The Crucible is written by Arthur Miller, and it is a religious play of revenge, hatred, jealousy and witchcraft. This play takes place in a town called Salem, where people are very sensitive to sin and applaud death as an accurate punishment based on the amount of sins one person contains. By applying the psychological lens to the two characters Abigail and Elizabeth, differences of personality take more value than similarities.
Causing opposite effects to the people around them, where one harms and other helps.
Both are able to achieve the love of John Proctor through their own ways.
Taking opposite risks for John Proctor, where one is selfish and the other is altruistic.
Abigail is willing to harm her surroundings than herself; whereas, Elizabeth is taking actions in which the people around her benefit most from. Abigail pretends to be an honest woman to gain power and trust, “I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I
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It is not my soul, John, it is yours. Only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it” (Miller, 136-137). Elizabeth has most faith in John’s capabilities of being a good man and so gains his love even more by forgiving him when she describes him nothing but good, and also tries persuading him to forgive himself. This is a form of reality anxiety, Elizabeth forgives John and tries her best helping him forgive himself, since she sees herself as a cold wife and fears she could be the reason why John is getting executed. Overall, Abigail and Elizabeth have different ways of achieving love; however, both are able to achieve John’s love through their own ways. Abigail lies for selfish reasons while Elizabeth lies for the benefit of