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Abigail William's Evidence Of Hysteria In The Crucible

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Abigail William’s sudden accusations made for hysteria for the people of Salem. The first signs of hysteria comes in Act I when Tituba says “You beg me to conjure! She beg me make charm-” to which Abigail responds “Don't lie! She comes to me while I sleep; she’s always making me dream corruptions!” (41). Abigail has the upper hand when she first accuses Tituba of witchcraft. At first Tituba rejects the whole idea and speaks out against Abigail’s accusations but it's her word against Abigail and Tituba being a slave, her words count for much less. So she accepts the lie that Abigail has told and goes with it. Salem is a town big on belief, so all Tituba had to do was accept the devil was in her and that it needs to get it out. It was easier …show more content…

Back then, it was not normal for women to show a lot of skin and those who would were frowned upon. Now for something like women getting undressed completely out in the open and trying to do witchcraft is one of the reasons witchcraft is atrocious. “I have seen too many frightful proofs in court—the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!” (68). The girls that Abigail threatened are starting to blame more and more people for witchcraft that led Hale to say this quote. The girls are now in complete control of the town and have got people going to whomever they point their finger out. This is empowerment. The girls have complete control over who lives and who dies and it all benefits them, and if someone does say the devil was inside them then it just makes the power of the girls stronger. The girls did all this for empowerment and personal gain or revenge and it's all working out for them. Thomas E. Porter puts up the argument on the side of law and says “One of the most persistent attitudes embodied in the myth of the Law is the notion of a "fair trial”. When we look back on The Crucible and look at the side of law, we realize that this was not the case. The people in the town of salem barely even had a trial, there was no way to prove that they were not a witch. They came into court and either accepted the accusation or

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