Paschke 1 Evan Paschke Mrs. Graham and Ms. Thomas English III CP Febuary 17, 2023 Abigail Williams: The Tragedy of Power According to Oxford Languages, power (n.) is “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” Every person holds power, and their power can change depending on their environment. Power is a daily part of everyday life but giving too much power to a given person can create tragic consequences. This is the case for the town of Salem in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 1690s. In this story, a small group of girls 'cry out' against other people in the town, accusing them of witchcraft, in an attempt to cover up their dabblings in the occult. This group of girls is led by the main antagonist, Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is Parris’ niece and former servant for the Proctors. John Proctor subsequently fires Abigail after having adultery affairs. With that in mind, Abigail uses the accusations of witchcraft to instruct the girls to pretend to see spirits. Therefore gaining the power to eliminate Elizabeth Proctor in hopes she can become John Proctor’s wife. Abigail Williams has the greatest resolve, authority, and capability-making her the strongest catalyst for the devastating acts in The Crucible. Main characters in most media have a resolve or driving force to push them. Abigail’s love for John Proctor, and their affair, created an obsession for her. In Act One Abigail voices, “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!” (Miller 22). Abigail loves John Proctor and wants him to love her even if their affair is seen as a sin. Abigail portrays her emotions toward John as she will do anything to Paschke 2 be with him. Abigail’s driving force is her love for John and the possibility she can get rid of his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. This Salem girl, now accusing others of witchcraft, can accuse her lover’s wife. Abigail can take Elizabeth out of the picture but could she do it alone? Power is in numbers. The more people come together, the more likely they are to achieve something great or devastating. Mary Warren utters fearfully, “Mr. Proctor, very likely they’ll let her come home once they’re given proper evidence…She’ll kill me for sayin’ that! Abby’ll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!” (Miller 80). Abigail has sought out the help of the other girls in Salem, increasing the amount of “witnesses” she has. This quote is declared in Act Two after Elizabeth is taken to prison for dealings with the devil. John Proctor, now upset, Marry Warren hints that she knows Abigail and the girls are lying. She soon regrets her statement in fear that Abigail has grown too much in power. Marry Warren is worried that if she admits the lies not only Marry will be thrown in jail but also John. Does Abigail still have the strength to finish what she started, even though it could endanger her friend and lover? Every person holds a different capacity for unique things. In this story, Abigail holds the capability to not only hurt the people who care about her but also herself. Cheever states in Act Two, “ The girl, the Williams girl, Abi-gail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s 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 74). This reveals that Abigail is willing to burn her whole town to the ground and herself just to get her way. Abigail is engulfed with power to the point she doesn’t even know what to do with it. Abigail can’t keep up with the demands this new status brings. She has fully convinced herself of her own lie. Abigail Williams used herself as a catalyst to accomplish her goal but in doing so corrupted herself to the point of no return. At the end of the play, we can see that the town has lost so many citizens that it can barely function. Farm animals are everywhere and crops are barely tended. The audience never Paschke 3 gets to see if Abigail regrets what she did or even moved on. The Crucible shows the responsibility of power and ends with the aftermath of Abigail Williams. Paschke 4 Works Cited Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts / Arthur Miller. Penguin Books, 2003.
