Summary Of Arthur Miller 's ' The Crucible '

Abigail was a servant in the Proctor's household, but got fired by Elizabeth Proctor for having an affair with her husband, John.

Abigail Williams was a manipulative, vindictive, and somewhat crazy young girl. She lost her parents when she was a child and then lived with her uncle Reverend Parris and his family. At one point, she worked for John and Elizabeth Proctor but was later thrown out for having an affair with John. John was the only person that Abigail had real feelings for. She truly loved her and believed he loved her too even after he said he would never touch her again. Her deep love for John is what started the whole thing. She was in the woods trying to do a spell to kill his wife!

A week later, alone in their farmhouse outside of town, John and Elizabeth Proctor discuss the ongoing trials and the escalating number of townsfolk who have been accused of being witches. Elizabeth urges her husband to denounce Abigail as a fraud; he refuses, and she becomes jealous, accusing him of still harboring feelings for her. Mary Warren, their servant and one in Abigail’s circle, returns from Salem with news that Elizabeth has been accused of witchcraft but the court did not pursue the accusation. Mary is sent up to bed, and John and Elizabeth continue their argument, only to be interrupted by a visit from Reverend Hale. While they discuss matters, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse come to the Proctor home with news that their wives have been arrested. Officers of the court suddenly arrive and arrest Elizabeth. After they have taken her, Proctor tells Mary that she must go to Salem and expose Abigail and the other girls as being frauds and making up all these accusations just to gain the attention of others.

Abigail’s fear of prosecution and of losing John Proctor causes her to cry witch. When Reverend Hale asks Abigail if she called “the Devil last night” (42), she realizes her peril, and says “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba . . . “ (42), diverting the accusations from herself onto Tituba. Abigail notices Warren storing a needle in the belly of a poppet after sewing it in court. Abigail sticks a needle into her stomach the next day and cries witchcraft. Later, the blame of witchery falls on Elizabeth Proctor because Mary Warren gave her the stabbed poppet. Abigail designs to see Elizabeth Proctor hanged, and believes that John Proctor will be “singing secret hallelujahs” (152) with her when she does. Abigail cries witch on Elizabeth Proctor so that she does not lose John Proctor. The driving fears of Abigail and Tituba contrast in that Abigail’s are complex and twisted whereas Tituba’s are primal and straightforward.

Because of Abigail's twisted plot of sticking a needle in herself to signify Elizabeth's "familiar spirit" pushing it in, and Cheever finding a poppet in the Proctor's house, Elizabeth is charged with murder. Proctor realises what Abigail is trying to do, and feels remorse, as he is partly at fault for his relationship with Abigail. "I'll not give my wife to vengeance."

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

Abigail Williams is Reverend Parris’s niece and is the most arrogant and deceitful character in the play, even more so than Danforth, Parris, and Putnam. Abigail uses her power and intimidation to manipulate friends and eventually the entire town into accusing others of alleged witchcraft. The start of Abigail’s terror is in response to John Proctor’s wife Elizabeth Proctor removing Abigail as

John Proctor, a well respected man, was having an affair with Abigail Williams, one of the girls who was caught. His wife, Elizabeth Proctor, knows about

Abigail was Parris ' niece. She lived with Parris because her own parents had been killed

John Proctor In modern society, humanity is viewed as arrogant, sinful, and unwilling to change. As people continue to behave in that manner, humanity has forgotten about the possibility of change. Unfortunately, some people are simply afraid of change because they are frightened about who they will become. Although, if humanity decides to undergo change, they may become brave, affectionate, and admired.

Abigail Williams deserves hatred and contempt person. The most despicable character in the play is Abigail Williams. Abigail is the most despicable person you could ever meat, she’s’ cold hearted, manipulative, and she also an adulterer. In this play you will see how Abigail personality changes throughout the play.

​​​This I feel is the start of the whole Salem witch trials. People start to murmur about how they've seen Rev. Parris' daughter, Betty and his niece, Abigail dancing which they think is some sort of witchcraft. ​To Rev. Parris' witchcraft isn't just horrible and a sin but it could ruin him, mainly because of his job ​as a reverend. The best way to do this, so he thinks is by denying it. This shows ​​Parris' femininity side because he tries to hide and deny it instead of standing up for himself some other way. So to speak, Abigail herself seems to be hiding information ​by the way she's defending herself and Tibuta. Since witchcraft is a religious sin in Salem, Abigail gets fired from her job at Elizabeth

Proctor. For the first and only time in the play we see Abigail as her

Following, their conversation John gets a confession from Abigail that sparks an inferno of mistrust between him and her. Abigail states that, the girls are just playing sick retorting, “She took fright is all” (Miller 22). At the time, John only thought of it as a wild game that the children were playing. But in act two when Mary Warren, Proctors new housemaid and a girl also involved with the trials, states that, Elizabeth’s is “Somewhat mentioned” (Miller 59) in the court. Automatically John and Elizabeth both know it to be Abigail affirming, “...She wants me dead”

In the article Why I Wrote The Crucible by Arthur Miller, he explains his reasoning to his book. This article in mainly about when Miller wrote his book and what was happening with him during this time as well. It was stated in this article that The Crucible was an act of desperation. Miller was afraid to be accused of being a communist. Because he didn’t want to be accused, he couldn’t protest too strongly.