The tragic events that unfold in ‘The Crucible ‘ are to an extent caused by Abigail ‘s sexual desire nevertheless she is non the merely 1 to fault. ‘The Crucible ‘ is about the Salem Witch Trials which took topographic point in seventeenth century Massachusetts where 19 guiltless people were condemned. Sing the ambiance of the Puritan society presented in the novel, a important event like this is bound to happen Oklahoman or subsequently. Even though she is the trigger to the mass craze which occurs in the novel, her desires are merely partially to be blamed. We see throughout the drama how Abigail manipulates the people around her to acquire to this ultimate desire. However, we must besides take into history the function of John Proctor and a combination of other things in the novel which are besides at mistake. One could reason that Abigail was merely the accelerator and merely sped up the class of action and concatenation of events.

In the early 1600s Puritans arrived to the New World from England where they established their spiritual intolerant settlements. Puritanism was a really severe subdivision of Anglican Church during the 16th and 17th centuries. They broke off from the Church as they felt that their patterns were still really near to that of the Catholic Church. In order to avoid spiritual persecution in England they left for America. The Puritans feared this new land and particularly its dwellers. They frequently attributed the indigens with juju and thaumaturgy. They feared that there was immorality in every corner even within their ain communities.

This narrative takes topographic point in 1692 in a little colonial town of Salem, Massachusetts. It was a theocratic society where church and province were one and judicial system was based upon the bible. God was the supreme leader of society. Those who questioned the tribunals were thought of as oppugning God himself. ( “ You must understand, sir, that a individual is either with this tribunal or he must be counted against it, there be no route between. ” ) You were either a adult male of God or the Satan. The Puritan civilization was governed by the church and was highly restrictive. It was a male dominated society where the work forces made the regulations. Physical labour and following rigorous guidelines was the lone manner to be a proper Christian and demo your fidelity.

In this society there was besides a strong belief in witchery and superstitious notion. Strange incidences including illness like in the drama where misss become sick, decease, and pestilence are considered to be the plants of the Satan. They were blamed on the Satan or his followings. This led to people going frightened and impeaching others of witchery. There was a mass craze. These enchantress tests were a important portion of reconstructing the award and goodness of the community. This was besides fueled by scores and green-eyed monsters among the people of the community. Some wanted land while some blamed others for their problems and wretchednesss. A good illustration is the Putnams. Mr. Putnam covets land and so he falsely accuses others so buys up their land while Mrs. Putnam accused Rebecca Nurse of witchery establishing it on the fact that seven of her kids had died while Nurse had ne’er lost a individual kid or grandchild. ( “ They were murdered, Mr. Paris! And tag this cogent evidence! ” ) At the terminal, in September 1692, 19 guiltless people and two Canis familiariss were convicted and hanged for witchery while 100s others were accused and tonss others still remained in gaol on charges of witchery. In the thick of all this lunacy was Abigail Williams.

Abigail Williams is a really attractive, single, 18 twelvemonth old orphan, and the chief adversary of the drama. She is the niece of Reverend Parris. She is besides the ringleader of the group of adolescent misss and drives the action of the drama preface. She is really smart, craft, and besides vindictive. Abigail ‘s and the other miss ‘s actions at the start of the drama are the consequence of the town ‘s strict atmosphere. We learn that the misss were caught dancing in the wood. The wood is considered to be the fastness of the Satan where danger and evil lurks. That is likely one of the chief grounds why the misss went at that place. They wanted to experience the exhilaration of making something improper. Early on in the drama we besides learn that before the events of the drama Abigail used to work as a retainer at the Proctors family. After it was discovered by Goody Proctor that Proctor and Abigail were holding an matter she fired Abigail. Proctor commits criminal conversation with her and takes off her artlessness.

“ I look for John Proctor that took me from my slumber and set cognition in my bosom! I ne’er knew what pretence Salem was, I ne’er knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian adult females and their covenanted work forces! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will non, I can non! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever wickedness it is, you love me yet! ”

In Salem the people live a glooming and really simple life. All types of free behaviour and desires are discouraged and forbidden in the Puritan society. They are thought of as unnatural and work of the Satan. Abigail is non the lone 1 with desires. There are other characters such as Mr. Putnam who wants to hold his neighbours ‘ land and Paris who wants more power and control over the town. Abigail ‘s desire and green-eyed monster is caused by Procter. She thinks that Proctor loves her and her lone nevertheless is unable to be with her chiefly due to Elizabeth. She wants love and to be adored. She sees herself as the true love of Proctor. It is besides of import to observe that Abigail likely was ne’er loved much by her close relations and that is why she lusts for Proctor. Her parents were viciously killed by Indians. ( “ I saw Indians smash my beloved parents ‘ caputs on the pillow following to mine, and I have seen some ruddy work done at nightaˆ¦ ” ) It ‘s her desires for Procter and her enviousness of Elizabeth Procter who she wants to take retaliation upon for disregarding her. ( “ Oh, I marvel how such a strong adult male may allow such a sallow married woman beaˆ¦ She is melanizing my name in the small town! She is stating prevarications about me! She is a cold, whining adult female, and you bend to her! ” ) It is clear that throughout the action of the drama what Abigail ‘s motives are. Abigail wants power. Once she realizes what she can make by impeaching people of witchery, she takes full advantage of it.

Abigail had no job with sinning and falsely impeaching inexperienced persons of witchery in order to acquire Proctor. Throughout the drama Abigail tells infinite prevarications to pull strings her friends, the town and the bench and so at the terminal doing the deceases of 19 people. Abigail was responsible for the wicked behaviour of the misss in the wood which got them into some serious problem. There are already rumours around town of Abigail ‘s matter with Proctor now on top of that people are speaking of witchery. At the start she merely tries to hide the truth for if it gets out that Abigail drank a appeal to kill Goody Proctor, she could be badly punished or even be hanged for it. At first when she is accused of witchery she tries to acquire all the misss under control by endangering them. ( “ Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured Ruth Putnam ‘s dead sisters. And that is all. ” )

“ And grade this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the border of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some awful dark and I will convey a point thinking that will shiver you. And you know I can make it ; And you know I can make it… I can do you wish you had ne’er seen the Sun go down. ”

Once questioned about the forest incident by Hale she lies and is speedy to fault the whole thing on Tituba. ( “ She sends her spirit out on me in church ; she makes me laugh at chatterer! ” “ She comes to me every dark to travel and imbibe blood! ” ) Tituba was a slave significance she has a lower position and so is an easy mark for she is from Barbados and is familiar with black thaumaturgy doing her leery. Subsequently Tituba does the unexpected by squealing to the false charges and calling other associates of the Satan. Recognizing this Abigail does the same and the misss follow. She foremost accuses the castawaies of society to acquire the support from the townspeople cognizing good that they will easy believe it. She shifts the attending from herself by shouting witchery.

“ I want to open myself! . . . I want the visible radiation 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 manus. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Satan! ”

This is when the craze starts and it easy builds up from here. By making this Abigail gets the regard and grasp of the people. This in a manner gives her limitless power over the town which she can utilize to impeach anyone in the town and acquire off with it. She is a adult female with so much power in a society run by the work forces. She uses this power to pull strings the tribunal by first deriving their trust and understanding for her as she is the victim and so distributing more and more prevarications along with the remainder of the group. Furthermore, if one of the misss goes against her as with the instance of Mary Warren, she accuses them of witchery every bit good. ( “ A air current, a cold air current, has comeaˆ¦Why do you come, yellow bird? … You can non desire to rupture my face. Envy is a deathly wickedness, Maryaˆ¦ ” ) This merely shows that she is determined to acquire Proctor. However at the terminal after seeing that because of her Proctor will hang, she runs off. Proctor, who eventually confesses his guilt, raising inquiries of the credibleness of the misss, dies a baronial adult male and undermines the authorization of the bench and the its Judgess including Danforth.

Danforth is one of the Judgess of the enchantress tests. He is besides guilty for the portion he played in the enchantress tests. At the start of the drama he did strongly believe in this absurdness and on top of that he had likely already condemned several “ enchantresss ” . He should be blamed for his failure to halt the insanity. There was perfectly no grounds against the accused except for the words of a few mindless adolescent misss and their ring leader. Towards the terminal of the drama it was clear that the whole thing was blown out of proportion and that the misss were lying, Abigail along with Mercy ran away with stolen money right after impeaching Hathrone ‘s married woman and the rebellion against the tribunal in Andover. Knowing this rather good he still chose to go on alternatively of excusing the accused. “ There will be no delay. ” “ You misunderstand, sir ; I can non excuse these when 12s are already hanged for the same offense. It is non merely. ” He was likely more disquieted about his place as justice and deputy governor of Massachusetts. “ aˆ¦Postponement now speaks a floundering on my portion ; reprieve or excuse must project uncertainty upon the guilt of them that died till now. While I speak God ‘s lawaˆ¦ ” He convinced himself he was making the right thing and besides seeing that it would non look good on his portion and repute of the bench that inexperienced persons were killed.

Desire is a basic human quality. You can non turn it off or command it. From the start of the drama Abigail was determined to acquire Procter. With sexual desires people do n’t ever move consciously. Now for such a important event like this to happen something else needs to go on foremost. In a spiritual and Theocratic society, the belief in witchery is already strong plenty. Abigail inserts her jobs with Procter into the narrative. However she is non the chief character responsible for the events which take topographic point. John Procter portions the guilt excessively as he is the 1 who put cognition in her caput and taught her everything she knew. She harms and manipulates everybody around her whom she hates or blocks her way of making her ultimate end, John Procter which in the terminal she fails to carry through. Abigail is the Satan. She causes all the jobs, starts and builds up the craze, causes wrangles among people, and brings about the devastation of the town. In this rigorous Puritan society we see how the people of the town turn the regulations of God for their ain intents and to carry through their ain demands which in the terminal lead to the decease of 19 guiltless people. The chief cause of the Salem Witch Trials is a black combination of things which were decelerating constructing up even before the events of the drama. The society, Proctor ‘s matter with Abigail, teenage ennui, the townspeople ‘s personal problems, wretchednesss, intuitions and covets, and Danforth ‘s failure to convey it to an terminal which wholly are responsible for the events which unfold. Abigail ‘s sexual desire was merely the responsible for the mass craze and the escalation in ‘The Crucible ‘ .