The Crucible portrays the events of the Salem witch trials and the havoc it has created upon a puritanical society. In Arthur Miller’s play, panic and hysteria of witchcraft fall upon the whole community. Within this particular assembly of characters, there are some unforgettable characters whose actions can, in a sense, change the town. These characters — Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor — stand out among the rest. Selfish traits and actions of revenge grow in Abigail’s heart while selflessness and forgiveness lie in Elizabeth’s heart. These characters seem to be opposites, however they do have one specific man in their hearts: a man by the name of John Proctor. Both Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor intensify elements of tension
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The most obvious reason is the fact that both of these women have a common love interest: John Proctor. Elizabeth’s motives are resulted from her love for her husband. It takes time from turning from being cold and harsh, to understanding and forgiving. However towards the end, she would do anything for Proctor. She even went as far as giving up her honesty and lying for Proctor to any way save him and his reputation. While Abigail on the other hand, might have feelings for Proctor however he made it clear he does not feel the same way. Therefore her actions are resulted from attempting to win John back. Also I strongly believe that another reason for Abigail motives is because she knows that Proctor will only look at her as a child and will not love her the way she loves him. As a result she begins to act out thinking this is the best idea to capture John’s attention. Another key similarity between these women is that they both at one point lied, one much more than the other. Again, they have different motives for lying. Elizabeth only lies to protect John. As well as, she does not want to be the reason John’s name and reputation are ruined. Since Elizabeth is deeply religious, lying is a sin and it meant a lot for Elizabeth when she lied for Proctor. While on the contrary, Abigail simply lies about everything, the whole idea of witchcraft was a enormous lie that everyone somehow got tied in the middle of. No matter what, Abigail would rather lie her way to innocence than to take responsibility for her
The most obvious reason is the fact that both of these women have a common love interest: John Proctor. Elizabeth’s motives are resulted from her love for her husband. It takes time from turning from being cold and harsh, to understanding and forgiving. However towards the end, she would do anything for Proctor. She even went as far as giving up her honesty and lying for Proctor to any way save him and his reputation. While Abigail on the other hand, might have feelings for Proctor however he made it clear he does not feel the same way. Therefore her actions are resulted from attempting to win John back. Also I strongly believe that another reason for Abigail motives is because she knows that Proctor will only look at her as a child and will not love her the way she loves him. As a result she begins to act out thinking this is the best idea to capture John’s attention. Another key similarity between these women is that they both at one point lied, one much more than the other. Again, they have different motives for lying. Elizabeth only lies to protect John. As well as, she does not want to be the reason John’s name and reputation are ruined. Since Elizabeth is deeply religious, lying is a sin and it meant a lot for Elizabeth when she lied for Proctor. While on the contrary, Abigail simply lies about everything, the whole idea of witchcraft was a enormous lie that everyone somehow got tied in the middle of. No matter what, Abigail would rather lie her way to innocence than to take responsibility for her