The affair is the main reason why the witch hunt began. Abigail very much wanted to be with John Proctor. However, girls were to remain pure. Certainly, adultery was forbidden but for a young girl to have an affair with a married man would have been the most horrible crime of all.
Although we never really get the details of the affair, we know that Elizabeth and John were having troubles in their marriage. John succumbs to his desires albeit momentarily. When he realizes what he's done and tells Abigail the affair is over, she is scorned, jealous and hateful. She has to find a way to get back at him. How does she do this?
When the group of girls is caught in the woods in what is perceived as acts of evil (dancing, singing, laughing...how could they??), the sensible people think they must have been overtaken by spirits. Perhaps in an attempt to hide the truth, the girls continue this thinking. Eventually, women throughout the town are accused of being witches. John's wife is among them.
It seems that this is in keeping with the common thinking: if I can't have him, you can't either.
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