Abigail Williams is one of the most complex characters in The Crucible. While she clearly exercises bad judgment as she lies, encourages other girls to lie, and aims to kill the Proctors and their unborn child, Arthur Miller also presents numerous factors about her life in relation to social conditions that could account for this malicious behavior.
Abigail suffers from what today would probably be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, intertwined with survivor guilt. As a child, she witnessed her entire family killed by Native Americans in a raid on their settlement.
Because she had no family to take her in, the orphaned Abigail had to go out to work at an early age. The society of the day had no safety net for children. Deeply lonely, she longs for a family to provide the security of the real family she lost.
While employed by the Proctors, John Proctor had a sexual relationship with her. As she was just a teenager and he was her boss, she was the victim of sexual abuse of a minor.
Caught up in her imagined world, she convinces herself that she and John were in love, when he breaks it off with her, she cannot let go and decides to take revenge. This sets in motion what proves to be an almost unstoppable chain reaction.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
How can I write three supported claims that Abigail Williams is a victim of her society in The Crucible?
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