Abigail Williams: Evil or Damned? Jacqueline Wong English 12 W. McGee 28 April 2013 Abigail Williams: Evil or Damned? Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, is a controversial piece of literature for many reasons, particularly the portrayal of female characters – specifically Abigail Williams. In the play, Abigail is portrayed as a villainous character that appears to be driven by a deeply rooted grudge towards the Proctor family, as her love for John Proctor is unattainable.
As the play progresses, Abigail’s character, as well as the girls of Salem, holds power over the town.The Crucible’s portrayal of Abigail is a typical stereotype of a femme fatale in order to proclaim virtues that Miller believed to be universal. Prior to the events that lead Abigail Williams head the witch-hunt, Miller does not provide much about her personality or her story besides her young age. Historically, Abigail is only eleven years old, which Miller alters in The Crucible to allow for the femme fatale traits to help in the motivation for the hunt. Her ambitious personality due to the grudge towards Proctor influences the way in which she manipulates the power that is given to her.Without this historically inaccurate change in her age, Miller would not have been able to create a strong plot to drive the witch-hunt.
Not only is her age of importance, but also the fact that she is female is a large reason behind the success of the story of The Crucible. In a society where women have no authority whatsoever, Abigail drastically changes the situation, taking advantage of power given to her, and allowing the rest of the girls to thrive in it as well. This advantageousness on Abigail and the girls’ part should not be regarded as greed or selfishness but intelligent.When the men are unable to do something they are left to rely on the works of the women, forming an unappreciated dependence on them – whether it is to have food on the table or to find witches. Men are left helpless and have to believe whatever is given to them.
Joseph Valente states in his essay, Rehearsing the Witch Trials: Gender Injustice in The Crucible: The weapons employed in this ideological struggle are the familiar ones: an inculcation of women's innate moral, mental and physical inferiority and the idealization of women in their role as attentive wife and mother.In an unusually overt manner, the Puritan mother/witch complex was being used as an ideological carrot and stick, in order to effect a reversion to traditional sex roles no less abrupt than the departure from them. (Joseph Valente) Miller also brings the audience back to the Bible’s original sin – the story of Adam and Eve. Wendy Schissel defends this idea, stating that the girls are the “inheritors of Eve’s sin,” and their bodies are their “reminders” (Wendy Schissel). At this time, Salem, being a very religious place, women, with the few exceptions of a couple of males are the most accused of witchcraft and any other devilish deeds.
In the story of Adam and Eve, it is Eve who is coaxed into taking the forbidden fruit and then convincing Adam to eat it as well, proving her disloyalty to God. The depiction of females being the embodiment of evil and having association with the devil and witchcraft is evident in Miller’s portrayal of the women of The Crucible. Not unlike other people, or creatures, Abigail’s manipulative and defensive nature is only presented when she feels threatened or angered. Her gentleness and vulnerability were visible when she encountered John Proctor alone on multiple occasions.Abigail is a clever character, but has mostly proven to act only upon self-defense. Jean-Marie Bonnet states that Abigail makes use of language as a way of “ensuring her own safety” (Jean-Marie Bonnet).
Her one desire being John Proctor, Abigail is victimized by the lust she suppresses. A double standard has been set in the relationship between Abigail and John Proctor as Abigail is looked down upon but John is believed to have little to no fault in acting upon the affair. Abigail being blamed for the affair shows that women are portrayed as evil and manipulative whereas men are the victims.Due to the fact that women were seen to be the lesser of genders, it is Abigail who was accused with adultery.
When a threat is near her, Abigail finds someone else to place blame on to remove herself from what she sees as danger. In Act I, she expertly accuses Tituba and some of Salem’s citizens of being responsible for performing witchcraft. Abigail succeeds only because she is of slightly higher rank in the hierarchy, which Salem held at that time. Abigail proves to be a ruthless and cunning antagonist, doing whatever she must to fulfill her selfish desire for John Proctor.
In Act III, Abigail loses the last of her humanity as she damns John Proctor, the reason for the revolution, to jail and eventually death. Abigail’s selfish impulses have much to do with her young age. Valente communicates that as Proctor tries to deter Abigail, he addresses her as “child,” which changes the nature of their relationship (Joseph Valente). The referral of Abigail as a child brings the audience’s attention back to the fact that Abigail’s age has been changed from the historically correct age of eleven years old to a more mature age of seventeen and how it aids in the portrayal of Abigail being a femme fatale.However, many, if not all, teenaged girls act upon impulses with little to no considerations of the possible ramifications, and Abigail is no exception. Arthur Miller’s portrayal of Abigail as being a vixen, and characterization as a stereotypical femme fatale reveals his opinion on the female gender, stirring up much controversy mainly over whether or not the main antagonist, Abigail, is truly wicked.
Abigail’s resentment towards John and Elizabeth Proctor fuels the inclination and determination for the destruction that is the Salem Witch Trial.As a young girl, Abigail has only her emotions to lead her through situations, resulting in a purely impulsive and selfish cause for the revolution in Salem. Abigail Williams has proven to be a selfish, manipulative, cunning, and ruthless character as she spread fallacious lies across Salem out of her lustful desire for John Proctor. Abigail’s actions can and are seen as evil, but she herself is not.
The controversy over Abigail being evil is proven otherwise by showing that her changed age and how Miller depicts women in general plays a great role in causing the audience to believe selfish desire and immaturity in women is the root of evil.Works Cited Bonnet, Jean-Marie. “Society vs. the Individual in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible” Drama Criticism. Vol. 31.
Detroit: Gale. From Literature Resource Center. English Studies 63. 1 1982: p32-36. Schissel, Wendy. “Re(dis)covering the Witches in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible: A Feminist Reading” Drama Criticism.
Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale. From Literature Resource Center. Modern Drama 37. 3 1994: p461-473.
Valente, Joseph. “Rehearsing the Witch Trials: Gender Injustice in The Crucible” Drama Criticism. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale.
From Literature Resource Center. Legal Fictions . 32 1997: p120-134.
