During her time serving the Proctor family she began to fall in “love” (most likely lust) with John Proctor. This affair was spread around the town as a rumor until Elizabeth Proctor, John's wife, fired Abigail because of her suspicions. Abigail was from then on shunned by most in the village. Her affair caused her to be hated, and since her social standing in the village was already low on the social ladder it contributed to her desire for power.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams and John Proctor are known to have had an adulterous affair with one another. Even though both John Proctor and Abigail are worthy of blame for their actions, Abigail is the most culpable of the two. In The Crucible, Abigail is the most to blame because of her “tempting” Proctor to carrying out the act more. During Act 1, Abigail is shown to keep egging on Proctor although he does not want to have the affair with her anymore.
Abigail says to Proctor in Act I, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be-,” then John cuts her off and says “You will speak nothin’ of Elizabeth!” (1270). In this Abigail is showing her anger to John about how he is now staying committed to his wife and trying his best to keep Abigail out of his life. When asked why Arthur Miller asked why he decided to make Abigail and John have an affair, he said he “…Could find no good reason why Abigail distinguished so vehemently between the guilt of a husband and a wife. So I took creative license with her character to make the connection between sexuality and politics more dramatic,” (Shmoop).
But to get what she wanted she’d go to pretty far extents to get what she wanted. This being, to get John Proctor’s wife out of the way so she could replace her. Abigail has been working to get what she wants and her desire to get with John Proctor is what she wants, “I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty poitning out the Devil’s people” (Miller 111). Abigail was speaking to the Judge Danforth, one of the most respected in the town, Abigail could be seen as one who’s in most control in the play. Abigail’s constant lies and deceit has gotten hung for being a “witch” or “working with the devil”, “I--I know not.
One quote from the play that supports this is “ Gah! I’d almost forgot how strong you are John Proctor!” This proves that Abigail still had feelings for John Proctor, and that she still lusts for him. Another example is “John- I am waiting for you every night.” This shows her obsession
Throughout the play Abigal countless times has shown has se only cares about herself and almost wanting the aition because she thrives for it. Fr example Abigail demonstrates selfishness in The Crucible by prioritizing her own needs and wants over the wellbeing of others. She fabricates stories of witchcraft to avoid being punished for dancing naked with John Proctor, and then accuses innocent people of false evidence to protect herself from repercussions. Abigail also shows a disregard for other people's feelings; she manipulates them into believing her lies, including by playing off their superstitions and fears. In addition, despite having feelings for John Proctor, she is willing to sacrifice his wife's life if it means saving her own skin.
Proctor then states that there was never a relationship to begin with and she should let go of her hopes. Abigail yells in tears at Proctor stating that he has loved her and convinced her that they were in love. She also states that it is impossible to give up her love for him and that she will accept Proctor no matter what sin he commits. This scene from The Crucible reveals how the characters judge one another by their past relationships and interactions to bring out the quality of arrogance. In the beginning of the scene, Abigail moves closer and compliments Proctor because she has a desire to be with him.
Afterwards, she was willing to destroy anyone in the way of her getting to be with him. Proctor definitely wishes he had never laid with Abigail, and everyone else was paying for his mistake, as she ruined everyone’s lives, “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” (Act III, 378). A single lie snowballed, leaving death and terror in its wake, all because Abigail could not, and likely did not want to control herself.
Abigail 's heartless attitude is shown in act two when she frames and accuses Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft. She desired and longed for this revenge on poor Proctors innocent wife, aiming for her through out the play. Later on in Act Three she seems to lose her last attachment of society by destroying John Proctor, who she claims to love with all her heart. When John attempts and threatens to expose Abigail’s wrong doings, she skillfully manages to turn the whole problem around on him, sending him off
She works for the Proctors in their household; so this leads to a short affair with John Proctor and they wind up sleeping together even though John is married to a woman named Elizabeth. John immediately admits his mistake and regrets it; but Abigail thinks that because they had the affair they’re going to be with each other until death. John Proctor tells her that she is a married man and that it meant nothing to him; yet she keeps pleading and trying to persuade him to be with her. She even explains to him that she will go to the extremes of killing Elizabeth just to be with him and we see this when Abigail is in the forest
The True Witch Abigail in The Crucible is a selfish woman filled with jealousy, hate, and mischief. She is the antagonist of the story, starting all the witch trials for the purpose of getting revenge on Elizabeth. Although she is the antagonist, she is not the most rounded character. She falls a little flat, and doesn’t show many emotions besides the outrageous ones, but she is a good contrast to John Proctor.
Knowing Abigail for what she is, John tries to expose her true character to the members of the court, while fighting off her attempted seduction. Abigail, however, is malicious, and would like nothing better than to see Elizabeth disposed of and John Proctor available to her without marital impediments. Nearing the end of the play, John is ready to confess his own dealings with the devil, even though he would be lying. John, however, is also aware that others of the community without the weight of sin such as his (i.e., Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey) are ready to stand by their denunciation of the unfounded charges against them. They refuse to sacrifice their immortal souls by admitting to conspiracy with the devil simply to save their lives.
Abigail WIlliams is pushed by her by her love for John. “You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet! John, pity me, pity me!”(24). At the beginning of the play the reader finds out that the reason Abigail lost her job working for the Proctors was because she slept with John. she believes that it was more than an affair, that it was true love, but John doesn’t feel that way whatsoever.
Seven months before the play began, Abigail Williams worked for the Proctor household until John Proctor and Abigail Williams began to engage in an affair. John’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor, soon found out and fired Abigail on the spot, but the situation did not end without any consequences. Abigail had developed angry feelings against Elizabeth and fell hopelessly in love with John Proctor. Abigail holds a hope in her heart that John loves her and John will leave Elizabeth for her, despite John Proctors’ constant rejections to Abigail. So when an opportunity to get rid of Elizabeth comes up in the form of power to accuse people of witchcraft, Abigail jumps at the chance.
The simple answer the question proposed is, Noddings uses a level of relation between the potential child and the mother to determine when abortion is morally acceptable and unacceptable. Noddings believes if the relationship between the two gets to a certain point, then it is no longer in the realm of being acceptable. She has her focus on the beginning of the relation, not the start of life. The very first part of this argument for either view point is to establish what morality even is, and how to measure it.
