Abigail Williams: Villain or Victim?

What is a villain? By definition, a villain is "a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot”(Oxford Languages). A villain, at least a well written villain, is much more than that. Within The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is a villain because she has many similarities to other popular villains and meets the "definition” of a villain. However, some may say that she is a victim because she has been led on by John Proctor.

Abigail Williams shows many characteristics of a stereotypical villain throughout The Crucible. She chooses to spare the girls from the consequences of being accused of being a witch, those mentioned in the print play as well as the additional girls within the screenplay. Another popular villain, Thanos from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also spares his army from his ultimate goal of destroying half of the world because they support his cause. Additionally, Abigail is shown to lead the girls, of which are her supporters,  in “crying witch” against others. This is evident when the girls follow Abigail in accusing Mary Warren for being a witch. As soon as Abigail begins to act up and appear oddly cold, the other girls begin to act up as well, as displayed by Mercy Lewis's "chattering teeth” as well as Susanna Walcott's statement, in which she says "I freeze, I freeze”(Miller 101). For this reason, the girls could be considered Abigail's sidekicks. Many villains in popular media also have sidekicks. Some include Pain and Panic from Disney's Hercules, who serve Hades, and Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid, who serve Ursula. 

Abigail Williams is also a villain because she meets the definition of what it is to be a villain. As stated previously, a villain is "a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot”(Oxford Languages). Large parts of the plot of The Crucible are essentially the witch trials and their development. These witch trials were deliberately caused by Abigail as shown when she herself replies to John Proctor asking about what happened to Betty, “We were dancin’ in the woods last night, and my uncle leaped in on us. She took fright, is all”(Miller 20). This shows Abigail admitting that there was no intent of witchcraft that night, meaning when she later confesses to witchcraft it is fake and she herself chose to lie about it. Furthermore, Abigail's “evil actions or motives” are to eliminate Elizabeth Proctor using the Witch Trials so that she can marry John Proctor. This is implied throughout the play and said by John Proctor himself when he states, "”(Miller).

While Abigail Williams is a villain, some may say she is a victim because she was led to believe she was misled by John Proctor into thinking that he was in love with her. This may be true, since John Proctor did commit adultery with Abigail, but then told her to pretend it never happened. However, many villains have tragic backstories, such as The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, being referred to as ugly throughout her life. Despite this, she is still a villain because of her wrongdoings of killing innocent people from overly strict and nonsensical rules. This is true for Abigail Williams as well, since she still causes innocent people to die all for her own selfish gain, which is inexcusable despite her backstory. 

All in all, because Abigail Williams is similar to many popular villains and meets the dictionary definition of a villain, she is a villain. While Abigail Williams is more of a villain than a victim, no person can truly be one or the other, since such matters are not black and white. Ultimately, no matter the person, everyone is both a villain and a victim.