Lydia Velishek Mr. Stensrud Honors: US Literature & Composition 10 October 2017 Title Here It is clear that Abigail Williams is portrayed as the antagonist in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, taking place in the late 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts and based on the witch-trials therein. She serves as a catalyst for the witch trials by falsely accusing innocent townspeople with the intent of maintaining the position of power she gains from them. Due to the transparency of her actions, Abigail’s ulterior motives are also distinguishable. Certain effeminate stereotypes are presented throughout the course of the play. One of which, being that of the immoral, husbandless woman, Abigail embodies. Slave to emotion and motivated by lust, Abigail falls In Act I, when John and Abigail have a private exchange in Betty’s room, Abigail pleads with John for his affection, imploring, “Give me a word, John. A soft word” (Miller 22). Abigail evidently still wishes for involvement with John, pleading with him to ‘give [her] a soft word’. This hints that her devotion to John takes place on an emotional level, rather than just a physical one, as she wants him to comfort her. After John denies her, Abigail snaps, “[Elizabeth] is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her! Let her turn you like a - “ (24). Abigail’s jealousy is most noticeable in this quotation. She uses the words ‘cold, sniveling woman’ to describe Elizabeth, reminding John of his wife’s reaction to the affair and her ‘coldness’ towards him, attempting to prod at a weak spot in their marriage. By telling John, a man, valued by his reputation and implacability that he ‘bends to [Elizabeth, a woman]’, Abigail also seeks to hurt John’s self worth. Abigail’s overly emotional responses correspond with the stereotypical behavior of a woman in this time period. She leads with her heart rather than with her head, both when she refuses to accept that John does not love her and when she verbally berates Elizabeth when she realizes the only way for her to truly have John is for Elizabeth to be out of the Abigail, as shown when she allows her jealousy of Elizabeth and her lust for John to help fuel the hysteria of the witch trials, fits this stereotype. A stereotype, which has not been abandoned to this day. Stereotypes create biases that last through generations, and biases lead to discrimination of different groups of people. As shown in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the stereotype that Abigail falls under still applies to women today, but unlike Abigail, the women who are forced under this stereotype are not characters in a play, but rather real
In The Crucible, Arthur Miller shows that the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials stems from human failings, particularly the need for vengeance, greed, and fear. Abigail Williams is an example of all three. Her fear prompts her to first accuse random women, her need for vengeance directs her toward Elizabeth, and her greed for power affects the lives of everyone around her. Individual flaws, when acted on collectively, inevitably cause the downfall of Salem.
To begin, teenager Abigail Williams exhibits the sinister side of human’s natural tendencies towards desire and deceit through her role in the play, identified Jungian archetype, and Kohlberg moral stage. First, as a female and an orphan, Abigail expresses the desperate sentiments of powerless women in the hierarchy of Salem society. Evident in Miller’s stage direction description, seventeen-year old Abigail depicts “a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling” (Miller I.8). Abigail’s dissembling or “hiding under a false appearance” (Webster Dictionary), reveals women’s inability to express genuine feelings, often out of fear of societal judgment or intolerance. As a female teen and orphan, Abigail represents a character with no authority in the Salem community, forced to act with malice and spite to get attention (as any female with a desire for influence would in this time). Second, identified with the Jungian archetype of the rebel, Abigail Williams acts with rage in an attempt to reveal and upend the immoral expectations present in Salem. Evidence of Abigail’s
Although being wronged, Elizabeth tries to be a good wife and does not tell the court of John’s affair, unknowing that he had already admitted. John loves his wife, so he righteously admits to his sin in attempt to save her while only dooming himself to the good nature of Elizabeth. There is irony in this situation because Elizabeth, a woman who “in her life, she had never lied” does so only to protect her husband’s name (103). In making the decision to lie, she is therefore convincing the court that John is lying to protect her. Emotions steadily build awaiting the dramatic ending between Elizabeth and John. Elizabeth is saved from hanging due to her pregnancy, whereas John refuses to lie and admit to witchcraft. Their attempts to save each other backfire. Ironically, if Elizabeth had not lied, her and John could have been together for years to come.
One of Abigail’s major flaws is envy. She and John Proctor had relations in the past, even though he is married. Abigail believes she is very much in love with John. John’s wife, Elizabeth, is a very innocent and simple women and Abigail is very envious of her. She does not want to share John and she will do whatever she has to do to have him all to herself. Abigail constantly bashes Elizabeth and makes up lies about her. Like when she says, “She is blackening my name in the village! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!”(Miller 471). Abigail is obviously very jealous and goes to the extreme to get what she wants. Most things that Abigail says about Elizabeth are false and very rude. Abigail tells John "Oh I marvel how such a strong man may
I disagree with Winona Ryder, but only to an extent. Abigail is villain of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. She is a liar and a selfish person who is ready to dispose of anyone who gets in the way of she wants. For example, in act one on page 1137, she tells her friends that she'll kill them if they say anything about what really happened in the woods. While the example very clearly shows Abigail as a vicious person, I do not believe that Abigail is alone in making herself the villain. Abby's parents were brutally murdered when she was a child and now she lives with a man that is distant and not very affectionate. Therefor, more than likely she has developed an all consuming need for attention and affirmation. So, when John Proctor seduces her
Gregory Maguire once stated “People who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us. It's people who claim that they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of.” The manipulation of the younger girls, Reverend Parris, and the Procter’s will illustrate that Abigail Williams is the epicenter of all evil in Arthur Millers The Crucible.
To further complicate matters, John decides not to reveal to the court that Abigail has admitted to him in private that they were just sporting in the woods. Abigail spreads additional accusations and false rumors about her neighbors. These accusations have no basis in truth and their only purpose is for Abigail’s own benefit. Furthermore, Abigail is jealous of John’s wife, Elizabeth, and she schemes to get rid of her in order to take her place. Abigail’s plot is to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.
“People don’t change, they show who they really are.” In the book “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller, published January 22, 1953 the character Abigail Williams is vengeful, selfish, devious, and a great liar. She is the vehicle that drives the play, and she is responsible for many things that keeps the action continuous in the play. She has her own mischievous motives.
In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the main character Abigail Williams is to blame for the 1692 witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out the affair and threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to rekindle their romance. "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." (Page 23) She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren, the Proctor's servant, making a poppet. Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth's soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents' brutal murders. "I saw Indians smash my dear parent's heads on the pillow next to mine..." (page 20) After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris, who is somewhat of a villain. In the play it was written, "He (Parris) was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them." (Page 3) Parris regarded children as young adults who should be "thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak." (Page 4) Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing.
Abigail attains an immense amount of power for her own benefit throughout the play. As Wendy Schissel says, “she is the consummate seductress; the witchcraft hysteria in the play originates in her carnal lust for Proctor” (462). Her main goal is to use her power to get rid of Elizabeth so that she can have Proctor for her self. The reader perceives
In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, I mostly agree with the statement Winona Ryder makes about the character Abigail Williams. Toward the end of the play, Abigail seems like she believes the lies she’s feeding everyone, even though she’s aware of her deceit. In Hyther’s interpretation of the drama, there is a scene where Abigail tells John Proctor, “ I only wanted you John. I didn’t mean this for you.” She knows that what she’s doing is killing people because she’s such a convincing liar, and she had a plan for who would be hanged and who wouldn’t. For this reason, many readers would perceive Abigail as the villain of the of the play. I somewhat agree with Ryder’s thought that Abigail was not a villain. In Act III, page 1207, Danforth
“How can one be well...when one suffers morally?” (Leo Tolstoy) Beliefs and morals essentially influence the entire life of an individual. Jeopardizing those morals slowly diminishes a person’s soul. Too many wrongdoings leads to an unhappy, dreary existence. However, when under scrutiny many choose to relinquish their faith, to inturn escape strenuous situations. Throughout the play, The Crucible, characters demonstrated the effects of holding on to and abandoning morals. In viewing the result, it was revealed which choice led to a better legacy. Although characters in The Crucible with discredited ethics often proposed a sense of authority over others, those who withheld their principles until perishing, were truly fulfilled in life.
During the late 1600’s, women had no rights and little say in the community. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, takes place in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The practice of witchcraft was a very serious crime at the time of the Witch Trials. Nineteen men and women were accused of practicing witchcraft and were hanged. There were no in depth investigations into whether those who were accused were actually guilty or innocent. Abigail Williams, the niece of Reverend Parris, wants to marry John Proctor and kill his wife Elizabeth. The Minister caught his niece practicing witchcraft and doesn't want anybody to know, in fear that his reputation in the community could be ruined. Arthur Miller shows how the power of words used by Abigail and Reverend Parris enables them to sacrifice others in
In the play “The Crucible” The main villain was Abigail williams. She was basically the whole root of the problem. She made up all of these fake things such as spirits and witches just to save her name. Elizabeth, proctors wife, knew that John proctor was having an affair with abigail so she kicked her out. That is just the start of her villainy. After Elizabeth tells people abigail sees an opportunity to save herself. The little girl. Francis’ daughter I think, Is faking that something is wrong and isn’t waking up. But then she starts to freak out about witches and the devil and that’s when abigail goes evil.
Witchcraft is any kind of practice using magic, black magic, or the summoning of spirits. In Salem, Massachusetts, 1602 there was an uncontrolled fear among the puritans about anyone who was suspected of practicing witchcraft. This was the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. Most puritan women during this time were not allowed to show independence. In the play, “The Crucible,” written by A. Miller, Abigail Williams is a misunderstood character because she possesses independent traits, ideas, and shows female empowerment.