She soon manages to turn these allegations around, and asks her uncle, “Do you begrudge my bed?” Here we are seeing the manipulative side of her character, and her ability to influence what those around her think and do. As an audience, at this stage we have a mixed opinion of Abigail, and are unsure whether to like or dislike her. We still feel sorry for her because of her background, but at the same time we see the effects that her controlling and dominating nature can have on those around her.
In the next scene, we see the complete control that Abigail has over her peers and the other girls her age in Salem. She is threatening towards Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis, “I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down…” which shows her ability to bully the others into not telling the truth, she also makes them feel intimidated because she commands them to obey her, “tell them we danced….no more” her authority is clearly outlined here, the others are scared since they are aware that if they refuse, they will suffer dire consequences.
This Scene is important for the audience because there is an instance of dramatic irony. Clearly, as an audience we know that Abigail has manipulated the other girls into playing along with her story, but as soon as the adults enter the room again, her tone changes and she is back to being her innocent and naive self. This is distressing for the audience as we know what has gone on behind the scenes, and what the true nature of Betty’s illness is, whereas Parris and John Proctor are somewhat unaware.
Miller has also given the character of Abigail Williams a caring and passionate side, this becomes evident when we see her infatuation with John Proctor. Again the audience is made to feel compassionate towards her as it is plainly obvious John, being the older man, has just used her for an affair and does not want anything more to do with her. Proctor says, “ill not be coming for you no more” and it is clear Abigail is being shunned. Abigail does not recognize this however, and says to John, “you loved me then and you do now,” it is as if she can’t accept the fact that Proctor no longer wants anything to do with her. As an audience we feel pity for Abigail at this stage, as she seems young and naïve, and in love with Proctor.
Further on, we see Abigail’s ability to divert the blame from herself yet again. She has the power and skill to turn the accusations towards Tituba, a defenceless slave, whose first language is not English. This makes Tituba more vulnerable, and Abigail recognises this so aptly turns the blame on to her in order to protect her own innocence. As soon as the adults question her, “did you call the devil last night?” she pounces on Tituba. “I never called him! Tituba, Tituba!” She is quick to defend herself and would rather somebody else take the blame rather than herself. We feel sorry for Tituba because at this stage we know what the character of Abigail Williams is like, and the affect this character can have on those around her. She is always blaming someone else.
Tituba is bullied into making a confession of witchcraft and dealing with the Devil, because she knows that if she doesn’t take responsibility for the dancing in the woods, she will lose her life. On the other hand, if she accepts responsibility for the girl’s actions, then she will be allowed to live. At first she denies the allegations, “I don’t truck with no Devil…I don’t compact with no Devil” but soon realises Abigail is much more crafty than herself, and has the power to make Hale believe whatever she says. It is obvious Abigail is not going to give up until she is off the hook, so Tituba succumbs, “I tell him I don’t desire to work for him…”. As soon as Tituba confesses, Abigail has no problem in offering other accusations and admits to being forced to dancing with the Devil in the forest.
Soon afterwards, Betty wakes up, and joins in the chant condemning supposed witches in Salem. “I saw Sarah Good….I saw Goody Osburn…I saw Bridget Bishop…” Abigail knows that since Tituba has taken the blame rather than herself, she is free to accuse others. It is obvious that Abigail is presenting herself as an innocent and redirecting the blame towards others in Salem.
During Act two, we begin to see the huge impact that the character of Abigail is having on the other people in Salem. She is continuing to accuse innocents of witchcraft, and when Mary Warren comes home from her job in court, to the Proctor household, where she works as a maid, we find out that Elizabeth Proctor has been accused of witchcraft. Although Mary Warren doesn’t tell us at once who the accuser is, the audience’s mind immediately jumps to Abigail, as we find out earlier in the play that Abigail thinks Goody Proctor is a “gossiping liar.” Miller has us see the first time we meet Elizabeth Proctor, that she is extremely honest and truthful. Proctor also enhances this when he says, “Elizabeth your justice would freeze beer!” As an audience we can see that Elizabeth has a negative opinion of Abigail, possibly because of her affair with her husband. She says, “Where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel”. Here Elizabeth is referring to Abigail, and she makes constant reference to her throughout the scene, almost questioning her husband’s faithfulness. In a sense, Abigail is bringing tension to their marriage.
It soon becomes clear that Abigail is charging many people within the village with witchcraft. Cheever confirms the Proctor’s and the audience’s suspicions about Abigail charging Elizabeth and we also find out the significance of the poppet given to Elizabeth by Mary. A poppet was seen as linked to the Devil, and the fact that the poppet had a needle contained in it, however harmless, was significant for the court officials and Reverend Hale. Abigail is playing up the drama even more by stabbing herself at the dinner table. Although the other characters think that a spirit (Elizabeth’s) pushed the needle into Abigail, the audience know better, as we know what Abigail is really like.
Abigail’s control over her peers becomes apparent again when we see at the end of this scene how terrified Mary Warren is of what Abigail will do to her if she accuses her. During Act Three, despite the fact that Abigail is much younger than those questioning her, she still manages to manipulate the court officials into believing her side of the story. She makes out that Mary is the guilty one, not her. She is denying Mary’s innocence to Judge Hathorne when she says, “A wind, a cold wind has come,” whilst staring at Mary Warren. She continues to lie and divert the blame from herself all through this scene by denying any accusations brought against her. She even gets the other girls to assist in pretending that Mary has sent out her spirit by repeating anything that Mary says.
John Proctor and Giles are two of the very few that have seen through Abigail, and her defiant ways. They know she is guilty and try their best t have her convicted. They seem to be getting somewhere until Elizabeth protects her husband and denies his and Abigail’s affair, rather than telling the truth as her character would normally have done. Unfortunately this presents John Proctor as the wrong doer and vindicates Abigail’s case.
The final Act shows the damage that has been done to the people of Salem as a result of the witchcraft trials and accusations. Abigail and Mercy run away, a suggestion that they recognise their wrong doings, and the negative affect they have had on others. Many innocent people are hanged, and it is not until many are dead that the remaining people of Salem realise that they need to change their ways.
The play, “The Crucible” is an effective way of showing the hysteria linked to witchcraft around 1692. Miller also wrote the play as a way of making his political comment through the events in Salem. In his opinion, witchcraft was wrong in Salem and communism was wrong in America, this was going on around the time when Miller wrote the play, in 1950.
Sociology is an important theme throughout the play. Abigail is almost a hypocrite, she has so many different sides to her character. She has the ability to control, overrule and manipulate, and as an audience we can see throughout the play she is constantly showing her ability to dissemble, to get into the minds of those around her, and influence their actions. Miller has been successful in creating a character that has the power to deceive everyone, and her domineering nature is portrayed continually throughout the play.
