret over his affair with Abigail and the trouble he had brought upon his wife justifies his
When people think of the play, “The Crucible”, they usually picture the witch trials and women being hanged, but Arthur Miller depicts the witch trials in a completely new light. He shows through a story that the witch trials were much more than just people calling others witches. There was deceit, pain, greed, and more. Through the play, we follow the character, Abigail, observe her actions and their consequences. We witness the lives of people she impacts, what happens to them, and how many times she lies to get her way. Abigail does all this for the man that she loves and had an affair with, John Proctor. If the reader begins to focus on John, his actions and what he stands for, they are easily able to recognize he portrays characteristics of the flawed nature of an individual. It is shown through the fact that he had an affair, isn’t able to forgive himself, and at the end of the book, is unable to give up something dear to him to save himself and others.