The Nature of Abigail’s Villainy in The Crucible

A dynamic antagonist, Abigail Williams from Arthur moth millers The Crucible is a great example of how a character can be molded by personal desires and a works setting to become a villain. Seemingly innocent, orphaned adolescent Abigail ultimately causes hysteria in the town of capital of Oregon from her frivolity and selfishness. The reasoning and origins of Abigails malice demonstrate the settings influence on the inhabitants of Salem during the 1962 witch trials. Abigail is introduced as Parris niece.At the beginning of the play, Arthur Miller provides what might be an explanation to the start of Abigails needy nature as she relays the story of how she became orphaned to her friends. Abigail explains that she witnessed her parents being killed by indians when she was a child. This harsh retiring(a) and lack of a good authority male figure (Parris is a character that is extremely paranoid and obsessed with his reputation definitely not fatherlike or nurturing) explains her init ial attraction to John Proctor her older, married, employer before the play begins. Abigails affair with Proctor is the fundamental start of the witch trials.Had she never had the affair, shed never have fallen for Proctor, therefore she wouldnt want to kill his wife in order to have him back. The Puritan way of thinking and strict religious system in Salem paved the way for a villain to arise. Abigails villainy is significant because it helps the reader become familiarized with the environs of Salem Massachusetts, the Christian religion it thrived off of, and how these combined ultimately caused the witch trials. The people who practiced this intense Christianity had no spiritual method to relinquish guilt feelings for their sins.In turn, this led to the people of Salem having to find their own outlets for their guilt. Along with the stress of guilt, the individuals of Salem have to worry about the constant need to raise themselves adequate for the confederacy. Reputation is ex tremely important, and being associated with anti-christ figures and ideas is completely unacceptable. These stresses combined raise the perfect type of people for Abigail to use to aid her in her plan to rid of Elizabeth. aft(prenominal) practicing witch craft with her, Abigails friends feel guilty for the sin. Abigails failure to feel guilt or this (or either of other sin she commits throughout the play) is what attains her success is causing havoc in Salem. After being name out for their anti-Christian activities in the woods, Abigail begins accusing other random people in the community of witchcraft. The other girls follow suit, shuffling their guilt to someone else to feel self assurance. By accusing other people the girls felt they had retrieved innocence. In a palpate Abigail was able to use her friends without them noticing. Through her manipulation shows malevolence. Of course, Abigail didnt mean to cause so much conflict.She only wanted one person dead Elizabeth. Had s he not began accusing other people of witch craft to save her name, the problem wouldnt have blown up to epic proportions. This doesnt make her any less of a villain, however. Many of the townspeople were hanged because of her selfishness. Her naivety and fervent want for Proctor blinded her from consequences. Covering up herself snowballed to her friends and then out into the community. This is particularly provoke because in any other setting the word of these girls wouldnt even be considered let alone used as solid judgement in court.Abigails success in causing death to innocents in the community, despite her age and insignificant role in the community, further exemplifies the atmosphere of the Puritan religion. After analyzing Abigails character one can learn much about the behavior of other people as well. Everyone has desires that they wish to obtain. Some obstacles must be overcome in order to achieve these. Due to Abigails villainy conceit many people suffered. Not only wer e lives lost, but she never found the peace she wished for with Proctor. Its important to realize that there are consequences for neglecting the well being of others for self gain.