Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, is about the persecution of people falsely accused of being witches or believing in witches in Salem. Many people die in the village after a series of lies and unjust practices. Abigail Williams, after having had an affair with Proctor, begins this cycle of lies to make her feel more important in Salem. Her character includes both superiority and resentment throughout the play so far and the way she does it shows that she is rebelling against the compressed society.

In the Salem society, the role of the child is to be quiet, and stay out of the way. When Abigail is being considered a witch in the first moments of the story, Rev. Parris is very worried about how this will affect his image, and not of the fate of Abigail. It is this society where Abigail feels the need to break loose and to act the way a teenager should freely. This is the reason why she goes dancing in the forest. ‘We did dance, uncle, and when you leaped out of the bush so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted. And there’s the whole of it.’ This shows why there is a need for Abigail expressing her need to act her age and to break out of the restrictions of the law. Her struggle is to do what she wants in a society that believes in ordering her around.

Arthur Miller shows Abigail's not trusted by other people including her uncle. When all of the talk about witchcraft troubles her uncle, Abigail thinks she should be the authority. When she is talking to her uncle she does tell him about the witch craft and she advises him on something that she does, "Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about, I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself," this shows us that she has heard of something about witch craft and is...

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...s Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. Her resentment deepens when Proctor tells the court about their affair. Abigail's resentment is apparent through her words and her actions.

Arthur Miller's development of Abigail William's character in The Crucible greatly affects the plot of the play. Her haughtiness and superiority make many people believe her lies. Her resentment toward those that betray her influences many of her decisions. The authoritative, deceitful character of Abigail Williams is certainly unforgettable.

In conclusion, I think Abigail is deliberately rebelling against society because she does not feel important at the beginning because of the affair with Proctor and the way he treated her. Her own uncle, reverend Parris thinks she is lying about what she did in the forest. Also she blamed Tituba about the witch-craft. Also she wants Proctor’s wife dead.