Girls Who Cried Witch in The Crucible

The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, illustrates a potential scenario in which the Salem Witch Trials may have occurred. These trials, which took place in 1692, occurred originally in Salem, Massachusetts, and are infamous for the madness of it all. This playwright provides an ample amount of possible suspects who may have instigated the witch hunt. John Proctor may be an example or even Mary Warren, but none of them compare to Abigail Williams.

Prior to the play’s original timeline, Abigail Williams is caught by her Uncle Samuel Parris dancing in the woods with several other girls. Unbeknownst to him, she also drank “a charm to kill Goody Proctor” (Miller 18). To keep this secret from coming out, she warns the other girls to keep their story straight or else she will “bring a pointy reckoning” upon them (Miller 19). Abigail, out of fear of being publicly whipped, claimed that the Devil forced her to dance and that their slave Tituba made her “drink blood” (Miller 43). On top of that, she also claimed to have seen a plethora of other women “with the Devil” (Miller 48). The other girls, who were intimidated by Abigail’s threat, followed in her footsteps and also began accusing their fellow neighbors of conjuring with the Devil; consequently, a hysterical hunt for witches ensued. 

Throughout the remainder of the play, Abigail is shown to accuse, use, and frame all those who threaten to reveal any of her transgressions. This even includes one of her close confidants: Mary Warren. In the third act of the story, Mary Warren has a change of heart and confesses that the whole bewitched narrative was only “pretense” (Miller 106). In an effort to convince Judge Danforth that Mary Warren “lies”, Abigail does everything in her power to make Mary Warren appear as if though she was a witch (Miller 103). From pretending to be struck by a cold wind to seeing Mary Warren’s spirit in the form of a “yellow bird”, Abigail made it susceptible that she had no intention of letting Mary Warren’s betrayal go unpunished (Miller 114). Abigail’s torment was so severe that it caused Mary Warren to withdraw her statement and instead shift the blame onto John Proctor. She proceeds to accuse John Proctor of forcing her to “overthrow the court” and she promises Abigail that she’ll “never hurt her more” (Miller 119). 

Although it is evident that Abigail Williams strongly influeced the Salem Witch Trials, it can not be denied that several of the other characters also contributed in some aspect.. For instance, if Mary Warren had just remained honest, she may have convinced the court judges that the girls were putting on an act. This blame could be shifted in a multitude of alternative ways, but the fact of the matter is that without Abigail Williams, it is clear that many of the events in this story would not have occured.