Abigail - The Salem Witch Trials

Diary Project: Salem Witch Trials: Abigail Williams

Entry 1: Before the night in the woods.

I feel so alone, so isolated. John has been avoiding me, Elizabeth told all of Salem about John and I, and I pray to Satan, GOD, I meant GOD!, that Uncle Parris never learns about John and me.

I am not ashamed of us, nor of what we did, but I loathe that no one sees our actions as an act of true love. And that evil, wicked woman is out to get me!

I did no “Sin,” I mean sure, I was intimate with her husband, but that doesn’t give her the right to come after me. **Abigail pauses to wipe a tear from her face and to mumble curses towards her nemesis, and then resumes.** John and I are meant to be together, why she or anyone else fail to comprehend that is beyond me. **Abigail starts getting vexed.** We could have been friends, Elizabeth and I, but she stands in the way of me and John finally being together, and I can not allow nor tolerate that! Elizabeth will pay for what she has done to me!

**Abigail composed herself, as she thought about her love, John, chopping down trees.**

On another note, God, I hope you are able to find it within your heart to forgive me…. I have been following John again. He never sees me though, behind the bushes, usually in the woods while he is working. The way he…. **A sudden chill and shiver overcame Abigail’s entire body, she dropped her pen, shook her head violently, slapped herself across her face, then began mumbling and shouting. “Bad! Bad! Bad Abigail! You Stupid, Stupid girl! How dare you write, even think about him in such a way! You are a lady of God! You shall not disgrace your lord that way! Now, child, Behave!**

**Once more Abigail composes herself.**I do not know for sure, i doubt it to be true, but i have heard rumors of witches practicing witchcraft. Now, though I doubt, that doesn’t mean this isn’t true…. **Abigail briefly pauses writing, her thoughts begin to spiral into a plan without even trying** Maybe, what if? What if I could find a way to use this to my advantage? Whether this be true fact or false claims, maybe, just maybe. All of the possible paths to take, all of the possible results, one final stop. I see them all, and each choice with each road, eventually lead to my deepest desire, Elizabeth Proctor will die.

I remember hearing Betty mutter something about her slave, Tituba, something involving “being a strange one” and “strange talk with certain rituals”. I might be able to convince her in someway to help me perform a ritual, doubted it will work, but maybe. Even if it doesn’t, the result of the ritual will eventually lead to that nefarious woman’s annihilation. In order to convince the slave to do my bidding, I will most likely have to trick her. **Abigail pauses to think who would be easiest for her to manipulate** The Putnams, ah silly, gullible, Ruth, she will do perfectly, with that pathetic story of hers, losing all of her siblings, and then being depressed about it, such a baby! **Pausing, she thinks to herself, “Ugh, I truly am surrounded by idiots!”**

Anyway, with Ruth Putnam taking the blame for instigating the rituals, and Tituba being killed for performing the ritual, I will be left blameless. However, I will need to convince maybe a dozen, or so, other girls to attend, to make it more believable. The only issue there, is that my story might not be corroborated by everyone, and some may know my true intentions…. I suppose *Abigail pauses to weigh the pros and cons of her plan** it’s a risk I’ll have to take though, if I am to get my wish….

Entry 2: Act 3

Shall I take a moment to pat myself on the back? I think I deserve it, after all. Everything has been put into its correct place. Sure, I have encountered a few hitches, but I think I overcame them with dignity. I will admit, however, I wasn’t sure if either of my plans would work. Granted, one failed, thanks to that asinine Tituba, and her inane chicken. No matter the obstacle, I will proceed, and then I will succeed, as I have clearly shown able.

I am displeased, however. The town is on my side, and believe me entirely, but John. John won’t accept the new reality. The reality in which I control, the reality that Elizabeth no longer lives, the reality that I am John’s true beloved.

By the way, for future schemes, try and avoid stabbing yourself. It is extremely painful, as I am sure I will remember in the future. But, I will confess, though painful, it is quite an effective tactic. After all, this is the war Elizabeth started, and it is a war that I intend to finish. A war that I intend to be the last one breathing in.

The poppet was a risky move though, Mary knows that I watched her make it. I doubt she will come forward, and if she does, well…. **Abigail pauses, stares out of her window for a brief moment, and starts to laugh.** I have my ways to make her, obey.

Oh, how I wish that I could have seen the look on Elizabeth’s face when she learned that she had been accused. The look on her face when she realized that I was the one to have her accused. The look on her face when she came to the realization that she was completely trapped, helpless, and absolutely doomed to the fate of death. **Picturing the image of Elizabeth’s face, Abigail continued to write.** That look on her face as Cheever chained her, as he threw her into the wagon, as he hauled her off to meet her fate.

It is unfortunate that I will have to wait an entire year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, to watch her be hanged. **Abigail once again stops to imagine Elizabeth’s face and her final moments, the final moments of her life.** I hoped that maybe, just maybe, the baby could join her in her destiny? But, i have no idea how I would convince Danforth, let alone the entire court, that that baby was a threat to us all. I highly doubt that they would be so ludicrous as to believe that an infant could destroy Salem. That scheme would be to difficult to accomplish, even for myself.

John is currently yelling at Danforth to release Elizabeth, Martha, and Rebecca. I sincerely hope that he will not given to their demands. I am not sure if I have, or can come up with a contingency to Elizabeth’s release. If that does happen, I just might need to make my own poppet…. **Abigail grins slightly as she closes her diary, and puts it away.**

Entry 3: Act 4, Abigail has escaped Salem

He betrayed me! He Betrayed Me! I gave myself to him, all of me, my heart, my soul, everything! He threw it all away, for her. Everything I did, everything I went through, was for nothing. Knowing that vacuous man, he will probably give his life for that vile, vile woman. I did everything right, I was in the right, and somehow I am the one that had to leave my home. Why me! What did I do to deserve any of this?

He called me a whore. After all we went through, after all I went through. Everything I did, was for us, for him. I am truly rattled to my vary core. Is there no one good left, aside me. Am I the last hope for mankind, surely I should have a partner, a soulmate. If John, a man that I thought embodied all of the good in the world, can betray me, then what else is possible? An evil lays amidst Salem, I pray it soon vanishes.

Its unsettling to think about the darkness that surrounded me, during my time in Salem. I am just so grateful, that it never touched me, that I remain innocent and good; even after all of the trials and obstacles I had to undergo. It is quite a relief, I think, that I can look myself in the mirror, and say, “I am so proud of you, Abby, you were strong and weren’t overcome by the evils that were in Salem.”

**Abigail smiles, knowing that the people who wronged her, are going to pay. She then gently rubs her stomach, singing a lullaby……**

20 years later….

I am a grandmother, oh John would have been so happy. I wish he could be here to see our grandson’s birth. I assume he is watching over us, lovingly. I know what he did was wrong, but he was only trying to do what he thought was best at the time. Watching our daughter grow, murder, love and laugh, and give birth to children of her own, gives one perspective about the past. So now, I am able to forgive John for wronging me, and I am able to move on with my life. The trials are behind me, so are the betrayals, the death. I forgive all of my enemies, except for Elizabeth, that witch will forever be my enemy.

**A gentle breeze flows through Abigail’s bedroom, her windows and door are closed. Abigail turns her head slowly, to look behind her…. An eerie whisper echoes throughout Abigail’s room.** Something is happening, something terrible is going on. **Abigail hears the familiar voices of the Proctors, and she knows what is about to happen.** Oh my Go-- **Abigail’s pen falls to the floor, and her body soon follows….**