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Abigail Williams Character Analysis

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Abigail Williams is a manipulative, vengeful 17 year old girl that will do anything it takes to get what she wants. Abigail is one of the main characters in the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. She lost her parents at a young age, and has been living with her uncle for many years. Abigail is directly responsible for the massive hysteria in Salem, which caused innocent people to become accused and executed. Abigail deeply cares about protecting her reputation, even though she had an affair with a married man. Some people may defend Abigail’s character for various reasons. However, her actions throughout the play prove that she is a selfish, villainous character.
One reason Abigail is considered selfish is because she falsely accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, in order to be with her husband. Abigail and Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor were having an affair. Elizabeth fired Abigail as their servant when she discovered the affair. John ended their relationship, but Abigail was still desperately in love with him. In Act one of the play Abigail says “My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!” (p. 12). This demonstrates Abigail’s hatred towards Elizabeth, which caused her to seek revenge. Abigail was extremely jealous of Elizabeth and was willing to do anything to get rid of her. She claimed that Elizabeth sent her familiar spirit, to harm her. A needle was found in a poppet given to

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