" (56) One of the main accusers in the play is a young teenage girl by the name of Abigail Williams. Abigail, along with a group of other girls, is caught dancing in the woods, an activity that is forbidden in the strict Puritan village. "Why does Abigail accuse the local women of witchcraft? It is because she herself fears being accused of witchcraft, and rather than be accused she chooses to accuse others." (Cerjak 57) Clearly, it is the threat of both punishment and accusations that leads Abigail to point the finger at the innocents of the village. One of the Salem citizens that Abigail accuses is a woman by the name of Elizabeth Proctor. Throughout The Crucible, Elizabeth is portrayed as a good, kind woman, who would never convene with the Devil. Complicating the situation is an affair that Abigail had in the recent past with Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor. In the play, Abigail expresses her desire to rekindle her romance with John when she says, "I know you, John. I know you. I cannot sleep for dreamin"; I cannot dream but I wake and walk about the house as though I"d find you comin" through some door." (Miller, Crucible 839) Although Abby still wishes to be with John Proctor, she fears that his marriage to Elizabeth will prevent any further close relations. Therefore, she accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, ultimately because she feels threatened by Elizabeth's relationship with John.
Yet another innocent citizen who is wrongly accused of witchery is John Proctor. Like many of the others thought to be witches, John's accusation spirals from fear and apprehension. Proctor, hoping to free Elizabeth, persuades Mary Warren, a young friend of Abigail Williams, to tell the truth about the false accusations in court. However, once they arrive in court and young Warren feels the threat of Abigail, she again searches for a scapegoat and finds one in John Proctor. Mary Warren finally breaks out and screams to Proctor, "You"re the Devil's man!" (Miller, Crucible 876) Her outburst at John is clearly caused by a sinister threat that Abigail utters in Act One.