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Often, we are told that human nature tends to display traits of selfishness or embodies the attitude of ‘me first, you later’. Arthur Miller’s most reputed work ‘The Crucible’ explores the consequences and sheds light on the true extent of a human’s selfishness. The court-based drama focuses on the tales of the 1692 Salem Tragedy and tells the story of the Salem town who are falsely accused of practicing witchcraft. Readers are shown the strong theocracy used to serve a human’s selfish need for vengeance and self-preservation. Hence, to commemorate the 67th anniversary of Miller’s exceptional work of literature we will explore the underlying perspective of the play through the critical lens of the character Abigail Williams. A character that best displays the underlying themes throughout the script.
Since, the first performance 'The Crucible' has been widely considered to be a masterpiece. Miller was able to allow readers and the audience to experience the paranoid frenzy of the Salem Witch trials firsthand. Leaving, literature reviewers intrigued such as Wade Bradford (2019) who stated “… these scenes of mock-witchcraft can create a chilling effect... transforming the faceless names from history into living characters”. The success of the play comes from Miller’s ability to move beyond the discussion of witchcraft and the event of Salem to explore human motivation and behavior (Scheidt, 2020).
“The play continues to affect audiences by allowing them to see how dark desires and hidden agendas can be played out”.
For, Arthur Miller the character Abigail represents the ‘villain’ in his play as she is portrayed as a very manipulative and vindictive person (John Ferres, 1979). Abigail is a young, orphaned woman who has had an affair with John Proctor and is left dealing with the rejection of her true love who is overcome with guilt and loyalty to his wife. Readers are shown how decisive she is in making the wrong decisions and how she’s quick to hurt others to get what she wants. Her, desire is illustrated in the quote “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep ... you loved me John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet'(Act 1, 25, Miller, 1952). The quote illustrates the purpose of Abigail’s actions which is about her getting John for herself.
Consequently, this deep-rooted affection or love for John is what led to the downfall of Salem. It was Abigail’s jealousy fuelled by her love that led her to perform witchcraft to remove the obstacle in her relationship which happened to be John’s wife Elizabeth. After, her unsuccessfully attempt of murdering Elizabeth, Abigail takes advantage of the chance to eliminate Proctor's wife by accusing her of witchcraft. As Abigail believes this would be the perfect opportunity to marry Proctor while safeguarding her reputation.
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