Witchcraft

"Let either of you breathe a word about the other things and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you!"

[ofwiitches-blog]

Like this post for a starter or message me to plot!

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『丸いケーキ♥』       The young female looked at the other. She didn’t quite understand what this woman meant. She was talking about hanging young children? For having fun?

The small female bowed her head showing that she was sorry for what she was doing in front of the woman.

                                    “I am so super sorry Ma’am.”

[ofwiitches-blog]

Idly, Abigail wondered whether or not she had been a little too stern with the girl, though she told herself she’d only been giving a w a r n i n g of what may come, should the girl continue.

For once, it wasn’t Abby who ought to be feared, now, was it? After all, she’d seen with her own two eyes what the consequences of such things may become. The way she saw it, she was helping this young girl see just how dangerous such frivolities really were.

Especially in times dark as these.

                                        “It isn’t me you ought to be apologizin’ to. I’m only                                          here t’ warn you. Witchery’s a hangin’ offense. I                                          desire not to see the i n n o c e n t on the gallows.                                          Perhaps we ought to keep this just between us.”

[musxng]

I REGRET N O T H I N G.

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You’re scared of the way I make you feel because you don’t want to feel anything.

Maya Banks, Sweet Temptation  (via perfect)

[ofwiitches-blog]

badlaandsx had entered the court [ starter call ]

Abigail was far from high class and she definitely knew it as well. In fact, she was one of the lowest of the low, but that did not give people the right to attempt to push her around. She knew very well how to fight back, even if her form of fighting was entirely non-physical. This particular day, her so-called hate list had increased by one and the presence of the person before her definitely was not helping her mood in the slightest.

                                        “And what do you think you are doing?                                          Are you drunk so very early in the day                                          that the reverend had to take you in?                                          You are lucky that the townsfolk who’s                                          seen you hadn’t misconceived you to be                                          one of the many consorting with witches.                                          And, I ought to mention, you really should                                          remove yourself before he returns and                                          begins questioning you. Or worse.”

[ofwiitches-blog]

distcsteful has entered the court [ starter call ]

She shook her head vehemently, having heard enough of the words of the other even before they had spoken to her. She had to be on about the same thing as the others and Abigail had enough.

                                        “I’ve heard enough of these lies about                                          myself from the ignorant mouth of                                          G o o d y  P r o c t o r. I tell you, ‘tis not                                          the truth. I would never do something to                                          slander the name he holds so dear when                                          all I wish is to hold it myself! Is it not clear                                          that I am a victim of her lies as much as                                          any other?”

[ofwiitches-blog]

sweetlycursed has entered the court [ starter call ]

The elder girl lifted her head, looking down towards the other with a slight distaste. Did the girl not realize that childishness wasn’t permitted? Or, rather, certainly frowned upon. Still, she couldn’t entirely blame the child. After all, she’d taken part in such activities, though she had kept it private. Until she was caught, that is.

                                        “You would be wise to keep such activities                                          out of sight, you know. These are destructive                                          times. No person is safe from the Devil and                                          every good, Christian girl knows dancin’ will                                          serve only to summon him to you. Unless, of                                          course, you have signed the Devil’s black book.                                          So, I suppose I’ll ask you now. Are you next in                                          line to be h a n g e d?”

[ofwiitches-blog]

Finally got everything set up so how about it? Like for a starter!

[ofwiitches-blog]

Theme’s a mess right now, but I’ll get it all figured out soon! For now, please don’t pay it too much mind!

[ofwiitches-blog]

Hey everyone! If you could do me a favor and like or reblog this if you’d be willing to roleplay with my interpretation of Abigail Williams from Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”?

[ofwiitches-blog]

I cannot sleep for dreaming;                                               I cannot d r e a m but I wake and walk about the house as though I’d find you                                                                            comin' through the door.

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I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!

(Abigail Williams)

Arthur Miller, The Crucible

(via retro-rae)

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listen up, high school lit students and theatre kids

this is in defence of abigail williams

i’m fed up with seeing abigail williams simplified to the character trope of the jealous, vindictive, lying whore antagonist

let’s stop this whole idea of abigail-williams-doesn’t-have-a-good-bone-in-her-body-except-maybe-john-proctor’s-at-some-point and do some critical thinking about literature!!

stop simplifying a complicated and unique character for the sake of humorous post or funny line in your character analysis essay

come on, man

you can do better

so, let’s examine some of abigail’s main character traits to help your character analysis along: intelligent, jealous, repressed, oppressed, human

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intelligent

abigail’s first description says she is strikingly beautiful and extraordinarily intelligent, with an “endless capacity for disassembling”

if that doesn’t tell you that this woman is smart, i don’t know what will

arthur miller might as well rise from the grave and beat you with a spoon while yelling “ABIGAIL WILLIAMS IS INTELLIGENT” to make it a little more obvious

since tumblr seems to put such heavy weight and importance on the intelligence of a woman to make her at all respectable, let’s pay some damn respect for the true brains of the crucible: abigail williams

in addition to literally being described as intelligent, abigail is one clever girl. her accusations of witchery aren’t random and wild - she’s picking off society’s rejects, the women with bad reputations, the already-despised - she thinks it through, and plays on salem’s prejudice to perpetuate the trials that give her power.

she’s not one to act without thinking

she’s clever

she has reasons

trust me on this

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jealous

abigail’s jealousy is the trait that everyone jumps on whenever they want to describe abigail’s character

abigail williams has so much jealously in her that she might as well join kermit the frog and elphaba in the life of being green

many of her big events - smashing the chicken against the cauldron and drinking its blood (1996 film), “drinking a charm to kill goody proctor”, accusing elizabeth proctor of witchcraft - are out of jealousy

she is a jealous little lady

all she wants is her ideal man (john proctor) to be hers and hers alone, even if it means the slow and painful death of goody proctor and her reputation

in conclusion of jealousy: yes!! abigail williams is jealous!! but that is not her only character trait!! do not pretend it is!!

not going to spend too much time on this because i’m sure you can find dozens of essays on abigail’s jealousy and her jealousy alone

(it’s super easy to understand. don’t think too hard about it)

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repressed

let’s talk about salem for a moment. salem was a town founded on biblical rules and biblical rules alone. they followed the bible as it was written. for kids, this meant that they spent their days working, reading scriptures, working some more, reading more scriptures, being silent and unnoticeable, and reading more scriptures. 

as young folks grew up, any of those lusty teenage hormones we’re all so familiar with started surfacing, they were expected to shove those down (for reference: ’turn it off’ from book of mormon*) and not act on them

(*i’m kidding. to some degree.)

this created an immensely repressed society!! which abigail actually comments on!! “i never understood what pretense salem was, these christian women and their covenanted men, and all of them boiling in lust**!”

(**“all of them boiling in lust” is from the 1996 film, it’s not in the original script)

abigail suffers from this as much as anyone else. she’s a 17 year old girl with a crush, but she can actually do something about it. the person who gives her wet knickers is within reach, and because apparently john proctor can’t keep it in his pants, they did the do and fucked everything up (and each other).

so! when considering abigail’s “sluttiness” or “whoring”, remember how repressed her society and situation was!

are you telling that if you were seventeen and your wet dream was willing to sleep with you, you wouldn’t sleep with them?

really now

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oppressed

oppressed might not be the best term for abigail’s social status, but she’s definitely not bourgeoise, by any standards

her parents were killed by natives when she was young (“…and i saw indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine…”) and now she lives with her uncle

because she’s a young, unmarried, orphaned woman in a town such as salem, she’s held in such low esteem that the only person below her is probably tituba, her uncle’s slave/servant from the barbados

abigail isn’t exactly the kindliest person because of this; since being orphaned, she’s been fighting for the respect of everyone in salem

doesn’t help that elizabeth proctor is going around whispering of her being a slutty little hoe who slept with a married man (which she is, but you know, still not good to have that said of you)

not to mention that she’s had to be the very best for most of her life to try and make her rev. parris love her even close to how much he loves his daughter betty

it’s not to say that her low social status and repressed role in salem’s social hierarchy is to excuse her actions, it’s just another thing to consider

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and finally: human

let’s be clear: i don’t think abigail williams is a good person. i think she was a very bad person. i think it was terrible of her to accuse innocent people, to try and kill a respectable woman out of jealousy, and to eventually skip town with rev. parris’ money and eventually turn up in boston as a prostitute**

(**according to legend, that is)

but!! abigail is human

you have to remember that about her when analysing her character

she is a teenage girl with teenage feelings and incredible mental capacity who is taught to find the box that’s lusty within herself and CRUSH IT (referencing ‘turn it off’ again, yes sir)

her actions are not solely her own; they are result of society that tends to fuck people up, the ruthlessness of danforth and hathorne, the immorality of rev. parris, the initial cowardice of john proctor, and the general frenzy of folly and fear that overtook salem when abigail and her girls started accusing folks of witchcraft

in the end, abigail is a clever girl with the intelligence to achieve her ends but no conscious to keep herself in check

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to conclude: if i see one more post simplifying abigail williams to a lying vindictive whore with no motivation beyond jealousy, i will hit you with a spoon and recommend you to this post

simplifying such a fascinating and exquisitely evil character makes english teachers, theatre directors, arthur miller’s ghost, and winona ryder cry

don’t make winona ryder or your ninth-grade lit teacher cry

pay some damn respect and attention to abigail williams

[ofwiitches-blog]

Abigail Williams: *threatens to accuse people of being witches*

John Proctor: hoe don't do it

Abigail: *accuses people of being witches*

John: oh my god

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history meme | 3/8 women | abigail williams

Abigail Williams was one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of over 150 innocent people. Abigail, along with her cousin, began to suffer symptoms associated with spells of witchcraft, like hysterical chanting, seizures, and bodily harm. It is noted that Abigail’s body contorted into impossible positions. The accusations were against Sarah Goode, Sarah Osbourne, and a slave, Tituba, belonging to Abigail’s uncle. Goode and Osbourne were both executed on the claims of witchcraft. These trials put forward into motion the affliction of mass hysteria- where people’s psychosis perceived them to believe they were being afflicted with a contagious illness , and the trend of accusing innocent people of witchcraft and being in league with the devil. This put into motion the infamous Salem Witch Trials, which from February 1692 to May 1963. Abigail Williams is the main antagonist of Arthur Miller’s critically acclaimed play “The Crucible”.

[boneshakes]

The Crucible (1996)

[milacotle]

I’m not a girl - I’m a woman. I don’t need a boy - I need a man.