Who Is Abigail Selfish In The Crucible

Words: 601
Pages: 3

The Selfish Acts of Abigail Williams In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail Williams demonstrates evil and corruption. Abigail’s actions are very clear as to what she lusts for, John Proctor. Previously, Proctor and Abigail had had intimate relations that Abigail wishes they could have again. John Proctor shows the opposite, and within the play he reveals the amount of guilt and regret he carries. While Abigail craves and loves Proctor, he opposes and refuses to let her cross his mind again. The selfishness of Abigail shows clearly through her actions and moral balance between right and wrong. Abigail is severely in love with Proctor, and she is willing to do anything to possess him. He admits and realizes he has committed adultery against …show more content…
Abigail reveals to Proctor that the witchcraft accusations are false, and she and the girls are just pretending; this shows how much she wants him. Elizabeth Proctor is well aware that Abigail told him this, and she insists John tell the court. Elizabeth Proctor reminds Proctor of how Cheever trusts him, and Proctor should tell Cheever about Abigail’s lie. Proctor confirms that she admitted to fraud and agrees to tell the court about it (Miller 37; act 2). Although Abigail’s selfishness is clear, it could be understood that it is out of love that she acts the way she does. Abigail does claim to love Proctor, and she wants him to love her back. The falsity is that Abigail confuses love for lust, and does not truly love Proctor, and she just seeks his attention. Even if she did truly love Proctor, he does not feel the same way for her.
Clearly, Abigail’s confusion for love is overpowered by her selfish actions and her moral balance between right and wrong. Abigail lets her anger and self-loathing take over her moral balance, and it is clearly shown through her actions and decisions. Overall, Abigail demonstrates complete selfishness with her actions throughout the