“Who Is Really To Blame?”
In The Crucible, there are many occasions in which people are harmed, both physically and emotionally. In some cases, people were injured and even killed, and in other instances, people’s emotions were damaged. Many people died after a series of accusations, lies, and harsh acts of jealousy during the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 1600s. In The Crucible, Abigail is the obvious villain in the play. She is a cruel and malicious girl who will do anything to get her way and keep herself out of trouble. For that reason, Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths of those innocent Puritans who died during the witch hunt.
The first reason Abigail Williams is to blame for the deaths of those during the witch hunts is jealousy. Abigail is lustful of John Proctor, which ultimately begins the hysteria in this play. Although John made an attempt to tell Abigail that the affair is over, she still desperately tried to keep the romance alive. This is shown when John Proctor states, “Abby, 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” (Miller 23). Because of this jealousy, there is a lot of tension between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife. Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse because she thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her.
Later into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. Abigail also accused Elizabeth of stabbing her with a needle. Because of all of this tension, this shows that Abigail was in fact jealousy and that is the first reason why she is to blame for the deaths.
Abigail was once found dancing in the woods with many of the other girls. After the girls were caught, Abigail was in fear of her life because she knew that if someone else was not blamed, she would be accused and killed. Abigail Williams tried everything to avoid being blamed. Abigail was
Cited: Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.