Abigail Williams
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Abigail Williams (July 12, 1680 – 1697): one of the original and foremost accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692. Williams, being born in Salem on 12 July 1680, was eleven years old at the time and, her parents having died, was living with her uncle Samuel Parris in Salem. According to Rev. Deodat Lawson, an eyewitness, she began to have fits in which she ran around rooms flailing her arms, ducking under chairs and trying to climb up the chimney. Some modern historians believe that these strange symptoms may have been caused by the ingestion of a poisoned rye crop. When consumed, rye in the ergot stage of fungus development can bring on strange sensations such as burning and itching of the skin, feelings of "pins and needles", spasms, convulsions, unconsciousness, hallucinations, and psychosis (see ergotism). This theory, first posited by Linda Caporael in 1976[1] , is largely speculative. Weather records note a long period of drought preceding the onset of the 'fits', suggesting fungus development was unlikely.
Many claim that the girls, along with several other pre-teen and teenage girls in Salem, were just inventing the afflictions to draw attention to themselves. Another reason may have been food poisoning: the girls may have eaten a "Witch's Stew" as part of their games that may have contained inedible or uncooked ingredients.
Whatever the cause, these behaviors brought attention to Abigail, as they had to Betty Parris. A local doctor, thought to have been William Griggs, suggested bewitchment as the cause. The girls were eventually asked to name their supposed tormentors. They did so, thus bringing about the witch trials, which ended with the deaths of 19 innocent people. Two dogs were also hanged, and one man (Giles Corey) was pressed with large stones until he died. Those who confessed, however, were not put to death. The names of some put to death were John Proctor, Martha Corey, Giles Corey, Rebecca Nurse, and Sarah Good.
There is no definite evidence of what happened to Williams after the trials ended. One reference stated she "apparently died before the end of 1697, if not sooner, no older than seventeen." [2] Another possible scenario is referenced in "Echoes Down the Corridor" which is at the end of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller. It says that "The legend has it that Abigail turned up later as a prostitute in Boston." However, given the use of the word "legend," it is presumed the accusation is most likely false. The last claim states Abigail died from a common Sexually transmitted disease in colonial Massachusetts during that time period.[citation needed]
[edit] The Crucible
In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, Abigail is a girl of seventeen, and is an antagonist. At the beginning of the play, it is gradually revealed that she had been dancing in the woods with the girls of Salem and performing voodoo rituals with her uncle's slave, Tituba. When rumors began to circulate that the girls were performing witchcraft, Abigail, Tituba, and Betty Parris all began to name people as having been in league and therefore with the devil to save themselves. Later, the girls of Salem became witnesses in the court trying the "witches".
An added plot is that Abigail had previously worked as a maid at the Proctor household and had an affair with John Proctor.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://web.utk.edu/~kstclair/221/ergotism.html
- ^ Roach, Marilynne K. 2002. The Salem Witch Trials: a Day-to-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. Cooper Square Press. Page 518.
