The Responsibility Of Abigail Williams In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

“With great power comes great responsibility”, said Ben Parker in the Spider-Man story. He explains that when one obtains power, he or she needs to use it responsibly for the betterment of other people. What would happen, however, if those granted power are irresponsible? What if they use their power to protect themselves at the expense of others? Most importantly, what if the person had the power to manipulate others with fear? What if the people in power are listened to unquestionably, even though their claims could be lies? The Salem Witch Trials are a perfect example of this. During this time, there was a great fear of witchery in the land, and because there was no proof of it other than the accusations of the victims, a single accusation

The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place in this time period, and Miller shows that a group of teenage girls caused the events. People thought they were committing witchcraft, and the girls lied, stating that other witches forced them to do it. They lead the town in the witch trials by claiming to know other people who were agents of the devil and revealing them to the town. The leader of these girls is the niece of the local reverend, Abigail Williams. Abigail is an individual who has experienced much hardship, which has hardened her into a harsh person who will do whatever it takes to protect herself. In The Crucible, Abigail Williams, though she experiences much hardship and one could think of her as an innocent victim, is ultimately the antagonist and villain of the

While it is true that Abigail has had a very difficult life, as she has lost her parents,and her uncle, Parris, has treated her horribly, and the one person she loves will not return her love, she cannot be claimed to be an innocent victim. Her choices are what make her a villain. For one thing, Abigail states that she wishes for John to return for her, meaning that she willingly chose to have a sexual relationship with John. John let Abigail do this, but he also did not force her into it. Abigail chooses to have a relationship with John, and knows the trouble it will bring them both. The fact that later John wants to stop the relationship is reasonable and right, but Abigail refuses to do it, and even chooses, willingly, to destroy John’s family by attempting to kill his wife to reclaim John for herself, as shown when Betty states, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!” (1.157). She chooses to do this again when she accuses Goody Proctor, as mentioned earlier. She also chooses to let other people die so that she can avoid a whipping. As Mary Warren stated earlier, Abigail would only be whipped for dancing, which she chose to do, meanwhile, people would be hanged or forced to a long time in prison for being accused as witches, even though