There are many reasons that could have cause Abigail to seek revenge and act out in such a way that put everyone’s life at potential risk.
Abigail’s past has a lot to it, as revealed when Proctor visits Salem and runs into Abigail who expresses her anger and jealousy towards Elizabeth. When Betty and Ruth (who are also young girls) are supposedly diagnosed with the ‘devil being inside of them’, and people come to the conclusion that witchcraft has taken a negative impact on them, John Proctor ends up visiting Salem to figure out what is going on. As John Proctor is leaving the town of Salem, he runs into Abigail who is still looking for trouble. Before John Proctor and others visit the household, Abigail confesses to dancing in the woods, but also expresses her hate towards Goody Proctor, who is John’s wife. For
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She denies the fact that John Proctor wants nothing to do with her. Abigail also tends to act in her own interest when the others accuse her of witchcraft and other actions. For instance, when Proctor visits Salem, and ends up having a conversation with Abigail, she tells him that she still has deep feelings for him. She also reminds Proctor of their affair. He responds, only to tell her that nothing happened in between them and to forget about her hopes about him entirely. This causes the whole ‘witch’ mayhem and in the end, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of ‘witchcraft’ by only pointing a finger at others, making sure none of the accusations fall back on her. This scene in “The Crucible”, is important because it shows that something did in fact happen between Abigail Williams and John Proctor, and that Abigail will not accept Proctor telling her to forget everything that happened. As seen in both the film and book, this causes Abigail to counteract furiously and overdramatically, which begins the chaos that the town