Even though Abigail denies that she and the girls participate in witchcraft, Parris does not believe her because Abigail has been out of work since Elizabeth Proctor abruptly fired her. Also, Elizabeth Proctor has stopped attending church because she does not want to sit so close to a soiled woman. When Thomas Putnam and Ms. Putnam enter the room, they report that their own daughter Ruth is in the same state as Betty. Ms. Putman also rumors that someone saw Betty flying over a neighbor’s barn. Seven of Mrs. Putnam’s babies died the day after their birth and she believes that it is witchcraft.
Abigail and the girls pretend Mary is bewitching them again which make Mary breakdown and accuse john of being a witch. After being tried as a witch and told he was going to get hanged he has a chance to confess and live but he chooses to die and keep his name. As a result of the lies and the affair between john and Abigail there were a lot of innocent people killed and hurt even those who they claimed they loved. Abigail and Elizabeth are two very different characters but have some similarities. Both Abigail and Elizabeth show determination in order to get what they want, and they are both strong
She then starts to mimic the actions and words of Mary; this in turn builds a solid proof in the eyes of the court that Mary Warren practices witchcraft. Abigail could care less of who she accused and sentenced to death, she watches people die in front of her eyes without feeling any regrets on her actions. In the end of The Crucible, Abigail and Mercy Lewis steal Reverend Parris’s money and aboard a ship because the town detests her and she loses her reputation in Salem. Abigail didn’t expect this ending, she thought by sentencing Goody Proctor to death she will live happily ever after with John. Lack of guilt made Abigail do contemptible actions, which took the lives of innocent
Abigail deceives her closest friends and many other well respected townspeople. She manipulates the whole town and begins to gain power and control over everyone. Soon, Abigail starts to get revenge on the people from her past by accusing them of witchcraft. She goes after Proctors wife Elizabeth. Abigail previously worked for the Proctors until Elizabeth became aware of the affair between her and John.
Starkey points out that none of these women attend church. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne claim to be innocent of any witchcraft all the way up until when they were hanged. When Tituba is on trial she explains that the devil made her do it, and that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and the three others where involved. Two others are accused of being witches; Martha and her husband Giles. When the trials began, many accused others of witchcraft and this lead to them accusing even more.
Even after she cured Lucas of the curse the witches put on him, people were still skeptical saying “Hechicera, Bruja” (pg 104). After the incident when Tenorio brought an angry mob claiming that Ultima was a witch that laid a curse on his daughters, the kids at school prosecuted Antonio saying “At least we don’t have a witch around our house!” (pg 145) The men trying to capture Ultima tested and failed to prove
How does miller present Abigail as a powerful character in The Crucible? Abigail first shows her power when she is heavily questioned about what was going on in the woods. Abigail starts answering the questions that she is given but soon realises that she will be court and get into trouble. So she uses her power to shift the attention to someone and make people forget about her. Miller presents this when Abigail is asked about the devil and she responds by saying, “I never called him!
Another reason their relationship is dangerous is that if John Procter were to prosecute against Abigail Williams saying that she is in fact a witch, Abigail Williams could very easily tell the entire town that she and Procter have been having an affair to get revenge on him. It wouldn’t really affect her too much, but on the contrary, it would ruin his reputation in the town and his relationship with his wife. Later in Act I, Abigail is being “interrogated” by Reverend Hale and she claims “I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!” (Miller 40) in this statement, Abigail is defending herself that she never sold herself to the devil.
While In court with Mary Warren, Abigail and the girls say, “Why do you come, yellow bird?” (106). They claim that Mary Warren is sending the devil upon them. They all establish lie in order to be heard over Mary Warren. The girls and Abigail feel as though since they lack power in the community that lying is the only way they can gain that power and feel as though they impact the community. Through all of history women have struggled to have a voice.
Abigail pretends she feels cold and sees a yellow bird. Abigail says in line 1001: "But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary!" This makes everybody think that an innocent girl Mary Warren has worship with the devil. The panic covers the whole court and all the girls followed Abigail's intentions to accuse