Abigail Williams

Abigail Williams played a significant role in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and was depicted as one of the central characters in the play, The Crucible. She was born in Hadley, Massachusetts and died in Mansfield, Connecticut.

Related Topics:
Salem Witch Trials - 1692 - The Crucible - Hadley - Massachusetts - Mansfield - Connecticut

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Although The Crucible was based on the real goings-on in the village of Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, not all of the play was historically correct. To make it appeal more and have more of a tension, playwright Arthur Miller made Abigail Williams somewhat older than in real life. Miller portrayed her as an 18-year-old girl who had an affair with the older John Proctor, whose age was also changed from 60 to a man in his early 30s.

Related Topics:
The Crucible - Salem - Massachusetts - 1692 - Arthur Miller - John Proctor

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After her cousin Betty became ill, Abigail quickly caught the affliction, gaining the attention that had settled on her young cousin. She began to have fits and to shout obscenities. She and other girls began to accuse neighbours of bewitching them. Little is known of what happened to Abigail after the trials finished. It is thought that she died young, having never recovered from her "affliction", although some tales state that she ended up as a prostitute for $5 dollars an hour in Boston. Other versions claim that she ended her life in the West Indies.

Related Topics:
Boston - West Indies

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