Arthur Miller’s The Crucible has meant so much to so many people. As a parable about state control, or without its political dimension, as an examination of the power dynamics within a closed society, or of an individual working through guilt to find something valuable in themselves. In fictionalising the lives of the real people involved, however, Miller raised Abigail’s age from eleven to seventeen. It may be time to think about his motives and the implications of the changes he made.