Abigail Williams, one of the main antagonists in Miller's
play "The Crucible", is given the power by those wishing to prosecute and find guilty
the witches of Salem.
While it is not that she, alone, has
the power, persons (during this period) simply had to accuse a person of being a witch
to have power in the eyes of the officials.
During the
Salem witch trials, when people were accused of being witches they were carefully
questioned about their knowledge of the "practices." This was important because it only
took the testimony of one person to convict another of
witchcraft.
During this period, anything which challenged
the Church was deemed sinful. Therefore, anyone who took part in practices which the
Church deemed wrong could easily be accused of witchcraft.
Given
that Abigail was out for revenge (and no one knew of her affair with John Proctor), a
popular reason to accuse, she was easily believed. The hysteria which took place also
added to her ability to accuse at whim.
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