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¶ … Scarlet Letter. There are three references used for this paper.
The novel "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne has been a classic for many years. It is important to examine the theme Hawthorne develops and how he exhibits it through the lives of his characters.
Sin and Guilt
Hawthorne carries the theme of sin and guilt throughout his novel. This theme is noticeable in the plot line and is illustrated through the main characters of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth.
Hester Prynne
Hester is a married woman who arrives from England prior to her husband, Roger Chillingworth. Hester commits the sin of adultery and having a daughter out of wedlock. She refuses to name the father of her child and is forced to live with guilt by wearing a scarlet "A" on her gown.
Hester is also guilty of hiding the fact the Chillingworth is her husband, and upon telling Dimmesdale the truth, begs "Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive! (Hawthorne, 236)."
The burden that Hester must bear for her sin of adultery is seen when she removes the scarlet letter and Pearl reacts negatively, forcing her to replace it. Hawthorne points out "whether thus typified or no, that an evil deed invests itself with the character of doom (Hawthorne, 257)."
Arthur Dimmesdale
The Reverend Dimmesdale...
He has to live with the guilt of hiding this sin, which begins to take its tole on his health and appearance. While he had never before broken any laws, Hawthorne shows he "fearfully transgressed one of the most sacred of them. But this had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose. As a man who had once sinned, but who kept his conscience all alive and painfully sensitive by the fretting of an unhealed wound, he might have been supposed safer within the line of virtue, than if he had never sinned at all (Hawthorne, 244)." Hawthorne illustrates the guilt and its consequences by writing "the breach which guilt once made into the human soul is never, in the mortal state, repaired (Hawthorne, 245)."
Dimmesdale's "selfhood is so fractured that he has to appeal to someone else to make known who he is. He exhorts Hester to name her fellow sinner, aware that the guilty party is himself (Gilmore, 2001)."
Roger Chillingworth
Chillingworth is a physician and the husband of Hester, and is seen as an evil force. He is guilty of…
Works Cited
Gilmore, Michael T. "Hidden in plain sight: The Scarlet Letter and American legibility." Studies
in American Fiction. (2001): 22 March.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter, A Romance. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields,
Pimple, Kenneth D. "Subtle, but remorseful hypocrite: Dimmesdale's moral character." Studies
" (Hawthorne, 71) This statement of intent strikes as a core romantic value, contending with no small degree of irony that there is a sense of moral authority in the air which bears a dominant effect on the lives of New Englanders. Indeed, this is consistent with our understanding of Hawthorne's critical response to the forces of Puritanism. That the author is from the infamous settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, commonly referenced
" This seems powerful evidence that she has not accepted Puritan gender roles, but instead, is defending and helping to uplift the man who got her into this situation, and who is looked up to as a spiritual leader, while she is a spiritual outcast. The contrast is striking between the two, yet she is the strong one. There was neither "irritation or irksomeness" in Hester (124) and the "blameless purity
But because of her own inner strengths as a woman of character, Hester goes against all of the principles of Puritan society and ends up spoiled and ruined by bigotry and prejudice. As to the themes found in the Scarlet Letter, it is clear that Hawthorne meant to tell a moral story with Hester Prynne as the main focus. Perhaps Hawthorne was attempting to tell the reader that Hester Prynne,
They also become physically afflicted, afflicted in their corrupt and judgmental flesh, in the case of Chillingworth, rotting like a plant. Hawthorne's fairy-tale like ending, however unrealistic it may sound, because surely the bad and cowardly are not always punished by death and despair, does strike one true note. People who morally condemn others are entirely dependant upon finding moral causes to uphold, and people to defame. With no one
That's a very sad thing and it again shows that lack of forgiveness in the Puritan society of 16th century. Pearl thus stands for innocence in the novel- innocence that is tainted by someone else's sins. Dimmesdale represents the psychological damage that wrong teachings of the Church could produce. He is also symbolizing the weakness in the structure of the Church. He is a minister who preaches people against adultery
Hester refers to her label as a "passport" revealing that it is freeing for her, and Dimmesdale is able to preach and understand humanity better because of his relationship. True sin is not understood by the other preachers, but evil is found in the closeness of love and hate in the society. Another major theme in the Scarlet Letter is identity. Hester embraces her "A" identity and refuses to leave