Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Why is the crucible titled The Crucible? Ben Davis May 26, Why is the crucible titled The Crucible? How is the title crucible symbolism? What is the significance and or symbolism of the title of the crucible? What is the meaning of crucible in the title of the play what kind of play does this title lead you to expect? Is Proctor in love with Abigail? What motivates Tituba to suggest that someone else is bewitching the children?
What reason does Abigail give Parris for her discharge as the Proctors servant? Why does Abigail confess to witchcraft knowing that it is punishable?
To answer this question, you can discuss how the two women's relationships with John change over time, their actions to protect or not protect John, and their feelings about John and themselves do they really care about John, or are they just trying to cement their social positions? Use the information in the above analysis about Abigail to bolster your comparison.
Portraits of two women , used under CC BY 2. Over the course of The Crucible , Abigail goes from having basically no power to having the most power of anyone in Salem. She starts out one step higher than Tituba: an orphaned, teenaged, girl who has been fired from her job and is being given a bad reputation around town by her former employer, basically living on her uncle's charity.
By Act 3, Abigail is the head of the "afflicted children," powerful enough that she can threaten Danforth, the Deputy Governor of the Province, and get away with it:. Danforth; I have seen my blood runnin' out! I have been near to murdered every day because I done my duty pointing out the Devil's people—and this is my reward?
To be mistrusted, denied, questioned like a—. Think you to be so mighty that the power of Hell may not turn your wits? Beware of it! Abigail talks back to Danforth in court, and rather than yelling at her, he weakens in his own conviction. She then follows this up with a not-so-veiled threat that underscores her power—if he crosses Abigail, maybe he'll find himself accused of witchcraft. Even though in Act 4 Parris reveals to Danforth that Abigail is a runaway thief, that is not enough to diminish her power—those who she accused of being witches are still set to hang.
Abigail also changes from having a questionable reputation to unimpeachable reputation and then back to having a tarnished reputation over the course of the play. In Act 1, Parris tells Abigail that her former employer, Elizabeth Proctor, "comes so rarely to church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled" Act 1, p.
By the time Act 2 rolls around, Abigail's reputation has soared to such heights that she's treated like Moses a Biblical prophet.
As Elizabeth Proctor states:. Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel" Act 2, p. In Act 3, Abigail's reputation is strong enough that John Proctor's accusations of her being a whore since she slept with a married man aren't automatically believed, even though ordinarily the word of an upright male citizen like John Proctor would certainly be taken over that of a teenage orphan girl.
In Act 4 it's revealed that Abigail has run away and stolen money from her uncle and so her reputation takes a hit in her absence , but since she is no longer in Salem, it doesn't really matter for her.
Abigail's goals seem to change over the course of the play. In Act 1, it's clear that she is still very much attracted to John Proctor and wants to be with him: she nervously laughs the first time he speaks to her very much a teenager in the midst of an infatuation , and is physically affected by his presence:. Part of her desire to marry John Proctor may be to improve her social standing, but at this point in the play, Abigail still seems to care about John Proctor and want to be with HIM, not just some random guy although, of course, Miller's told us that she has an "endless capacity for dissembling," so who knows if we can trust her.
As I mentioned in the "motivations" section, it's harder to tell what Abigail's reasons for this are because it's other people talking about her actions, rather than firsthand knowledge. Proctor and his wife seem pretty sure that Abigail's motives are to replace Elizabeth Proctor:. So it's unclear whether her motives are out of lust and love for John, wanting to improve her social standing, or wanting to get revenge on Elizabeth for sullying her name, but Abigail's intentions to get rid of Elizabeth, at least, are clear.
By Act 3, however, Abigail cares more about holding onto the power she already has than about John Proctor. We know this because when Mary Warren accuses John Proctor of being "the Devil's man," Abigail makes no move to deny it.
Instead, she and the rest of girls echo Parris's "Praise God! So do you think Abigail really loves John? Why or why not?
What evidence from the play can you find to support your argument? Finally, the extent to which Abigail is affected by the hysteria seems to change during the course of the play. Part of the reason for this is that after the first act, the audience is no longer privy to Abigail's thought processes since she no longer is talking in confidence to friends or Proctor, but instead is taking very public actions and making public statements in the courthouse.
Abigail stares in fright at Betty. Abby, she's going to die! It's a sin to conjure, and we-" Act 1, p. By Act 3, however, it's no longer clear exactly how much Abigail is faking the fright and fits. The argument can certainly be made that she and the other girls are trying to intimidate Mary Warren into retracting her statements about them lying.
Abigail does, however, appear to show at least some physical manifestation of her distress which is harder to fake :. Of course, you might argue that Hathorne is feeling what he expected to feel, or that Abigail has such control over her body that she is able to cause her temperature to drop because of psychosomatic processes.
Equally possible, though, is that she, like Mary, has been caught up in the hysteria and to some extent believes that she is being attacked by supernatural forces, and so it's an unconscious link between mind and body causing her to have cold hands. In the fourth Act, we learn Abigail has stolen all of Parris's savings and run away with Mercy Lewis, which does imply that she's reverted to form and that this whole being-attacked-by-witches thing was just a hoax.
We don't really have enough information about Abigail's thinking, however, to say for sure if she never believed in witches, or if there was a brief period during which she, too, got caught up in the witch hunt hysteria.
I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar! Abigail is extremely upset that this gossip is going around town and that her uncle knows about it, so she hurries to defend her name with much exclamation, calling Goody Proctor a liar to offset the damage. The irony of Abigail, consummate liar, calling someone else a liar repeats throughout the play, including in the next quote:.
In this case, the irony of Abigail accusing someone else of lying is enhanced by the stage directions: not only is Abigail calling Mary a liar, but she's doing so in a tone that implies Abigail is offended Mary would ever think to say such a thing about her.
In reality, of course, it's Abigail who is the shameless liar. The "shameless" descriptor ties in well to the final quote:. Danforth cannot speak. I'll not have such looks! She turns and starts for the door. By this point in the play, Abigail has gained enough authority that she feels empowered to tell the Deputy Governor of the Province, to his face, that she won't put up with him giving her suspicious looks. This is a big change from her previous position in Salem society, where she was dependent on the charity of her uncle, Reverend Parris especially after she was fired by Elizabeth Proctor.
Need to get a better understanding of the other characters in the play? Read our complete guide to and analysis of all the characters in The Crucible. Confused about the actions Abigail takes in the context of The Crucible? We've got plot summaries for the acts she appears in. How does Abigail's character fit into the greater themes of The Crucible? Delve into the themes of The Crucible with this article. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score.
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How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. The first thing we learn about Abigail courtesy of Miller's introductory character description is that she is young and gorgeous: " Abigail Williams, seventeen…a strikingly beautiful girl " Act 1, p. Relationships Abigail has important—and often contentious—relationships with the other characters, many of which directly shape the action of the play.
Abigail and Elizabeth have a mutual dislike, although the feeling is much stronger on Abigail's side than Elizabeth's since Abigail eventually ends up accusing Elizabeth of being a witch : "It's a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman! The Parris Family Abigail is also Reverend Parris's niece and so Betty Parris's cousin ; she lives with the Parris family because her parents were killed by a local American Indian tribe.
Do you understand that? HALE, quickly : What jumped in? Tituba, Tituba Shaking Betty : Betty, wake up. Abigail Williams is a manipulative evil person throughout The Crucible; she can be characterized as manipulative because she influences the girls. Trials, as we now know them. These actions are what playwright Arthur Miller covers in his play The Crucible; clearly, the literary character Abigail Williams emerges to manipulate the Puritanical society of Salem using their superstition.
The Salem Witch Trials of the late s were mass killings, directed by a group of young women. This retelling features Abigail Williams, a smart and malicious girl, who wants John Proctor to be hers and only hers. But John Proctor, despite sleeping with Abigail once remains loyal to his wife. This makes Abigail curious on how to take his wife out of the picture. She tends to be decisive but makes the wrong decisions. She hurts others around her to get what she wants.
Abigail thinks very highly of herself and that she can do no wrong. All of her actions are due to her affair with John Proctor. When the Salem trials broke ground Abigail was confident however as they began to demise she seemed like a coward.
Abigail Williams was a woman longing for power. The devastating Salem witch trials occurred between February and May By the end of the trials many people were accused, nineteen were executed and several more died in prison. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, captures the hysteria that developed during the Salem witch trials.
Crucible character, Abigail Williams, represents the repressed desires that many of the Puritans possess. Abigail Williams uses manipulation and cruelty to create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation in her town.
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