Motivations of Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Abigail Williams was the most courageous character in The Crucible, because she did many things that were against Salem's ideology. “...for she will not sit so close to something so close to something soiled” (Miller 11). That quote was Reverend Parris to his niece, Abigail Williams. She was viewed as a heathen and rejected socially within the parish. She was very courageous because she pushed past her status and made change within Salem to get what she wanted.

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.

In the Crucible there was three characters that stood out from all the other ones in this wicked story. Abigail Williams was a big influence in this story she would lie and lie to get out of things and she was also the leader of the girls in the woods. Furthermore she also had an affair with John Proctor which made John and Elizabeth relationship unstable. Also John Proctor runs into a situation at the end of the story where he is put in the position if he wants his pride of not signing that paper full of lies or die knowing he did the right thing of not lying. Additionally, Elizabeth Proctor has never lied ever until the day John was being prosecuted for his witchcraft and possibly adultery and Elizabeth lied so that his name wouldn't be ruined.

Witchcraft hysteria was easily believed in the Salem Trials time. In the Crucible, I believe that Abigail Williams is responsible for the witchcraft hysteria. Also to be held responsible for the imprisonment and execution of innocent people due to lying and selfishness.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Abigail Williams in The Crucible."Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are many characters who provoke the Salem Witch Trials and the belief of witchcraft in the town of Salem. Out of all of the characters the one who stands out the most and is pushing toward the belief of witchcraft is Abigail. Abigail Williams plays a role that leads the court to believe that witches in Salem are real and are bewitching innocent townspeople that are just trying to go about their day to day lives. Abigail displays a very manipulating, deceiving, and conniving personality throughout the text.

Although Abigail came from a harsh background some readers believe that her actions are solely vengeful. To prove such actions often readers point out that Abigail desired to kill Elizabeth from the beginning, “[Betty to Abigail] You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife(Miller 19)! Even though Abigail felt as though Elizabeth was the bane of her existence, she had just cause because from her position, the only man that feels passion for her isn't there and Elizabeth was to blame. Readers must know that at the time of the play Abigail is a mere 17 years and can be easily persuaded into love. Also coming from a background of lost or non existent love it's easy to do anything by all means necessary to regain

Abigail is the reason of everything that goes wrong in the play and her effort to defend herself from the consequences of her own actions ruin many people's lives. She is a vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Through out the story 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. Abigail’s past relationship with John Proctor was the reason why Elizabeth Proctor dismissed her for working for them as their servant. This explains why Abigail targets Elizabeth Proctor later on in the play. This relationship also leads Abigail to try Tituba's magic

Throughout the many acts of the play, we sense the anger rolling off Abigail’s words. “I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!” By these words, we know that Abigail Williams is angry. She’s angry at John Proctor for trying to hide the crime he committed with her, and for the lack of closure she

Abigail Williams was the person who was the most responsible for the chaotic situation in Salem. In The Crucible Abigail Williams said “She made me do it! She made Betty do it!”(pg.1109) Abigail referring to Tituba, intentionally throws her under the bus and accuses her of witchcraft when being questioned by Reverend Hale just to save herself from getting whipped, even though Tituba didn’t even encourage the girls to do spells at all. That alone shows how selfish, manipulative, and conniving Abigail can be. Abigail was also extremely jealous of Elizabeth Proctor who is married to John Proctor, whom had and affair Abigail, for example in act 1 Betty says “You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill

The Salem witch trials was a very big thing back in the 1600’s. At that time Puritans believed in witchcraft and that the devil could conjure your spirit. They were scared of these things happening in their village so they would do anything to prevent it from happening,. This included killing anyone suspected to be with the devil or to be a witch. It turned out to be a big problem when a group of girls were supposedly seeing spirits sent out at them and the devil would come to them telling them to sign his book.

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

“Nothing is hidden that won’t be exposed. Nor is anything concealed that won’t be made known and brought to the light” (Luke 8:17 CEB). The Crucible written by Arthur Miller is a page turner with new problems and more drama on every page. In this emotional story a town in Salem, Massachusetts is undergoing a series of trials to vilify the civilians who were accused of witchcraft. The accusations were based on animosity and jealousy from a group of ill advised girls. There was one girl who was considered the leader of this wretched cause, her name was Abigail Williams. She was a very manipulative and petty girl. She abused her power that she obtained over the group of followers she had managed to maintain. Abigail appears to have no conception of how to treat others or how to reasonably work things out. She tends to resort directly to violence and threats knowing that the people around

Sometimes the actions of one character can bring out an otherwise dormant violent side of another character. Such was the case with Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Abigail acts as a foil and exposes Elizabeth’s true characteristics and personal traits. Through her dishonesty, Abigail exposes how honest and willing Elizabeth is to stand for what she knows she is right, and even in some cases lie to protect her husband John Proctor. Just the opposite, through Elizabeth's truthfulness, a dark and disgusting side of Abigail emerges.

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.