John Proctor and Abigail Williams Affair; Causes and Effects - Essay Example

The play explains most of the factors that fueled Salem to the flashing point and kick-started its decadence. It all starts when John Proctor fans his affair with Abigail Williams. This simple decision has profound effects on the entire town of Salem. While we cannot pinpoint all the reasons that prompted John and Abby to start their affair, we can tell that Elizabeth's cold demeanor towards John was the main cause. At the very end of the play, she even admits that the entire ordeal might have been her own making.

She confesses that only a cold wife can prompt such debauchery. This could hint on the fact that Elizabeth pushed John into Abigail, hence prompting the clandestine relationship to start. Despite her confession, Elizabeth still tells us her confusion by admitting that she did not know how to show love to her spouse. Throughout their marriage, we learn that Elizabeth was very cold towards her husband. This was not because she did not love him; it was just that she did not know how to show affection.

Other than this, we learn that Elizabeth had been sick for a while. While her cold nature is no reason for her husband to start an affair, it leaves him vulnerable. When Abigail makes here move to whisk him away, she has an easier job than ever. Abby is manipulative and capitalizes on the opportunity. The state of Johns life makes it easier for Abby to encourage him and keep the relationship going strong. Now that the floor is set, it is time for the little affair to start a chain of reactions that will soon affect Salem village.

As starters, Elizabeth chases Abby out of the house. Abigail, in turn, is annoyed and aggravated to the extent of accusing Elizabeth of being a witch. She is mad because Elizabeth kicked her out of Johns bed even though she is trying to fuel her illegitimate relationship with a married man. Her bitterness is shown in the lines she uses to describe Elizabeth immediately after this ordeal. She escalates her efforts to win over John by expressing her affection to him when they meet. She even goes further to massage his ego by calling him a strong gentleman before asking why he lets his cold wife control him.

Her love for John and hatred for her nemesis pushes her to level the witch accusation to get rid of her competitor. Consequently, Johns wife is taken into custody. While a portion of the witch hunt is driven by Abby's forest trip for a charm meant to kill Goody Proctor, Miller ensures that the hunt revolves around the affair and hatred between the two women. While the affair's main result is the start of the famous witch-hunting saga of Salem, it also strains the already lousy relationship between John and his wife, Elizabeth.

The two quarrel a lot even months after the affair died off. He feels Elizabeth is still cold and unwilling to forgive his errors. On the other hand, Elizabeth claims that her man goes to town to meet his mistress, perhaps. She even insinuates that John loved his mistress more. Johns wife says he would not dare hurt her as much as he is currently hurting her. In response, he admits that he is no longer the good man he used to be. He admits that he is a fraud. He has low self-esteem and feels terrible about his sins.

This pushes him to the extent of confessing. He admits that he hates himself and that he has done his wife wrong despite his claims that her coldness pushed him beyond the brink. This gives him some peace at the hangman's noose. In the end, all the death, accusation and hatred squarely rests on Abby's shoulders. Her distaste for Elizabeth and love for a man she perhaps could never have pushed her into starting an unstoppable chain of events. Abigail used her influence over the town's girls to condemn and confess false encounters with accused witches.

Once the girls had played to her hand, they too felt compelled to accuse their witches and propagate the narrative. According to the play, this is how the affair between Proctor and his mistress led to one of the biggest witch hunts ever seen in the United States' history.