The Crucible – The Character of Abigail Abigail Williams the main character in The Crucible by Arthur Miller draws the interest of the reader as she is a wicked, confident girl who lies to get what she wants and defends her name and her life. Abigail is a defensive girl. She is always defending her reputation and herself to get out of trouble. Abigail was on orphan, her uncle Parris feeds and clothes her. She was also expelled from the house by Goody Proctor, therefore she has little standing in village. After she was caught dancing in the woods, Parris questioned her name and she replied angrily,"Be no blush about my name." Later, when Hale was questioning Abigail about dancing in the woods, Abby defends herself, "I didn't see no Devil", and she points to Tituba, taking herself out of the spotlight and trouble. Her relationship with John Proctor and her animosity to Goody Proctor also interest is as they are reasons why Elizabeth Proctor was accused as a witch and later the death of John. Abigail loved John but John only lusted because of strains in his marriage. When Elizabeth expelled Abigail, John gave up. This is shown when Abigail asked John."Give me a word,John. A soft word." John replies,"I will cut of my hand before I'll ever reach for you again." Abigail cannot have John, this caused bitterness and hatred towards Elizabeth. She says," She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me, She is a cold, snivelling woman..." Abigail is wicked and confident and is not afraid to take control of situations. This is shown when she is with Parris, Abigail is respectful on the surface but she hides her resentment and disrespect. She talks back to defend her name and in Act One, she suggests to Parris," Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about; I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself." She is also aggressive and forceful, the other girls are afraid of her. When Mary Warren suggested that they should confess to dancing in the woods. Abigail threatens them,."..I have seen some reddish work done at night and i can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
Abigail shows much dislike for Elizabeth in the play and says to John "She is blackening my name in the village!" (Act 1). Once the town hears rumours of this affair they shun Abigail. This disengagement makes Abigail seek vengeance towards them; accusing many people of witchcraft. Abigail is a strong and determined character; she manipulates people to get herself out of her own trouble.
Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband.
The seventeenth and early eighteenth century, brought thousands of immigrants to America in pursuit of freedom and a new life. Some desired freedom from religious persecution, others wanted a chance to be free from the poverty that ensnared them in England Thus the American colonies were formed. Although the colonies were all united under British rule, they eventually separated into various regions including the Chesapeake region, the New England region, the Middle region, and the Southern region. Despite all the colonies being primarily inhabited by people of English origin the Chesapeake and New England regions evolved into two distinct societies due to religious, economic, and societal factors.
Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as a symbolism for his own failing marriage and the communist hunt in America at this time in his life. However, almost 50 years later, Miller also wrote the screenplay for his movie adaption of the play. Moreover, there were definite changes to scenes, characters, and dialog, between the play and the movie. Miller’s variations on his own play, showcase key differences in Abigail Williams, through his changes in her persona, relationship with John Proctor, and the added scenes in the film. Throughout the play, Abby is portrayed as what seems to be a spoiled girl, who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
Today in society a person’s future is often dictated by their past. Traumatic events will in many times create a such a person to behave in an unacceptable behavior. Throughout literature such people are used as characters to further the plot. The term frequently used for this type of character is an antagonist. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the protagonist, Abigail Williams, creates the sole conflict based on her adolescent years. For characters like Abigail, in The Crucible, her early life and relationship with John Proctor contributes to her actions despite some being seen as inexcusable.
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.
Abigail is presented to the court with a group of girls who also have been with her during the night when she was caught dancing. She pleads “I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil” (Miller 45). She uses them as a scapegoat even though she knows that they have a high reputation in this village. This brings the villagers more fear that “Witches” can also be highly respected people, but so far they were the only ones with high reputations to be accused. Abigail knows that she now holds a high reputation, so she uses it to accuse others to cover up what she has done. She was considered wicked and sinful before the trials, and now is viewed by the village/court as an innocent young girl.
In the time between that daring ascent made by Jean Pilâtre de Rozier and the first flight of the Wright Brothers in the infamous Kitty Hawk in 1903 (infoplease.com), all air travel and exploration was done with a balloon of some sort. The expedition of Jean Pilâtre de Rozier is described by BelleStar (1995) as;
She was worried over her sexual encounter with John Proctor for more than 6 months. She is very quiet about and doesn’t really tell anyone about it. She tries to accuse John Proctor’s wife for being a witch, only because she wanted an affair with John. Abigail’s affair with John made his marriage with Elizabeth harder, Elizabeth is John Proctor’s wife. The effect Abigail’s actions have on the Proctors’ are, she brings them together again and makes them realize how much they need eachother.
She does everything that is physically possible to get rid of her. She drinks a charm to kill Elizabeth, she stabs herself with a needle to accuse Elizabeth of a crime, Abigail also accuses Elizabeth of being a witch. The whole play, those were the only intentions that Abigail had, exterminate Elizabeth Proctor. Even though John decided to attempt to make the court look differently at Abigail and see what she has done to many people in the city of Salem. The misleading trait that Abigail has, helps her get out of a rocky situation without harm. The threatening of the girls, drinking a charm, stabbing herself with a needle, and accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft are all the reasons that Abigail is also an evil individual. Abigail was the most misleading and evil character in the play written by Arthur Miller.
Throughout the entire play, Abigail is angry at John for not loving her back after the affair which preceded the play. Abigail is speaking to John, and she claims that he is still in love with her. As John rejects this idea, Abigail stills desires love from John. In Act I, Abigail says,“It’s she that put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now (Miller I).” She is using her words to manipulate John into loving her. Later in the play, she accuses John’s wife of witchcraft to get back at John. This backfires on her when John dies at the end of the play. Abigail quickly becomes an adversary of John after she harasses his family and his life. Abigail shows her anger towards John Proctor by accusing his wife and eventually hanging
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.
With the fact that Abigail’s behavior is so heavily motivated by her obsession with John Proctor, she made the choice to have an affair. She first started to be their maid for the Proctor’s. Elizabeth had kicked her off to the streets when she had “thought” her husband had turned from her. Abigail is yearning to be with John Proctor, since after the affair. “John- I was waitin’ for you every night” (Miller 1139). Abigail believes John still loves her because he once used to have feelings for her when his wife, Elizabeth, was immensely sick.
She started all the accusations about witchcraft and she blamed innocent people because she wanted revenge on those who hurt her. She also framed Marry Warren and Elizabeth Proctor for being involved in witchcraft. She framed Marry into giving Elizabeth a poppet. Little did Mary know that it was a poppet that had a needle in it which represented a form of unacceptable witchcraft. Before this happened, Parris and Abigail talked about what happened in the forest she denied the harsh allegations she wants to lie to the citizens so she cannot be punished by anyone. “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is spoiled! Goody Proctor is a liar!” (Miller, 570) Abigail is now starting to lie about how things occurred, she is now blaming it on Goody, Proctor who had nothing to do with the witchcraft that has happened in the forest. She also tried to make it clear to Mrs. Putnam that she did not see any signs of witchcraft at her house or with Betty. She was with Betty and Parris. Betty starts showing evident signs of witchcraft. She attempted to fly, but was held back by Parris. After Abigail found John Proctor outside.”She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her.” (Miller, 578) Once Abigail finds John Proctor she talked to him and things did not go well. John said he never wanted to see her again. She does not believe him she thinks anything to do with her. He makes it clear he does not
How can a girl who condemned seventy two to a death sentence and drank a charm to kill a man’s wife, a man she has slept with on more than one occasion be the victim? It’s possible when the town she lives in is worse than her. Although Abigail Williams is typically thought of as the antagonist of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, she is in fact a victim as much as any other tragic character in the play.