The Devil’s magic was taking place during the 1690’s in Salem, Massachusetts that cost a lot of people their lives. Witchcraft was not allowed during that time due to it being a Christian time period. In the play, The Crucible Abigail Williams was a seventeen year old girl who watched her parents get murdered at a young age and she also cost a lot of people their lives just to get a man that she was after. Abby tried everything she could to get John Proctor. John Proctor is a married man who Abigail is in love with. He has a big part in the play as well due to him sleeping with Abby. Abigail Williams claims to be an ordinary girl but has spread the infection of evil considering her part she had in the Salem Witch Trials.
Abigail did not seem like a true friend but that didn’t bother her as long as she didn’t get in trouble. Abby was the type of person to turn her back on a lot of her friends and others around her like Tituba and Betty Warren. In the play, the girls were caught dancing in the woods by Abbys uncle, Reverend Parris and he later mentioned it to someone else since that kind of behavior was not allowed. When the girls started to get questioned, most of them wanted to confess to what they all did but Abigail refused to let that happen. When Abby was questioned about Tituba making Abby drink blood Tituba mentions that it was not human blood that it was chicken blood. Abby turned her back on Tituba and said “She comes to me every night to go and drink blood!” (Miller 847). Abigail doesn’t care about other people due to the fact that if she can cover her own actions to get other people in trouble then she will. Betty Parris is another victim to Abigail’s evil ways which Betty is the reason the town started to get involved and investigate. Betty would pretend to be asleep which made everyone think she was seriously ill from the event that took place in the woods. Betty did not want to pretend anymore so Betty woke up and instantly accused Abigail of drinking blood when no adults were around. In the play Abigail said to Betty and the other girls that were in the room “Shut it! Now shut it! Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this—let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring my pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it. I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Now you… sit up and stop this! (Miller 837). Abigail knows Betty is wanting to confess but she threatens her along with the others that if they tell then she will hurt them. If all of the girls would of got together without Abigail and told the courts that this is all Abby’s doings then all of this could have been easily avoided but they were scared of what Abigail would do to them. This proves that Abigail is turning her ordinary friends into evil since they could have easily stopped this all by telling someone. Instead they went and followed Abigail’s evilness to protect themselves due to her threatening them if they told.
The main event that started it all was John Proctor’s affair with Abigail. John stopped sleeping with Abigail as he knew it wasn’t a smart thing to do to his wife. John then figured out that Abigail was the main person behind all of this to get Elizabeth dead and get John to herself. John says to Abigail “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. Wipe it out of mind we never touched, Abby” (Miller 839). John doesn’t want anything to do with her since he is realizing that Abby is basically corrupting everyone around her to get him to herself. After John and Abby’s talk Mary Warren made a poppet in the courts and came to the Proctor’s home to give it to Elizabeth which Abby watched Mary make it. Reverend Hale along with a few others came to the Proctor’s and discovered a poppet and questioned Elizabeth about where, how, and why she has a poppet in her home. Abigail was upset that John had mentioned to her that he did not want to see her anymore. This caused Abby to stab her own self to make it look like the poppet in the Proctor’s house was Elizabeth’s spirit. A needle was found stuck in the poppet that was nearly in the same spot that Abby stabbed her own self in. Cheever says “The girl, the Williams girl, Abigail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’ house tonight, and without word nor warnin, she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly he draw a needle out. And demandin of her how she come to be so stabbed, she… testify it were your wife’s familiar spirit pushed it in”(Miller 859). Abigail is a selfish girl that does crazy things to try to get what she wants. John ended things that caused Abigail to pin Elizabeth to stabbing her and that resulted into Elizabeth getting arrested and questioned for witchcraft. If John would have never slept with Abigail then no one would be in this position because John is a married man who knows that what he has done is in the ten commandments. This proves that they did not care about how their actions would affect others in Salem.
Due to Abigail’s jealousy and actions a lot of deaths in the town had happened. Giles Corey was a victim of being pressed to death due to him telling the courts that his wife read a lot of strange books but didn’t mean anything by it. To the courts apparently reading a lot of books meant witchcraft to them which resulted into Giles getting questioned but he would not say anything about his wife. John asked Elizabeth about what happened to Giles and Elizabeth says to John “He were not hanged. He would not answer ay or nay to his indictment; for if he denied the charge they’d hang him surely, and auction out his property. So he stand mute, and died Christian under the law” (Miller 883). Giles Corey in most people’s eyes was a brave man that died for his wife and his land. Giles death proves that Abigail spreading evil in the town caused Giles life to protect his wife and land. A death that no one saw coming was John Proctor’s but, he died to save his name to keep it the way it was before all of the witchcraft started happening. Abigail caused John’s death by starting all this as once again she did not want John with Elizabeth. John was arrested to confessing to the court that he slept with Abigail to get his wife released from jail. During that process John sat in jail for three months, before dying he was given one more chance to confess to what he did. John confessed and signed a paper to show proof that he did but John then changed his mind and ripped the paper that had proof he confessed but his name was more important to him. In the play John says “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life. Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name” (Miller 886). John’s name was more important to him than his own life. John would rather keep a good reputation on his name then to be belittled by signing his name on a piece of paper. Abigail caused this because she did not have to go to the extremes to have John to herself when in the end she would of never had him. John was hanged as a brave man to others in the town and to his wife Elizabeth. This proves that John died due to Abigail starting all of the witchcraft which caused a lot of people to get accused of doing witchcraft. John did not practice witchcraft but died since he lied to protect his wife. The end result of this is that Abigail ended up not getting John in the long run due to her starting all of this evil and turning everyone against each other just to have John.
Abigail Williams claimed to be an ordinary person but has spread the infection of evil because of her part in The Salem Witch Trials. Abigail treated the other girls unfairly and threatened them if they dared to tell the courts. Abigail did this because she wanted Elizabeth dead and John who is a married man to herself. Hundreds of people’s lives were taken due to Abigail not getting what she wanted which caused all of the witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. This matters due to the fact that Abigail should not put other people’s lives in jeopardy for her not getting what she was after. Everyone should take into consideration on how different times were in the 1600’s rather than how times are today. People today can get away with a lot more than they would back then.