power and lust

Unlike other girls, Abigail is a manipulative and “striking beautiful” girl, who, after dancing in the forest naked and drinking blood to kill her lover’s wife, becomes an overnight sensation and starts doing “God’s work.” The Crucible explores the effect of lust, greed, and jealousy of individuals in the tight religious Puritan community of Salem. The protagonist, John Proctor, is a respectable and seemingly righteous man who struggles with sin of committing adultery with his former servant, Abigail Williams. As the first accusation by Abigail comes into effect, the people of Salem begin to exercise their personal and social motives in the community and start naming their neighbors and enemies as witches. In Arthur Miller’s portrayal of the Salem Witch Trials, the personal motives of the characters combined with their social struggles motivate the actions of the characters and the events surrounding the Witch Trials.
Abigail’s lust for John Proctor as well Parris’ desire to maintain his reputation in the society prompt the beginning of the Witch Trails. Abigail, after having an affair with Proctor, she continues to have lust for him and struggles with the fact that Proctor is married to Elizabeth. In hopes to become Proctor’s wife, Abigail drink “a charm to kill Goody Proctor” at night after dancing naked in the forest (18). It is her lust for John causes her be immensely jealous for Elizabeth and thus motivates her to dance in the forest at night, a performance of the forbidden and what is viewed as a sign of witchcraft. When questioned by Hale if she has “call[ed] the Devil,” however, she answers with certainty that she “never called him” but rather it has been “Tituba, Tituba” (40 ). Her denial of performing witchcraft herse...

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...s a whore’s vengeance, and you must see it” (102). Through his confession of adultery, he not only redeems his integrity and love from Elizabeth but also speaks against the corruption of the court and of Abigail and those who falsely confessed. Although Proctor has struggled with his guilt of committing adultery with Abigail, his desire to have a clean integrity motivates him to confess his sins and give up his social reputation in attempt to save the lives of others.
Throughout the play, the personal and social motivations of characters of different backgrounds all play a unique role in the events surrounding the Witch Trials. Overall, Arthur Miller’s Crucible illustrates the influential power of human nature: lust for power, love, and wealth can lead to destruction of others and while integrity may not save one’s life, it definitely gives value to one’s life.