The relationship shown between John Proctor and Abigail is very different to other living in the same community/village during that time. Salem being a very religious town, it is really hard for Abigail and John Proctor to be together. John Proctor who is considered to be very handsome and dashing is in a committed relationship with Elizabeth Proctor who also happens to be his bitter-half. John & Abigail have been hiding their “alleged” affair from the town of Salem because even though John and Elizabeth are together, John “used” Abigail when he needed it most. That is a severe crime in the Salem community, not that he committed adultery but he committed it with a servant working in that house. John Proctor later on in the story doesn’t show any feeling towards her but Abigail contradicts him and tells him “I have a sense for heat, john, and yours has drawn me to my window, and I have seen you looking up, burning in your loneliness. Do you tell me you’ve never looked up at my window?” John did look up to her window once and that was when his wife was sick and he was in desperate need to take away his loneliness, but then Proctor doesn’t take much time to prove her wrong as he mentions “Abby by I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched Abby” which basically means he does have feeling for Abigail but he cannot afford this news to be all over Salem village as he is unknown to the villagers of Salem and wants to keep it that way. Another reason why he wants this issue to stay put is because; John Proctor loves his wife and doesn’t want to betray her again. He did it once and he shall not do it again. He has children who look up to him as a role model and John the father of the children getting into such alleged affairs will surely not help the children at all. Even though John has told Abigail to keep her mouth shut, there is a slim chance that she will! As she mentions this “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet” John is pretending not to care about Abigail, but it doesn’t look the same with Abigail. Does it?
Abigail and john’s relationship is dangerous due to a few reasons. Firstly because if John was to give a statement or confess in court that Abigail is guilty for witchcraft then it would affect John more than Abigail, as John and Abigail have had some “fun time” together in the past and if she says anything in court regarding this “Alleged” affair then John’s relationship with Elizabeth will be over. It’s a Win Win situation for Abigail because in the end she will have John all for herself, and all the respect for john in Salem village will be gone. The second reason is that Abigail is a very manipulative and a bitchy woman and she is always begs John to “pity” her and make love to her one more time, as if she hasn’t learned a lesson getting caught once by John’s wife red handed, After all a woman should know her limits.
Abigail also pleads to Reverend Hale that “I never sold myself! I’m a good girl! I’m a proper girl!” which is not at all true, she might be a girl but she isn’t a good one for sure.
So john proctor breaking it off with Abigail in the end doesn’t seem like a bad decision to me. I would do the same thing, but I am not John proctor unfortunately (he’s the one with the two ladies). Jokes apart, John made the right choice, Abigail didn’t deserve him.