Abigail Williams The Crucible Essay

“Life, woman, life is God 's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it” (Miller 132). In the months of February 1692 to May of 1693, more than 200 people were falsely accused of witchcraft, 20 of them being brutally executed, including two dogs, creating a craze for witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams, a twelve year old girl, is seen as the initiator in Salem’s trials. In the 17th century, women’s rights were faint, as women were seen as the weaker link of the two genders. So when Abigail Williams was asked who afflicted her cousin, Betty, she was quick to point fingers to her uncle’s Barbadian slave, Tituba. Due to the actions following, Abigail realized she had gained a voice in society and she, along with a group of three other girls, began accusing multitudes of others during the fifteen month time span. Several innocent people were hanged in Salem village, all because four young girls had caught wind of power. Due to the social structure of Salem, Massachusetts, the witch trial hysteria thrust into action. The social structure is to blame for the witch hysteria ever occurring in Salem because if the girls had not been so attention starved, due to lack of power, then they would have never thought to even begin

If women would have been seen as a higher mind than they were, this group of girls would never have had any reason to lash out against Salem and put several villagers on the spot. Abigail saw just how much her statements could boost her ranking and her group of syndicates saw that following in her footsteps would create a supremacy they had never felt before. That is why the power that the girls saw would be gained, since society looked down on them, created a blow-up hysteria that never should have come