When you least expect it, evil will be at your doorstep. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller, portrays the time period of the Salem Witch trials which are taking over the daily lives of the people in Salem, Massachusetts. Fear is consuming the Puritans as most of the people began to be accused of witchcraft, and fell into the bias of the court and judges. Revenge takes place within a teenager, Abigail Williams, who committed adultery with John Proctor and tries to convict his faithful wife, Elizabeth Proctor, of witchcraft so she can finally be with him. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the characters of Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail can be compared and contrasted through their actions, honesty, and their priorities. Moreover, Elizabeth Proctor …show more content…
Abigail’s only interest is being with John, and Elizabeth’s priority is to reestablish her family. Abigail’s only concern and motive towards her actions is the thought of being with John. For example, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, and even Mrs. Proctor is conscious of Abigail’s true intentions when stating, “ Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now - I am sure she does - and thinks to kill me, then to take my place” ( Miller 197). Elizabeth is certain that while her husband and Abigail had an affair, Abigail sensed that John Proctor wanted to be with her. Now, she is after Elizabeth to fulfill that promise. She wishes to get rid of Elizabeth by accusing her of witchcraft, since the court will eradicate Elizabeth for her. All Abigail wants is to be with John, even if it meant the execution of Elizabeth Proctor. On the contrary, Elizabeth’s priorities are much more magnanimous. Elizabeth aspires on what is optimum for her children and family. Hence, why she is so merciful of her husband’s infidelity. For example, when she is escorted out of her home to be sent to jail, she tells Mary, “... there is bread enough for the morning; you will bake, in the afternoon. Help Mr. Proctor as you were his daughter - you owe me that, and much more. When the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft - it will frighten them” ( Miller 204). Even …show more content…
They both lie within the story, but they do so with dissimilar reasons. Abigail is a deceitful child who lies and accuses others of witchcraft to salvage herself. She wanted people to forget about the incident in the woods and commenced to charge others such as Tituba and Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. When people began to distrust Abigail and speculated her involvement in witchcraft, she indicted Tituba. To demonstrate, when Hale began to question Tituba, Abigail said, “ She sends her spirit to me in church; she makes me laugh at prayer” ( Miller 187)! Abigail lied to install the liability on someone if she was perceived a witch. Tituba would be an effortless victim since she comes from a different cultural background and is deemed inferior. Whereas, Elizabeth was virtuous, and as stated by John Proctor, "In her life, sir, she have never lied" (Miller 221). However, Elizabeth Proctor lied once, for the sake of saving her husband. To illustrate, Judge Danforth had asked Elizabeth if her husband was a lecher and she replied, “ No, sir” ( Miller 223). The first lie that Elizabeth had said was, ironically, to save her husband, however it caused his death. Elizabeth was unaware that the truth was divulged and was willing to lie, which was a crime, in order to save her husband and his good name. In brief, both Elizabeth Proctor and
Elizabeth Proctor is an honest and virtuous christian woman from Salem. Abigail being the pretentious girl from the village accuses her of witchcraft causing, Elizabeth to be in prison. While Elizabeth is in prison her husband, John Proctor admits to lechery with Abigail. Elizabeth shows her loyalty towards John by lying in court to protect him (Miller 46). Although the affair hurt Elizabeth, there is still a devotion towards her husband.
Abigail also wanted to complete the relationship with her old lover John Proctor. In act 1, Abigail and Betty had a little chat that she only wanted to take out John Proctors new lover, Elizabeth. But, Abigail, also, had an affair with John Proctor and she has been all over him since and it doesn’t seem to be affecting the way that John Proctor feel about Abigail nor Elizabeth. So, Abigail plan is to get rid of Elizabeth or kill her, in order to get John Proctor
Life in the 1600’s was arduous for members of Puritan society. Strict social rules, including defined gender-specific roles, mandatory attendance at church, no self-indulging activities, and limited personal freedoms, forced people to repress their feelings and opinions to maintain a good reputation. God was involved in every aspect of life, and punishment fell upon those who were seen as not doing God’s work and deviated from the norm. The Crucible, a play set during the events of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts during this time, focuses on the mass hysteria which plagued the people and their reactions. A group of girls went dancing in the woods, and were caught by Reverend Parris. To avoid getting in trouble, the girls, led by Abigail Williams, claimed being the victims of witchcraft. John Proctor, who previously had an affair with Abby while she worked for his family, refused to believe the accusations of witchcraft. After Abby accuses his wife, Elizabeth, John does his best to prove her innocence, yet ultimately ends up being hanged himself. The events are tragic, and many people died as a result. Abigail’s “in the moment” survival is evident in her disregard for virtue in favor of reputation throughout The Crucible, whereas John Proctor ultimately decides integrity is more important than survival through his admission of guilt.
Elizabeth loves her two boys and her other child on the way, for example, “When the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft-it will frighten them.”(Miller 73), takes care of her husband and is extremely patient with him and she is extraordinarily good at holding things back no matter what it is. Elizabeth's husband John Proctor has been unfaithful to her and she subtlety ask John of his fault. John confesses of his utter mistake but then blames Elizabeth for being too cold to him. At this time the girl whom John was having an affair with, Abigail Williams, was creating city-wide havoc pertaining with witches and she recruits all the girls in town to play along with her wicked ruse. Abigail despises Elizabeth for her relationship with John and decides to pull the witch trick on Elizabeth, for revenge.Elizabeth is then
Elizabeth Proctor might be portrayed as only inverse of Abigail. A dependable wife of John Proctor, Elizabeth demonstrated to her group proper methodologies to be more than an observer in life. John thought of her the sweetest, most sure, and legit lady he has ever met. The point when deciding his hanging, John offered Elizabeth to discuss an occurrence that as of late happened on the grounds that he knew she might tell the complete truth, regardless of the possibility that his life was at stake. He said to the judges "Throughout her life sir, she will never lie" (Miller, Act 3). Despite the fact that Proctor submitted infidelity, Elizabeth chipped away at pardoning him due to her kind and religious heart. She never surrendered attempting to get John to concentrate on her again. For instance, she says "You'll tear it free- when you come to realize that I will be your just wife, or no wife whatsoever. She has a shaft in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it well!" (Miller, Act 2).
Mrs. Proctor is a judgmental, doubtful, and reserved woman. She loves her family also she had a maid who was Abigail Williams but she fired her because john was having an affair with Ms. Williams. “ John if it were not abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not ” (Miller 1294).
Their differences would also become evident when Abigail William goes on her path of vengeance. This trait becomes evident as Abigail Williams does whatever it takes to get her name cleared, including lie or commit murder. She then accuses Elizabeth of being a witch in an attempt to take her bed from her. Elizabeth, however, becomes the light of reason and sanity as she refuses to judge her husband, even to save his life. She knows that her husband is a good person and refuses to take that away from him. This was a very different view as compared to Abigail. Abigail held on to the notion that John Proctor would choose to run away and be with her instead. Wherein Abigail Williams had a somewhat weak background and character, which fed off of the fears of others, Elizabeth Proctor has a relatively strong character. Elizabeth refused to surrender her beliefs in the face of hardships, whereas Abigail would abandon her beliefs in order to save herself. Although Elizabeth spoke on the side of truth, Abigail would be the one that is believed because of her ability to change her belief to feed off of the fears of the community, a very powerful tool in puritan Salem.
Abigail wants to get rid of Elizabeth, who she describes as John Proctor’s “sniveling envious wife” (Optional scene Pg. 158)! One can infer how Abigail is jealous and is doing anything to steel Elizabeth’s place in Proctor’s bed. It reaches a degree were Abigail is lies so much she starts to believe her lies, and stabs herself in the stomach with a pin to blame Elizabeth for attempting to kill her. She later goes on trying to convince Proctor that “the jab your wife gave me’s not healed yet” (Optional scene Pg. 155). The revenge that Abigail is seeking to find is directly related to the theme of vengeance that is profound throughout the play. Additionally, other people in Salem, such as the Putnam’s, take advantage of the crisis to help achieve their
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is written about the Salem Witch Trials back in 1692. It began with a group of girls messing around in the woods and when someone walks down and catches them dancing, which is against the rules, they were accused of performing witchcraft. This is what started the Salem witch trials. As the play goes on it tells the story about the accusations of witchcraft and the punishments results of the accusations. Throughout this play there were two main characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams. John Proctor was a father of three boys, married to Elizabeth, had sexual relations with Abigail, and tends to stands up for what he believes is right. In the play, Proctor comes across many problems that are ethical dilemmas, one of the biggest is his reputation, and deciding whether to lie to stay alive or tell the truth and die.
The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller recounts the events from 1692 to 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, otherwise known as the Salem Witch Trials. Though set in colonial Massachusetts, the somewhat fictional piece serves as an allegory for the post-WWII Red Scare, or more specifically the McCarthy Hearing in the 1950's. Both incidents of mass hysteria had taken place almost three centuries apart, however, share the tragic theme of innocent individuals being accused and convicted of crimes without evidence. As well as, how the prior can be caused by economic instability and provoked public fear. The same theme of human nature is portrayed as Abigail, a young woman desperately in love with the older John Proctor, uses the growing suspicion of witches in Salem to attempt to get rid of Proctor's wife, Elizabeth. Several other girls of Salem follow Abigail as she begins to test the limits of who she can successfully accuse of bewitching her, this goes on until she feels confident enough to accuse Elizabeth Proctor. In quest of her goal Abigail, as well as her followers, become blinded by their new power in society, to the point of abuse. This abuse includes the witch hysteria that erupted in Salem due to their finger-pointing of 'witches' and overdramatic acting of being bewitched in court. Later John Proctor, Mary Warren, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse try to disprove the accuracy of Abigail's and the other girls' claims. Unfortunately, Mary Warren ends up turning on Proctor,
Abigail Williams’ main cause for her wild accusations is a selfish one. It is to be with John Proctor, a married man with whom she has an affair. She is sent away but all she thinks of is being reunited with him. Abigail drinks blood, wishing to be with John Proctor, which could happen only if his wife Elizabeth died. She then, after committing adultery and contributing to the breaking of a marriage, is not through. Abigail pursues John and does not recognize that the affair is over. She conveys this in saying “I have something better than hope, I think!” (22). Abigail does not just miss her love, she becomes ruthless to get him back.
After having an affair with John Proctor, she couldn’t accept not being without him. Abigail also admires “how such a strong man may let such a sickly wife” like Elizabeth be unaware of the affair she had with John Proctor(act1pg#). As a result to the affair, Proctor is trying to rebuild his marriage with his wife. Abigail continues to intervene in John Proctors marriage and attempts to manipulate Proctor so he would confess his love for her. Proctor admits his love for her, but does not continue his affection because Abigail seeps of vengeance for other individuals. He portrays her “as a lump of vanity” who thinks to dance on his “wife’s grave!”(act 3). For her own selfish desires, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft and tries to intentionally sabotage her. She does this for the purpose of her own selfish and fictitious relationship that she has with Proctor. Abigail believes she has the capability to influence Proctor, but her egoistic actions to win his undefining love makes her appear as the criminal in the
The devastating Salem witch trials occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. By the end of the trials many people were accused, nineteen were executed and several more died in prison. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, captures the hysteria that developed during the Salem witch trials. Crucible character, Abigail Williams, represents the repressed desires that many of the Puritans possess. Abigail’s readiness to abandon Puritan social restrictions sets her apart from the other characters, and eventually leads to her downfall. Abigail Williams uses manipulation and cruelty to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation in her town. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Abigail Williams leads the hysteria in Salem by taking extreme measures to succeed in attaining John Proctor's love.
Although, Abigail is accusing innocent people for being witches, but the judges doesn't know that Abigail is lying because she want to hide her affair with John proctor. In the beginning of the play, Abigail first accuse Tituba for witchcraft. For example Abigail said “ she made me do it! She made betty do it!” (miller page 482). Abigail is telling Mr hale and Mr. parris that tituba is making abigail and betty to do witchcraft, but actually Abigail want tituba to make love potion for John proctor to love her. Everyone in salem town is believe her with big lies. Everyone is scared of Abigail because they can be accuse. Abigail and her friend are blaming others for witchcraft and pretending they are getting hurt. People are getting arrest or getting hang up because abigail and her friends doesn't like them. According to cheever “ There be so many cows wanderin’ the highroads, now their master are in jail and much disagreement who they will
Abigail is a highly jealous character, concentrating her jealousy on Elizabeth Proctor. This jealousy is driven by lust and her desire for John Proctor. Abigail served as a servant in the Proctor household and after an affair with her husband John, Elizabeth fired her. She still resents Elizabeth for this as she is still in love with John. She clearly says to John, "You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" Abigail is still in love with John and she assumes the converse. Her love for John only causes her resentment for Elizabeth to strengthen. She hates John Proctor's wife and in her conniving ways she attempts to inspire the same views of Elizabeth in John's mind. Saying things to him such as, "She is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me, She is a cold, sniveling woman." Abigail fabricates stories in attempt to steel John from Elizabeth. She is a manipulative liar that does and says as she pleases in order to get what she wants.