arm. One of the main accusers, Abigail Williams, had an ulterior motive for accusing Elizabeth Proctor. In The Crucible, Abigail believed that if she got rid of Goody Proctor, then John Proctor, her husband, would turn to Abby. John Proctor had an affair with Abigail, but for him it was just lust, while Abigail believed it to be true love. She told John that he loves her, and once she destroys Elizabeth, they will be free to love one another. John is horrified at this, but can do nothing to convince Abigail that he is not in love with her. Because of Abigail's twisted plot to secure John for herself, Elizabeth is arrested. It is the hidden motives behind the accusations that fan the flames of the Salem witch trials.To get the complete picture of the causes behind the witch trials, you must look at the physical reasons as well. Two historians, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, drew a map of Salem Village and plotted the accusers, the defendants, and the accused witches. An interesting picture arose when a line was drawn dividing the town into east and west. It became clear that nearly all the accusers lived on the west side, and almost all the defenders and accused witches lived on the east side. To determine the cause of the east-west split, the historians examined many disputes, chief among them being the choice of ministers. Once Salem Village was granted the right to have its own meeting house, quarrels arose over who would preach in the pulpit. There were four ministers between the time period of when the meeting house was built and the end of the witch trials. The arguments over ministers soon became a power struggle. There were two factions that arose during this dispute, and it was noted that one group supported two ministers while the other group supported the other two ministers. Each group wanted to prove its influence by choosing a minister and making him the spiritual guide to Salem Village. The two groups were found to coi...
