Character Analysis Of Abigail Williams

She and John Proctor have had an affair and when Elizabeth Proctor finds out, she throws Abigail out of their house. During the trials, Abigail is still in love with John Proctor and goes after Elizabeth out of vengeance. Elizabeth tries to explain this to John, who is in disbelief: she ?thinks to kill me, then to take my place? (61). Abigail?s main motive for destroying Elizabeth is revenge for being thrown out of the house and for having John Proctor, the man that she loves.

The setting of "The Crucible is in the year 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, where the Salem Witch Trials occurred. Many innocent people were hung due to the actions of one person, Abigail Williams. Abigail had an affair with a married man, John Proctor, and, having fallen in love with him, wanted to get rid of his wife, Elizabeth. Obsessed with John, she was intent on becoming John 's new wife. As part of an attempt to make John fall in love with her, she participated in pagan traditions, with her uncle 's slave, Tituba.

John and Abigail previously had an affair, which basically began the hysteria. An exasperated John attempted to tell Abigail the affair is a thing of the past, by saying, “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again.” Abigail, however, relentlessly strives to keep their “romance” alive. Because of this intense jealousy of John’s wife, there is an enormous amount of tension between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail even goes as far as to consume a potion with the intent to murder Elizabeth, which Betty confronts her about by saying, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife!

It is also the main theme of “The Crucible.” The puritan town of Salem are not united, but instead distrusted and disliked one another. Abigail and her crew of girls start accusing innocent people they didn’t get along with the false pretension that they have participated in witchcraft. To be more specific, Abigail Williams couldn 't forget John Proctor even though their affair was over. She believed that if his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was out of the way, Abigail and John would be together again. Therefore, she told everyone that Elizabeth 's spirit was trying to kill her and accused Elizabeth of being a

This leads to innocent people being accused of a crime they did not commit, which leads them to possibly facing a death sentence all because of Abigail. She puts harmless people in danger all for her selfish reasons. She even accuses John’s wife, Elizabeth of witchcraft hence putting her in danger of getting hanged, which will leave her three young sons without a mother. She would go as far as killing people for love. Even though she did not hang the accused herself, she is still responsible for their deaths and their blood is on her hands.

Abigail;s outrageous actions are due to her desensitized views on death and actions otherwise viewed as unethical. From her youth ABigail recalls: “ I saw indians smash my dear parents’ head on the pillow next to mine and i have seen some reddish work at night” (Miller 20), because of this Abigail is numb to death and suffering and is in fact quite morbid. There is no problem in condemning other to death in Abigail’s eyes because she doesn’t see the issue with it. Abigail does not seem to comprehend that it is unethical to let people be hanged and stoned to death and has no issue telling others that she “ can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down” (Miller 20). Not only is Abigail desensitized to murder and death, she is also numb to other unethical dilemmas.

Then Abigail confessed that she have seen the devil communicating with other town folks and then Betty start naming people that may be involve in witchcraft, which really made the whole town go crazy. While the witch trails and accusations were happening, Eliza... ... middle of paper ... ... as Mrs. Proctor. It got to the point to where Abigail turn into witchcraft to get what she want. So therefore, John’s first downfall is his lust and having an affair with Abigail that fueled Abigail’s motivation to destroy his marriage and make John marry her. The second downfall of John is pride, toward to the end when Mary, his servant, for being a witch, falsely accused him.

Yet, Rebecca Nurse merely blames her faltering as a lack of breakfast. In the end of the play she ends up being hanged and dies. On the other hand, one of the main characters that displayed jealousy was Abigail Williams. She has simple motivations and is clearly the negative, evil-minded character in the play, and the leading force behind the witch-hunt. She told lies, manipulated her friends and the entire town, and eventually sent nineteen innocent people to their deaths.

Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' is a mid-20th century play telling the story of the famous Salem witch trials. The play begins with girls doing mysterious and devilish things in the woods, and amongst them: Abigail Williams, the outcast orphan niece of Reverend Parris, whom is equally disliked by the villager. She is a 17 year old girl whom has made many poor and alarming choices; she's had an affair with a married man, John Proctor, and now, has participated in the unspeakable act of witchcraft for nothing more than to seek her revenge on his wife, Elizabeth. Her character is rather simple, she is the villain; her ability to deceive, manipulate, lie, and control people drives the town to taking the lives of nineteen innocent people, and imprisoning many more. Although, why would a young lady like herself feel compelled to act so deviously in the first place?

Suspicion kissed you whenever you did,' here Elizabeth is blaming herself for whats happened, she thinks that she should have loved and trusted John more. Abigails affair with John strained his marriage with Elizabeth, and she made it difficult for them. The effect Abigail’s actions have on the Proctors are, she brings them together again and makes them realise how much they mean to each other, despite Johns death. When the truth finally arises, that there was nothing going on in woods Abigail destroys herself and is forced to flee the village, with money stolen from Parris.