Compare And Contrast Elizabeth Proctor And Abigail Williams

Elizabeth Proctor is Abigail's arch-nemesis, because she is in love with John Proctor and wants to take her place as John's wife.

Elizabeth Proctor can be characterized as a devout pacifist, she aligned her Christian principles with her moral principles, causing her to reject and emphasize certain aspects of Puritan society. This is seen in ACT I during John Proctor and her’s lunch when she refused to tell him how she felt about his lechery, Arthur Miller exemplified this by having her state to John, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John- (with a smile)- only somewhat bewildered” (pg.167). She didn’t permit herself to judge his character or give him forgiveness as a means to avoid further friction. Elizabeth was also emotionally constipated, and her constipation was dubbed by herself as being a cold wife with during their last reunion. “I have read my heart this three month, John. Pause. I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery (pg.206). She fell into a confessional tone when she followed with, “John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love. It were a cold house I kept!” (pg.206). She lays herself out to him and openly admits that she did not know how she was supposed to love John as a person or as a wife.

Purist Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 suffered from a rapidly increasing phenomenon: witchcraft accusations and trials. The Crucible is a play that recounts the times of this incident. For the most part, it follows a man known as John Proctor. He is a sensible, honest, and hardworking man who made the mistake of succumbing to lust which sets off a chain of events that leads to the witch trials, and to his own demise. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible’s protagonist John Proctor proves to be a flawed human being who struggles to make sense of his past relationship with Abigail, his love for his wife, and his pride.

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.

In The Crucible Abigail Williams is a young, untruthful, and ungodly girl who has an unclean name in the town. Elizabeth Proctor is an older, Godly, and truthful woman who has had no wrong said about her. Abigail and Elizabeth have a hatred for each other. These two ladies have their differences, but they have one thing in common they are both in love with John Proctor.

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,

The Salem Witch Trials were one of the most embarrassing moments of history. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible shows how people can throw away their judgments over fictitious ideas such as witches. The main character, John Proctor, overcomes challenges in life including the secret affair with a teenager, Abigail Williams. This event caused John to eventually come to admit his sin of adultery. John Proctor’s last act in the play was an act of honor. On the other hand, his actions through out the play were noble.

Comparing and Contrasting the Roles and Characteristics of Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

Elizabeth Proctor is a cold woman who demonstrates high moral standards. Her relationship with her husband, John Proctor, is somewhat a quarrel that builds up with the guilt that John has over the affair with Abigail that Elizabeth later discovers. She is a mother and maintains the house that the two live in. Elizabeth can be considered religious as she can remind John Proctor of his ironic sin that he forgot about. As in the quote states, “Hale. You have said that twice, sir. Proctor. (lost) Aye. (He is flailing for it.) Elizabeth. (delicately)

In the 1950’s Arthur Miller wrote the play, The Crucible which reflects upon the Puritan Era in the 1600’s. In the play the characters try to survive a witch hunt that is quickly killing off salem due to Abby’s psychotic lust for Elizabeth’s husband, to reflect on the state of minds in the 1950’s during the communist hunts. Abby, in her late teens had an affair with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband. After John broke it off with Abby, she went on to convince the town that there are witches in salem, and due to an idea she got once Tituba was convicted of witchery, she was intent on convicting Elizabeth as well. Even though Tituba, the only slave in salem, and Elizabeth, the wife of John Proctor , seem separated by race, religion, and status in the community, they are both very similar in that they have no power as women, and they are both victims, in The Crucible.

Elizabeth Proctor is a wife of John Proctor and her marriage isn’t that good as her husband had an affair with our other character, previous housekeeper of Proctor’s house, Abigail Williams. Now Elizabeth is cold to her husband and doesn’t believe him as she can’t forgive him the past. She tries to forgive John for the whole play, but something stops her. In the beginning of the play we also see that Elizabeth thinks that she doesn’t deserve John and after his affair with Abigail he thinks about it even more. During the play we see that Elizabeth loves John but still can’t feel free with him. We can see that they behave polite to each other, but with cold and Elizabeth views him with a suspicion. She also dislikes Abigail as

After Elizabeth is taken to court from jail and her and John are alone for some time, Elizabeth finally forgives John. She realizes that John will be her only husband, and their relationship is important. When Proctor asks Elizabeth what she thinks about him confessing or not, she says “I want you living thats for sure” (Miller 136). John is very important to Elizabeth and she wants him back in her life. She says “I cannot judge you, John I cannot!”

John Proctor is the respectable and proud farmer in The Crucible. His relationship with his wife Elizabeth is strained when it revealed to her that John Proctor has cheated with Abigail Williams, the seventeen year old girl. Abigail knowingly tempts John Proctor to continue their relationship as she says “I have seen you looking up, turning in your loneliness. Do you tell me you’ve never looked up at my window” (Miller 29). Similar to Ethan, John Proctor aims to be good in his life but his faults ultimately lead to his downfall.. His affair with the young girl is what caused Elizabeth to be accused because Abigail wanted Elizabeth to leave John Proctors life. John realizes this and his reaction is “[Abigail] thinks to dance with me on my wife’s grace! And well she might, for I thought of her softly” (Miller 113). His refusal to listen to Abigail’s temptation shows his maturity as a man and his new commitment to Elizabeth. John Proctors honest character forces him to admit his mistakes to his wife to resolve the issue because the affair has ended. His stern mentality pushes him to try to reveal the truth about the girls accusing people of witchcraft. This leads him to threaten Mary Warren, who eventually uses her words to convince the court that he is responsible for attacking her. His wrongdoings in the beginning of the story is now resulting in a trial against his wife and the fear of execution. The archetype temptress is the large consequence for the negative outcome of The

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible portrays the historical events of the Salem Witch trials. Insanity and fear drive these Puritans to reveal their true colors while facing their accusers in the prejudice courts. Of all the madness in Salem, two women stand out above the rest. Although they both create suspense and tension in the play the difference between the two is also evident. Hatred and revenge live in the heart of the teenage adulteress Abigail Williams while truth and kindness resides in the soul of Elizabeth Proctor faithful wife of John Proctor.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place during the Salem witch trials in Salem Massachusetts in 1692, and contains perhaps one of the most deceptive people ever. Abigail Williams like many people today, all she wants is attention this causes the main problem in the story her quest for the most fame and attention in their small city of Salem. If Abigail and her friends admitted to the Judge that what they were doing was a lie, then people would have never been hanged and this story wouldn’t be a thing. In this play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller demonstrates that it was Abigail’s flaws lust, lying, and stubbornness that led her to be the main character most responsible for the witch hunt in Salem.