Some of the worst forms of malice come from love. Abigail Williams from The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a great example of this. Abigail is a young girl who was caught practicing witchcraft in order to make John only love her. In the puritan times this would mean death. So, to combat this she calls multiple townspeople witches, saying she had seen them with the devil.
In the late 1600s, the small town of Salem, Massachusetts was engulfed by a dark cloud of mass hysteria during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Innocent women were unjustly accused, condemned, and subjected to torturous deaths for the alleged crime of witchcraft. Amongst the chaos and fear, lived a young woman named Sarah Osborne. This narrative essay delves into the life of Sarah, exploring her experiences before and after being accused, and sheds light on the devastating consequences that arise when mass hysteria drives people to make irrational choices. Sarah Osborne, a spirited and determined young woman, lived a modest life in the close-knit community of Salem.
I’m sure he would have loved our children dearly, as he did Salem if he were still alive today. Several months before he died, before all of this inane and absurdity began, he had an affair with the hysterical Abigail Williams. Of course I was indignant and agonized when I found out, what loving wife wouldn't be? It took me a long time to forgive him, but deep down I knew my husband was a good man that he would cut off his own hand before he would even try to commit adultery.
Thoroughly titillated by the thrill of the witchcraft narrative currently rife in 17th century Salem, Abigail then seems to channel this passion into something more abrasive. Soon enough, the strange pleasure Abigail derives from brazenly labelling numerous Goodies as nothing but witches extends to the women of Salem. Ergo, making accusations in Salem no longer means solely seeking justice. Now, following Abigail’s influence, the women of Salem accuse others to instead whet their newfound lust for power. “Like one awakened to a marvellous secret insight,” Mary Warren, despite her tearful façade, finds the entire act of naming Goody Good as a witch almost erotic.
The unjustified deaths in Salem
Abigail Williams: The Victim Upon the entrance of Abigail Williams one might think she appears as a behaved, but occasionally deceptive child, on the edge of maturity. One might be right, but there be more than what meets the eye. Is Abigail a victim or the culprit? It is evident that Abigail Williams is a victim of Salem due to her emotional scars from her past, the strict, overwhelming environment of the Puritan community, and the symptoms of insanity and power hunger she displayed. It is shown in the text that there are many underlying factors that created her to be a victim.
In a small village called Salem, witchcraft and sorcery exist, however everyone is pointing fingers but not a single soul knows who is actually to blame for this nonsense. During this time period of hysteria, there are multiple scenes that are very questionable due to one person and one person only. Abigail is the one most responsible for the hysteria and witchcraft in Salem. She threatens the group of girls that accompanied her in the woods while they all danced. She has also lied about many things on multiple occasions in which causes an extreme amount of suspicion.
In the story “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, is a story that informs readers about the devastating salem witch trials that occurred in 1692 and 1693. One of the characters names is Abigail who is a seemingly nice girl until her true self comes out when she has an affair with a well known man named John Proctor. Abigail begins to accuse people of being witches and lies about having symptoms and seeing things due to people using “witchcraft”. Throughout the play people make sacrifices for what they think is right; and at the end, John Proctor made the biggest sacrifice of all. The Salem witch trials was a terrifying time for everybody involved and caused many deaths.
Much of what happens in Salem still resembles some things we see in society today. The word of one man can change people’s ideas and images of another without conclusive evidence. What people fear the most can sometimes bind us together, even if it is not
Abigail Williams, Deputy Governor Danforth , and Thomas Putnam are responsible for the people, who were wrongly convicted and hanged. These three characters were either looking for vengeance, looking for land, or too dimwitted to realize they were being conned. Hatred was walking in salem and people took their chances accusing their witnesses of being witches to get what they wanted. Abigail Williams was a teenage girl, who reeked vengeance on Elizabeth Proctor.
The conflict of vengeance illustrates the chaos going around Salem and the lies she tells to fill her obsession. Abigail continues to try and sway john towards in hopes of him leaving Elizabeth behind. Jealousy causes people to think like the devil and corrupt the good things in someone’s life. Abigail Williams pretends to be angry at Elizabeth, she is telling lies about me... She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!”
The Puritan background of the play shows a lot about how Puritans lived. The rigid lifestyle of the Puritan society calls for extreme consequences and punishments for those who were accused of witchcraft, or any crime in general. Puritans are based on a theocracy, where Priests and church figures have the ultimate power. The fear of punishment puts many of the townspeople of Salem in the shadows of guilt for their actions. Abigail Williams is one of many characters that was a victim of the Puritan’s harsh code.
Without the vengeful seventeen year old girl, Abigail Williams, the chaos that occurs in the small town of Salem would dissipate. While living in a Puritan society and having to move in with her uncle having fun was definitely not a top priority, but in Abigail's mind it was. In 1692, a small Puritan town known as Salem, Massachusetts youngs girls are about to face the death trial for dabbling in witchcraft. Abigail Williams, along with five other girls and her family’s slave Tituba, were caught dancing in the woods by her “perfect” uncle Reverend Parris. The next day Parris’s daughter who was also in the woods the night before will not wake up.
Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth.
A dynamic character like Abigail has lied before in the past and now has experiences something more sinister which is unique for a character in the story and makes the plot better with Abigail’s wickedness. Through the Trials of the Salem, the story will always have a person that will stand out when it is mentioned, and Abigail Williams takes the cake of being the most horrific, yet a great character in the story because it isn’t The Crucible without Abigail as being the antagonist and the tension builder. The Village will never forgive of what she did to all the innocent women she has killed. Abigail has shown that she is a very Dynamic character from her emotions, to her actions, and to her experiences she has made in
