The morning was cold and dark when Abigail lie awake in her bed, dark circles plastered under her eyes, like they had been for days. She had not slept for when she did horrible night terrors came to her; sequences of her being the next to hang while people cheered or the hanged coming out of the earth to get revenge on her for falsely accusing them of witchcraft. Abigail would wake with screams and tears, but no one would come to see if she was alright. She gave the girls enough motivation to obey her command but they all feared her to the point where no amount of motivation would make them be friends with her. Abigail was now completely alone in the world. Abigail called all the girls together for a meeting. “I want the trials to end. I …show more content…
I cannot sleep! I cannot eat! I cannot do anything without guilt stinging my brain!” “The only reason you have a regret is because your precious Proctor is due to die soon.” One girl dared shout from the back. “Who said that? I will have any of your heads who speak like that again.” Abigail snapped. Whispers ran across the group. Abigail heard fragments of people saying that they thought she was lying about her remorse of the trials. She began to feel her group of girls, obliged by fear, to do her bidding slowly dissolve before her. Without this group she would have nothing; all her power would be taken right from under her. Abigail knew she needed to end the trials and needed to get everyone under control as quickly as possible. She stood quietly for a moment, thinking, when she came up with an idea to find those most loyal to her and not have to face the village. “I have to leave this place.” Abigail stated. “Tonight we will run away and board a ship. Those of you who wish to follow me may.” “Where would we go?” asked Mary Warren “Even when we get there how will we pay for …show more content…
Tituba is always going on about how great it was there. As for the money… we could take some from Paris. He has a safe in his study, and I know where he hides the key. There would be enough to get us started, and then we could work as maids for the people there. It couldn’t be that hard could it? Those that do not trust me and don’t with to go may return to your homes.” All of the girls except Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, and Betty turned and left at that moment. Abigail knew that barely a soul would go along with her plan, but she was determined that she would leave Salem. When the sun finally went to rest and Paris left, Abigail went into his study, took the key out of the desk. She unlocked the safe, took every last cent from it, and grabbed the sack that she had packed full of clothes. She made her way out of the house with joy for she would now be able to forget this place and start over. The other three girls were waiting in the woods for Abigail when she arrived and they walked in a content silence towards the
Abigail's deception toward the people is driven by her lust for power. Abigail begins to accuse others of being witches, so she can build up her power and reliability. She carefully selects defenseless targets at first to accuse, only those that would be believable when in court. Each of the innocent people that Abigail condemns to hang gives her more credibility, gaining her more power over the court and the people. Abigail continues to grow closer to the big picture every time she gains power. Abigail is viewed as a threat; since her lust for power made her into a ruthless person. Abigail in the manner of a leader convinces the other girls to follow her; those who are frightened by her are the ones who join her. She needs more people on her
Abigail changes her point of view again, this time for a larger purpose. “Why then, not put it out of the power of the vicious and the Lawless to use us with cruelty and indignity and impunity (24).” Abigail’s use of the word us shows she is no longer posing her argument from a personal stance, but to include all
Abigail consistently intimidated the village girls. One night the girls were caught dancing in the woods naked by Reverend Parris. Abigail threatened the other girls she would kill them if they ever said what they were actually doing, which was conjuring spirits. Abigail was the one who had
Abigail William’s aggressive personality easily persuades the other girls to follow her footsteps, and back up anything and everything she says. This personality also frightens people in the courtroom to question her truthfulness, or her relation with John Proctor. Due to her forceful behavior, the girls support Abigail, and therefore become entangled in her web of lies, sins, and murders.
Once Abigail is assigned as an official of the court she and the other girls immediately began deceitfully abusing their powers. The first major time we hear of Abigail try to abuse her power is when she accuses Elizabeth Proctor. The Info is revealed to us by Mary Warren “I Saved Your life today! … Somewhat mentioned. But I said I never see no sign you ever sent your spirit out to hurt no one, and seeing I do live so closely with you, they dismissed it”(Miller 59). Thought Mary didn’t we bluntly say it was Abigail due to the rules of the court it doesn't take Elizabeth long to figure out it was Abigail “[Abigail] wants me dead. I knew all week it would come to this! … she will cry me out
Lastly, Abigail Williams threatened all of the girls to admit only that they were dancing in the forest, but nothing else. They knew that she had drank blood as a charm to kill John Proctors wife. The only reason for this was that she wanted John Proctor for herself, and she didn't want her uncle to find out about it. Also, she didn't want her name to be blackened in the village, seeing that she was the niece of Reverend Parris. If they found out she had drank blood, she would be convicted of witchcraft and then hanged. All of the girls began accusing women as a group after Beth woke up towards the end of Act One. They did this to keep themselves from being accused by each other, and also to draw attention to themselves. Abigail said she had seen things done by the Indians that were unspeakable. If any of them were to talk about what actually happened in the forest, she would do some of those things to them.
And you know I can do it… I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!” (Miller 20). This quote supports the ideas of how Abigail is threatening the other girls to agree with her accusations, and withhold all of the actions committed in the forest. The threatening should have been a last resort, but she uses that as her first resort. Inadvertently, she heads to high extents to frighten the young girls, by the use of harsh words, just to keep them quiet. Although Abigail sought to utilize the methods of witchcraft to eliminate Elizabeth Proctor, she was not proud of committing witchcraft, and if her wrong action is revealed to society, her dignity will disappear, so she begins to threaten her accomplices. This indicates that Abigail does not care about any other person, but herself. Another quote that represents Abigail’s selfishness and desire to preserve good name is “I danced for the Devil: I saw him: I wrote in his book: I go back to Jesus: I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil…” (Miller 48). This quote symbolizes Abigail starting to lie to protect the virtue of her reputation and the fact that she is willing to accuse innocent people is emphasized through this quote. The quote shows the extremity of Abigail’s endeavor. She will allow other people to be punished
Abigail was being accused repeatedly of lying and making up all of the accusations which were of false nature. The many people who were hung because of her testimony was what would now hang over her head. When she was brought before Mary Warren her false tears and outcries of pain were all an act, but in her mind she was the only one who was correct in her dealings. Abigail was for unfathomable reasons a port of knowledge through which the judges and lawyers convicted and sent to death those who were accused. The awful girl was but of one mind. She wanted revenge and to be back to her “love”, John Proctor. Abigail tried and tried repeatedly to get her hands on John, she tried to get his wife hanged, and when she couldn’t have him she decided that no one else could. Abigail soon began to accuse John Proctor of the precise thing she was known for, witchcraft. Abigail had been in the woods when the young Mary Warren went mute from the shock of seeing Abigail drink chickens blood and curse Goody Proctor, all of these happenings had to do with Abigail Williams, and now she would have to suffer through her own crucible, to figure out how she was going to get out. And though Abigail did narrowly escape the major shackles of her crimes, the guilt and foreboding of being a treacherous liar found her rumored to be a young prostitute in Boston. Forever to be alone and used. That was Abigail’s crucible and punishment for all the problems and
First off, Abigail uses the trials to seek revenge, resulting in the wrongful deaths of many. Abigail commits many sins, including lust for John Proctor. Once she rises to power in the courtroom, she uses it to exact vengeance upon those who have done her wrong. Victims of her wrath include Elizabeth Proctor; who she calls a ¨a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her¨ during an argument with John Proctor and Mary Warren (Miller 23). After Mary Warren starts siding with John Proctor, Abigail goes so far as to accuse Mary of sending her spirit out in the courtroom to attack the other girls. Abigail can be seen using such accusations to inflict a twisted justice on her enemies. Actions as unjust as these
So, after the news that Abigail and the other girls’ outlandish actions begins to spread like a wildfire, the hysteria in the community take over. Abigail only contributes to the hysteria by telling lie after lie just to cover up her wrongdoings. Abigail is dreading telling the truth, which has triggered hysteria to a dangerous level that otherwise, would not have been achieved.
treeted like a child, to be seen but not to be heerd. This was the aditude in
Abigail, herself says “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 kiss His hand.” After proclaiming this, the religious officials of Salem are left, in essence, with no choice but to believe her.
When Abigail was accused of being involved in the events that happened in the forest, she took a proactive role in the situation. Abigail was able to manipulate others to make them believe she was innocent. One of the major factors that motivated Abigail in her lies was fear. She did not want to be punished or whipped for what she did in the forest. She also made the other girls fear her by threating them with their lives if they contradicted her story. Abigail did not want to bring shame to her name. When Reverend Parris approached her with the events that happened in the forest, she placed all of the attention on everyone but herself. Revan Parris also asks her why Goody Proctor fired her, and her
Abigail becomes comfortable with avoiding the death of her daughter, putting up a wall that her family cannot break through. As Abigail distances herself from her family and refuses to comfort them, this foreshadows to the reader her ability to walk away and leave her children later in the novel. Through her actions, it is made evident that the defence mechanism of avoidance and denial has a negative impact on Abigail and her family.
Abigail was not happy that she was no longer working for the Proctors, so she went into the woods and did what seemed like some sort of a ritual and wished she could own John Proctor.