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Her lust for John Proctor completely denied good Christian values, and her violent threats to the girls involved in the woods showed that she obviously had something to hide. In this document, I will prove her flawed actions with quotes from the story, and in-depth detail of how these actions contributed to the trials. In Act 1 of Arthur Millers, The Crucible, Betty, the daughter of Reverend Paris and Abigail cousin, says “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor! Abigail was once a servant in John and Elizabeth Proctor’s household. In that time, Abigail had an affair with John, whilst he was married to Elizabeth. After Elizabeth discovered this, she put Abigail out of her house. Since then Abigail claims that Elizabeth wants nothing more than to soil her flawless image amongst the community, along with the fact that Abigail is in love with John. She wants nothing more than to replace Elizabeth as his wife. So this is why she drank the charm.
The charm was blood, which she drank as a wicked attempt to have Elizabeth killed. Later in the passage, she exclaims with anger, “Oh, I marvel how such a strong man et such a sickly wife be… ” Before she is cut off by John. This quote proves that she holds John in high standard, but despises his wife. She wishes more than anything that she could be his wife, instead of Elizabeth. Abigail also shows violent tendencies in this story. In Act 1 r she is quoted while threatening Betty, Mercy Lewis, and Mary Warren.
She says “Let either of you bring a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on he pillow next to mine, and have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! ” In this quote, she seems to show some symptoms Of traumatic stress. The reason that she lives with her uncle Paris is because her parents were killed.
The only thing that is known of their escapades in the woods is that they danced, and Tuba, the servant of the Paris household, conjured Ruth Putnam deceased sisters. Reverend Paris did see Mercy Lewis run naked, however he will cease to acknowledge this in a court of law later in the play. Betty began screaming bout Abigail drinking a charm of blood, and this is when Abigail threatened the girls. However, before she said the threat, it is also said in the story that she smashed Betty across the face.
There were obviously other things that happened in the woods that Abigail wanted to hide. Thus far, Abigail has proven herself to be wicked, drinking a charm of blood to kill Elizabeth, violent, and she seems to be one of the leaders of the ritual in the forest. In Act 3, Abigail shows that she is a blatant liar in a court of law. After all of the alleged women of Salem are taken into custody, including Abigail, Elizabeth, Mercy Lewis, and others, a court is held in Salem. The presiding Deputy Governor Detonator calls the girls into the courtroom for questioning.
Also present at the court is John Proctor, Reverend Paris, and Mary Warren, who is the current servant in the Proctor household. She has been brought to court by John because she is the reason Elizabeth was taken into custody. She gave her a poppet, or doll, with a needle through it. This is a symbol of voodoo witchcraft, and although Elizabeth was framed, she was arrested in her own house. John has taken her to court to testify that the poppet was not Elizabethan, but was actually crafted by Mary, who was one Of the girls in the woods during the ritual.
When Abigail is brought into the courtroom, Deputy Governor Detonator begins to question Abigail. He asks her about the poppet, saying that Mary claimed she was a witness of Mary making the doll. Abigail lies, and ironically exclaims, “It is a lie, sir. ” She went on to say that Elizabeth had always kept poppet, which was also a lie. In spite of Mary testifying against her, later in the passage she begins to stage an entire act, faking a demonic scene of Mary trying to harm her and the girls. She turns to her and says she feels cold, and clasps her arms.
When the rest of the girls realize what Abigail is doing they join along, acting as though Mary is trying to cast her evil spirit upon them. They shout things such as, “Lord, save me! ” or, “l freeze, I freeze! ” At last, Abigail, who is known for disrespecting the church, exclaims “Oh, Heavenly Father, take away this shadow! ” After this event during this court, John calls her a where, makes a huge scene, blatantly disrespects the court, as he is taken into custody, and Reverend Hale quits the court. Abigail is obviously a huge threat to the innocence of those wrongfully accused.
Her actions and lies are obviously selfish, and intended to hurt others. Her passion for John, and her hatred for Elizabeth seems to be the driving force in the event in the woods, and all of the trials that are taking place at this point in the story. I selected Abigail as the character in the story that is most responsible for the events during the Salem Witch Trials. Her love for John Proctor and her hatred for Elizabeth was so great, that she would’ve stopped at nothing to see her dead, and to take her place as his wife.
She lied countless times during this story, all of those lies intended to save her own skin. She showed violent behavior, and malevolent ways throughout the story, on top of her sorcerers actions in the forest, when she consumed a charm of blood. Abigail Williams is a very troubled young lady, and has suffered hardships throughout her life. She is twisted in thought, and I believe she could’ve been the leader of the ritual in the woods. All of this, and the quotes I have provided is why I believe she was the main antagonist in causing the events in Salem to take place.