It becomes apparent in the very first Act that Abigail is not a trustworthy character. She is willing to throw blame at anyone to deflect the suspicion from herself, or even to gain something she wants. I suppose in some ways Abigail could be seen as a tragic character, but her manipulative nature sure makes it difficult to sympathize with her. She is willing to hang an innocent woman in her delusion that this will somehow result in John Proctor realizing his love for her. He has made it clear multiple times he has moved on and wishes to not see her but - of course - Abigail only persists. Abigail could only be considered a tragic character because her malicious actions result in the tragic death of innocent people.
I have come to the conclusion that Abigail, from The Crucible, was the villain of the stage drama. First, she wrongly accused innocent people of the heinous crime, witchcraft. For instance, in Act 2, Abigail accuses Elizabeth in court, which causes the town to question the Procter family’s christianity. In other words, this town held religion to the highest accord. Therefore when someone caused questioning around the subject, everyone turned their back on the accused.
Prior to the early action in the play the only besmirching of Abigail’s name are the rumours of her secret relationship with John Proctor and this sparks conflict between her and Goody Proctor. “You are now seven month out of their house, and in all this time no other family has ever called for your service.” (Reverend Parris Act1 P.20) The conflict between her and Elizabeth destroyed her reputation as a house maid. This expresses how much a good reputation is for this time as one mistake that may not even be true can “soil” (Reverend Parris Act1 P.20)
Parris does not actually accuse the girls of witchcraft, but he interrogates them with a strong suspicion that they might be involved in such behavior. He cares so much about finding out what they did in the woods because his reputation is on the line. If his daughter and niece were practicing witchcraft, he’ll lose his job as minister. When he questions Abigail, he demands the truth because “[his] ministry’s at stake” and she “compromises [his] very character”(11). As much as he doesn’t want the rumors to be true of his daughter, he withholds judgement and doesn’t actually accuse anyone.
Abigail uses the fact that every person shes accused has been a witch to secure her position as a trust worth witness in court. As seen when the suspension is raised to her, Abigail says, “I have been hurt, Mr. Danforth; I see my blood running out! I have been near to murdered every day because I have done my duty pointing out the Devil’s people -- and this is my reward? To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a --” (113). She uses the fact that there is a perceived danger in callout witches as one can try to kill her because they feel threated or that she 's been hurt by witchcraft when it was just self-inflicted wounds.
In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Miller demonstrated that it was Abigail William’s flaws: lust, vengeance, and jealously that led her to be responsible the most for the tragedy of the witch hunts in Salem. Abigail Williams started the entire suspicion of there being active member of witchcraft throughout Salem, Massachusetts. She did this for her own benefits and used trickery to get what she wanted. Abigail was corrupt and only cared for her own desires. There are many reasons that these flaws are crucial to the outcome of the play.
The devastating past event of having her parents killed proves that Abigail is a victim of her society as she is an orphan. Parents play a key role for their children while they are growing up, they can teach them right from wrong and Abigail did not have these privileges. She was instead raised by her uncle Parris, who only cares about his own reputation. However, on the other hand, the grieving events of Abigail’s past can only act as an excuse for her decisions to a certain extent as she cannot be considered a victim on
Abigail seeks revenge on Elizabeth throughout the play because, she is in love with John, and wants to be with him. Abigail helped begin the Witch Trials by originally wanting revenge on Elizabeth, and then she assists in the conviction of many innocent people. Without Abigail wanting revenge on Elizabeth, many people would not have been falsely accused for witchcraft.
The more people she killed, the less it meant to her. The town started to realize the horror taking place--even some of the girls. But Abigail no longer had any consideration for her sins and continued to persecute more and more innocent people. Abigail Williams proved to be the most heinous character throughout the entirety of the play. Her actions were not justifiable in any way.
John Proctor also claims in court that “she only pretended to faint” to try to convince that she is being attacked by witches and devils. Abigail Williams evil actions caused lots of people to suffer. Abigail Williams, a static character does not change by the end of the play because she continues to protect her reputation instead of telling the truth. Throughout the play Abigail choose to continue to lie about the witchcraft instead of telling the truth. She is a static charatcer because she had many chances to stop the trails, and tell the truth.
Although Abigail Williams does not physically appear in Act 2, her presence is felt throughout The Crucible. She affects and hurts the lives of her family. She is the main source of trouble. If she wants something, she'll get it. At the beginning, there is a lot of closeness between her and the proctor family.
I do not agree with Ryder's assessment of Abigail. Initially, I think Abigail is selfish and is doing everything for herself so that she can have John Proctor. Abigail says, specifically, "oh, I marvel how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife be -." The quote supports what I think because Abigail wants John. Another one is, she started blaming other people to keep from getting whipped.
She is eighteen years old, she had an affair with a man named John Proctor, and she cannot be trusted. Abigail displays three character flaws: dishonesty, envy, and lust. Abigail displays dishonesty in the play because she lied about her and the other girls conjuring spirits in the woods. Abigail lied to her uncle and told him “It were sport uncle” (Miller 10 and 11) .Abigail ’s uncle questions her about why she was kicked out of Elizabeth
Abigail The Victim In the Crucible many are to blame for the events that occurred, but one of the one’s who seems to take blame the most is Abigail Williams. She holds most of the responsibility because she was to blame for the girls meeting with Tituba in the woods. When Parris located the girls in the woods, Abigail tries to hide her behavior because she fears that it will uncover her affair with Proctor if she confesses that she attempted to cast a spell on his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail also lies to avoid being punished for witchcraft.
Elizabeth is the victim of Abigail’s heartless actions and affair. These two women are almost complete opposites. Both characters struggle and fight through the story in their own ways. Abigail is the villain in this play.
Abigail Williams is the catalyst to the witch hunt and is relentless in her plans to have Elizabeth Proctor killed, destroying the lives of many just because in her head that would mean John will want to be with her. She is obsessive and seems to lack