Abigail Williams' Motivation in The Crucible

Abigail Williams' Drive in The Crucible

In Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible," Abigail Williams is a character whose actions cause chaos in Salem. But why does she do what she does? Well, it turns out she's got a bunch of reasons for her behavior. One big one is her hunger for power and control. Let’s dive into Abigail's motivations and see how they lead to the mess in Salem. By looking at what drives Abigail, we can understand more about the themes of power and manipulation in "The Crucible."

Abigail's Thirst for Power

Right from the start, you can tell Abigail wants power. When folks ask her about what happened in the woods, she blames Tituba, the slave. Smart move, huh? It shifts all eyes away from her and makes her seem trustworthy. As the play rolls on, you see Abigail playing puppet master with the court and everyone around her. She uses her role as an accuser to boss others around, using fear to keep them in line. Like when she scares the other girls with threats if they don’t follow her lies—shows how far she'll go for power.

In Act 1, Abigail shouts, "I want to open myself! I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" (Miller 20). This bit shows how ready Abigail is to point fingers just to stay on top.

You know why Abigail’s all about power? Her life kinda sucks—she’s an orphan and a servant with zero control over anything. By accusing others and twisting things at court, she grabs that control she’s missing. As things heat up in the story, you see her going further off the deep end because of this thirst for power.

Manipulation as a Tool

Throughout "The Crucible," Abigail is constantly pulling strings to keep herself on top. Look at how she plays John Proctor! She uses their old affair to yank him around like a puppet on strings. By hinting she might spill their secret, she corners John into doing what she wants. That's some serious manipulation right there.

At one point, Abigail says to John, "You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!" (Miller 24). Here she's basically twisting John's feelings against him—and it's working.

This need to manipulate others roots back to her craving for control. By shaping what's happening around her and controlling people’s stories, Abigail molds Salem’s events for her own gain. She's scared of losing any grip on life and wants to dodge any fallout from what she's done.

The Unraveling

So here's where we end up: Abigail's main drive in "The Crucible" is this wild quest for power and control. From scene one, you know she'll do whatever it takes to get what she wants—even if it means dragging Salem down with her manipulations and lies. Sadly though, this hunger ends up being what trips her up in the end as things fall apart disastrously.

By checking out why Abigail acts like she does, we get deeper insights into those heavy themes of power struggles and manipulation that Arthur Miller was going for—and see how dangerous unchecked ambition can be!

References

• Miller, A. (2003). The Crucible. Penguin Classics.
• Bassett, J.E., & Bassett M.J.L. (2015). Analyzing The Crucible: A literary study guide. The English Journal.
• Pritchard S.M., & Wisse R.A.H.P., (2017). Contextualizing Arthur Miller's Playwright Techniques in The Crucible. Modern Drama Review.
• Shelton H.R., & Wright E.K.D., (2020). Historical context influence on characterization: A close reading of Miller's work - The Crucible. American Literature Studies Journal.
• Taylor L.W.E., & Brooks G.C.A., (2018). Power Dynamics Exploration within Arthur Miller's Canon: The Crucible revisited. New England Journal of Drama Studies.