The strumpet and the wife

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.

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. After being acc... ... middle of paper ... ... can be. Although she wants her husband to live.

Abigail is also motivated by a desire of revenge throughout. She is seen as vindictive and doesn’t want to be hung because of these trials. Abigail was a housemaid for John Proctor at one point until John Proctor’s wife fired her. John lusted upon Abby and committed adultery with her because of this she was kicked her out of the house. So she stops at almost nothing to convince the court that Goody Proctor is a witch so she can have John Proctor all to herself.

Though at the beginning of the play, Abigail is portrayed as a slightly vulnerable, misguided girl, this notion is quickly dispelled as she embarks on her murderous spree of dishonestly and false allegations. While some aspects of Abigail’s character are a result of her parents’ brutal murder, an oppressive society and Parris’s behaviour, this does not excuse the person she later evolves into and her deceitful behaviour and actions lead to the overall conclusion that Abigail is unmistakably villainous. However, Miller’s main message throughout the play is that while the malicious Abigail was directly at fault concerning the deaths and hysteria that swept the community, it is the community itself who is also largely to blame. The distrustful and corrupt society used the trials for personal gain (for example: Thomas Putnam who used them to gain land) and revenge, and it was this community that -though the selfish Abigail was certainly culpable for the devastating events that engulfed Salem- is ultimately to be

This affair however causes her to make many brash decisions which condemn many people. She feels that Proctor loves her and wants to be with her, but can’t do so because of Elizabeth, so Abigail plots to get rid of Elizabeth in an attempt to get Proctor to marry her so she can fulfill her crazy hallucinations. When she talks to Proctor, she tries to make him see that his wife is an evil woman. “That jab your wife gave me’s not healed yet, y’know… I think sometimes she pricks it open again while I sleep” (P...

James I was personally terrified yet fascinated by witches after an attempt on his life by Agnes Sampson, a convicted witch. This led to the practice of witchcraft becoming punishable by death. A theme of such forbidden ideas, shrouded in the mystery of the supernatural would surely have horrified those watching the play yet left them intrigued. The witches embody a malign and demonic intelligence. They utilise this to guide the main themes and characters within the play, notably by their reversal of nature when chanting 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'.

As the girls’ conspiracy continues, controversy arise over their truthfulness; people choose sides often lying themselves to support their side, further altering the lives of all involved. Abigail Williams forms a continuous string of deceitful lies about the presence of witchcraft in Salem and her involvement with it, triggering the beginning of the trials and causing mayhem to permeate the town. Playwright Arthur Miller characterizes Abigail as "a strikingly beautiful girl, an orphan, with an endless capacity for dissembling"(8). Her fabrications induce calamity in Salem, and entangles many innocent people in her slanderous web of stories. In most cases, Abigail lies to evade discomfort or punishment.

Later, as the girls successfully accuse more and more people of witchcraft, they begin to seek revenge on the adults in their lives who have oppressed them and who, until now, they were bound to obey unfailingly. Abigail Williams depicts Miller's concern with guilt and conscience. When speaking of the Salem witch hunt, Miller talks about 'men handing conscience to other men'. This handing over of conscience is one of Miller's most prominent concerns in the play. When people shed the responsibility of their conscience, they are no longer able to feel guilt, and their sense of right and wrong is left i... ... middle of paper ... ...rous than the alleged threats themselves.

Enamored by the attention Proctor paid her, Abigail clings to the hope that he will love her. This drives her to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, with the intention of replacing Elizabeth's place by Proctor's side. Proctors' lack of foresight results in Abigail leading a band of girls on a wild spree of accusations that ruins the lives of innocent men and women. His failure to remain faithful to hi... ... middle of paper ... ...sing to bend to the will of an unjust society. Miller depicts John Proctor as a tragic hero; a hero ruined by his unbridled lust.

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!