Abigail represents this quality that many Puritan women wish to acquire: a strong appearance to distract others, while she can plot her lies.Ībigail Williams is shown as a very vengeful and manipulative character in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”.
She gains control over the men, and while they, like John Proctor, have good intentions, she knows how to turn them into sinners.
By using her appearance, she can make men lust her. Although only seventeen years old, men view her as older and more mature due to the fact that her actions and cognitive thinking display such maturity. Abigail, through her attractive charm, is able to use her beauty to gain this type of power over these men. Women lack power over men within this era, however, their beauty allows for the girls to obtain this control they strive for. Abigail is also able to use her beauty to manipulate men in the town. This is seen especially when it comes to the attention her husband, John Proctor, had given Abby at one point in time. Brought upon stage directions, and how Goody Proctor acts, it is clear that Elizabeth shows a small amount of jealousy towards her. Elizabeth, older and not as pretty as Abigail, is not taken serious, even though she is much more honest than Abby. For instance, Elizabeth Proctor uses her honesty throughout the whole play, however, she is ignored and still accused of witchcraft. Her beauty serves as a barrier between her truth and her lies, which these women also wish to have. She is described in this light since her beauty overrides the ability for people to believe she is a liar. Since the beginning of the play, she is illustrated as “…a strikingly beautiful girl…with an endless capacity for dissembling” (1092). Abigail’s beauty distracts the town from her lies and dishonesty. Abigail Williams has the beauty and the respect all of the young women in Puritan society strive for, and she uses this beauty to gain the trust of the townsfolk.
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