In the late 1600’s, Salem, Massachusetts was flooded with witch hysteria. This was based on the Puritan religion, which was taking the Bible verbatim. For this reason, there was no hard proof, but rather spectral evidence. A multitude of citizens was falsely accused and used as scapegoats to save oneself's. In The Crucible Elizabeth Proctor happens to be one of the many people who gets thrown under the bus. Elizabeth Proctor is an innocent woman with good morals, her accuser (Abigail Williams) is unreliable, and she would have committed a crime by now. Goody Proctor is religious, faithful, and has a virtuous life. Her strong beliefs allow her to never go against the ways of society. As a Puritan woman, it is known to never speak unless spoken to, and the job of a female is to cook and clean. When Elizabeth was stripped from her family, to be taken to jail, she still politely went with the men and didn’t budge. If …show more content…
The victims tend to say how the devil came, persuaded them and signed his book. It would make the most sense if Abigail was injured by Elizabeth right after her finding out about the affair. “I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone,” (54). John mentions that it has been 7 months without Abigail. Why didn’t Elizabeth do it then? Why is it convenient now? Goody Proctor would be in her most revengeful and vulnerable state. It would have been perfect timing for the devil to convince her that there would be no mischief and take her under his wing. Elizabeth could have done an abundance of damage to John and Abigail. As a matter of fact, Abigail was the only one wounded, why was not the husband who cheated. Elizabeth could have also gone rouge crazy and killed multiple people for the betrayal she got from her husband. In the end, Elizabeth could have sabotaged a plentiful of people’s lives, but she did
Elizabeth’s bravery and strength is a huge part of who she is. She is a source of goodness among so many others who chose to go along with the madness. Values as strong as these provide a shed of light in the midst of something as detrimental as the witch trials, where the poor values of others cost dozens of
Elizabeth Proctor is an Important character in Arthur MIllers' 'The Crucible'. She began as the cause of the events that took place, The drama that unfolded throughout the play was much more than than simply the proctor household, it affected multiple famiies and many innocent people were hung on false accusations. However, Elisabeth stood in the way of what abigail desired, john proctor, were it not for their marrige abigail would have no need to convince tituba and the others of the need to begin conjuring in the woods, the discovery of which began the hunts that killed innocent women. Elizabeth proctor was loyal to her husband, family, and God. She is a loving wife, however distant, she deeply cared for her husband, John, regardless of
Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. During this time, many people are hung for being accused of performing witchcraft, but who is there to blame? During this time, many people feared for their lives, and others used this as a time to get rid of people. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Deputy-Governor Danforth are responsible for the witch trials in Salem. The play begins with many girls dancing in the woods and people being accused of witchcraft.
but in reality she was caught attempting to cast a spell on Elizabeth. The reason for her trying to cast a spell is because Abigail falls in love with John Proctor but he is married to Elizabeth but that doesn’t bother Abigail.
Certain crimes such as: Adultery, Murder and Theft, during the Puritan era were always diagnosed as inhumane and ruined a person's reputation, despite any attempt of redemption. Proctor’s crime of adultery is a key element in the starting of the salem witch trials and the devastating end. Proctors situation alternates throughout the novel consistently by other villagers and even Proctor himself. His crime at first is tried to be subdued by himself then it is later used as evidence in a trial and finally it is used as a confession however it ultimately is not believed. To begin Proctor first tries to hide is crime from the other villagers however Abigail seems to want to expose their relationship.
In the play, the Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Salem, Massachusetts was a place of constant hysteria in the 1600s because of what would come to be commonly known as the Salem Witch Trials. This was a full-blown witch hunt for people found to display signs of witchcraft. Abigail Williams was the main person to blame for this pursuit of witches in Salem because, first off, she was the one who caused hysteria about witchcraft just to cover up the fact that
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that truth does not concern the people of Salem; the townspeople are concerned with what they want the truth to be. The idea of witchcraft has plagued Salem, several girls including Tituba and Abigail have confessed to practicing witchcraft. Salem is relying on Abigail and her friends to tell the truth, they do not know that there is no thing as witchcraft. Proctor presents himself to the court to testify against Abigail, the court dose not listen because Danforth and the other court members are concerned with preserving the reputation of the court. While Abigail uses lies to protect her reputation, Proctor uses the truth.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. The play was written in 1952 after the Red Scare in America that caused much hysteria, like the Salem witch trials. In the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Each of the characters of Proctor, Hale, and Elizabeth changed from the beginning of the play to the end of the story. Proctor becomes more honest; Hale becomes more skeptical, and Elizabeth becomes more forgiving.
Abigail should be held responsible for the imprisonment and execution of innocent people because she influenced the other teenage girls to say they saw the devil to save herself and to eventually kill the wife of the man she loved. Before the mass hysteria in the village occurred, Abigail had an affair with John Proctor who was knowingly married to Elizabeth Proctor. When John ended the affair, Abigail wanted to kill his wife so that she could be with John. When in the woods, she wanted her uncle’s slave, Tituba, to cast a spell on Elizabeth to kill her.
Now we learn that all of the problems lead directly to Abigail. She is not to be trusted and would just bring pain. Abigail presence is felt throughout the story in many ways. At the beginning of Act 2, they are eating dinner and talking. After they're done, Elizabeth starts talking about how Mary Warren went to the court to accuse Abigail.
In The Crucible, the protagonist John Proctor was. In the town of Salem, in 1692, a group of young ladies by the names of Betty Williams, Abigail Williams and Tituba were found dancing in the forest naked by Reverend Parris, Abigail’s’ uncle. Reverend Parris assumed that they were participating in witchcraft. This idea of witchcraft spread through the city of Salem and the citizens began accusing each other of being witches. This started a series of court cases known as the Salem Witch Trials.
After Abigail made the claim that Elizabeth’s spirit stabbed her in the stomach with a needle, Ezekiel Cheever went to Elizabeth’s house and found a needle stuck in the stomach of a doll (Miller 1306). However, Mary Warren provided a deposition to the court that admitted Abigail had witnessed Mary sew the doll and stick the needle in the stomach for “safe-keeping” (Miller 1327). Abigail knew Mary Warren would take the doll to the Proctor’s home that night. As a result, Abigail saw this as the perfect opportunity to stab herself in the stomach and blame it on an innocent woman. Furthermore, Abigail lacks any evidence, other than her word, to prove Elizabeth’s spirit stabbed her.
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. For the duration of The Crucible Elizabeth and Abigail express very contradictory traits following the theme of protecting their integrity.
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
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. Abigail is the villain in this play.