The Crucible Abigail Williams Character Analysis

“Let you look sometimes for the goodness in me, and judge me not.” This is a quote from The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller. The Crucible focused on witchcraft trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. The play shows us how individuals can take advantage of an unfortunate situation and use it to their advantage. Abigail Williams falsely accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, inflicting chaos on the normally uninterrupted routine of the Proctor household. The actions of the three main characters, John and Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams, have a domino effect on each other and everyone around them.
Elizabeth Proctor possesses numerous qualities that add depth to her character. She has an uncanny ability for …show more content…
Williams was motivated by greed and she wasn’t afraid to hurt others to get what she wanted. After Williams seduced Proctor while she was a servant for his household, she soon fell head over heels for him. Williams didn’t like that another woman, Elizabeth Proctor, got to call him “hers.” In hopes to get her out of the picture Williams falsely accuses Elizabeth Proctor, as well as many other citizens of Salem, of witchcraft. This lie ultimately puts Elizabeth Proctor and many others in jail, some of them being executed. Williams showed absolutely no remorse for her actions. Williams was also one that hated being center of attention. Proctor took her to court and Deputy Governor Danforth began to question her. One of the questions being about lechery with Proctor. Surprisingly when Danforth asked Williams about lechery with Proctor she said; “If I have to answer that question I will leave and never come back.” Williams, in the end, did run away after pilfering her uncle 's money. If Williams couldn’t answer Danforth’s question about lechery with Proctor, how did she expect to be the next Elizabeth Proctor? Williams always evaded accusations so she never had to take responsibility for actions. To shift the attention from Danforth’s questioning, she claimed she saw spectral evidence in the form of a yellow bird. Mary Warren, another character in the play, was on Williams side in the beginning. …show more content…
Committing lechery with Williams, started a terrible series of events. Williams, unfortunately, fell head over heels for Proctor following the affair. At the time of the affair, John Proctor didn’t know it would lead to Williams accusing his wife Elizabeth Proctor. After Williams accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, Proctor relinquished the feelings he still had for Williams. Once he realized the effects of his actions, he did everything in his power to get his wife out of jail and clear her name. In the process, Proctor confessed to lechery, ruining his reputation. When Proctor confessed this to Danforth, Elizabeth Proctor’s name was mentioned. Proctor said to Danforth “My wife saw a harlot before I did”, when he explained to Danforth why his wife kicked Williams out of their household. Knowing Elizabeth Proctor would never tell a lie, Danforth asked Elizabeth Proctor about Williams. Against her morals, Elizabeth Proctor lied in order to protect her husband. This situation was incredibly ironic because the one time Elizabeth Proctor lies it backfired. Proctor was an unselfish man and quick to put others before himself. Proctor not only tried to prove the innocence of his wife, but also to his friends and citizens of Salem who were also falsely accused of witchcraft. In the process of protecting everyone else, Proctor