This paper delves into themes related to sin and acceptance.
Introduction
The Scarlet Letter delves into numerous aspects related to guilt, society, the self as well as an assortment of varying themes related to sex and the Puritan way of life at the time
(Hawthorne, 1850). However, despite all this I believe that the Scarlet Letter is a form of social commentary in that it delves into the positive and negative aspects that pervaded Puritan society at the time that people either did not know about or turned a blind eye towards such actions. The novel thus presents the notion that the concepts of sin and acceptance are viewed and experienced differently by different people.
Form of Social Commentary
When examining the novel, it becomes clear that the writing style and the way in which the author delves into the Puritan way of life seemingly shows the double standards that existed at the time. For example, while the character of Hester is slated for punishment for being an adulterer, little is mentioned regarding the man she had sexual relations with. From the way in which she was described and the manner that the people acknowledge her as, it appears that all of the fault is attributed to her.
This I believe was an intentional aspect of the novel on the part of the author to depict how women received the shorter end of the stick so to speak when it came to living within such a society. In fact, it was the character of Roger Chillingworth (the husband of Hester who was thought of as dead) who was the first to voice the unfairness of only Hester being condemned for the crime with little to no attempt at actually finding the person she slept with.
Another aspect to take into consideration is the fact that the Reverend Dimmesdale was revealed towards the latter half of the novel as the father of Hesters child. Yet, what is curious is that while Hester was able to withstand being labeled as an adulterer, Dimmesdale actually progressively got worse throughout the novel despite him not revealing his secret until the end.
Sin and Acceptance
The reason why Dimmesdale and Hester had different reactions to the sin they committed was due to the varying ways in which they chose to accept it. In the case of Hester she chose to own up to her sin and instead of taking the easy way out through suicide she chose to work as a seamstress to support her daughter.
In the case of Dimmesdale he chose to keep it bottled up inside and continued to suffer as a direct result of what he perceived as a moral sin. It is at this juncture that it can be seen that the novel apparently questions the true impact of sin and morality wherein it shows that acceptance of an act and moving forward from it changes the perception of sin (as seen in the case of Hester) as compared to internalizing it and continuously blaming oneself ( as seen in the case of the Reverend).
In fact, the concept of sin and acceptance in order to move on can be considered a crucial part of the novel as exemplified by the deaths of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth wherein their refusal to accept and move on killed them in the end as compared to Hester who accepted her sin and bore it proudly who in the end had a somewhat happy ending.
Conclusion
Overall, it can be stated that the novel is an excellent social commentary of the state of society at the time and reveals how the refusal to own up to a sin can literally eat a person from within and cause their death.
Reference List
Hawthorne, N. (1850). The Scarlet Letter. New York: Ticknor, Reed & Fields.
Although Nathanial Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in the middle of the nineteenth century, he wrote it using a style and subject matter that accurately reflected the ideals and way of life of early colonists in Puritan-influenced New England. While some of the concepts included in the story may be difficult to understand when looking at them from a modern point of view, when these things are placed in their historical context, they become much easier to understand. For example, the idea that Hester could not just run off with Reverend Dimmesdale seems somewhat crazy to the modern world because she hadnt seen her husband since she left England and didnt want to marry him to begin with.
Todays world would not have a problem with a woman who left her husband under less onerous circumstances.
However, the Puritan society in which Hester was supposed to have lived would have considered this a damnable offense and would necessarily ostracize Hester from all polite society for the rest of her life, regardless of what else she did. To understand this context, then, it is necessary to look at the religious, social, and environmental factors that restricted Hester in the 1600s.
Puritanism dictated just about everything involved in colonial life in 1600s New England, even including how people talked with each other, how they dressed, and what kind of relationships they had. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience (Bowden, 2004). Because of this connection to personal religious experience, Hester knew she would not be able to run away from her marriage vows to marry another even if she did stretch them in her relationship to Reverend Dimmesdale. As a Puritan herself, she had to remain in the village as a married woman as was agreed upon in her marriage to Dr. Prynne, aka Roger Chillingworth, until she had confirmation that he was deceased.
Anything less would have violated her own road to salvation even though she had not married him voluntarily. While it is often easy to attribute Hesters difficulties to her society alone, it must be remembered that Hester herself was a believer in the Puritan religion. Once Hesters secret was out, it was obvious to the entire village that Hester was not provided with the same degree of faith as the rest of the villagers and was therefore a greater sinner. To win her place in heaven, it was necessary for her to suffer the lowest status on earth to do penance for her past deeds. Although Hester hates her scarlet letter, she wears it both because she is convinced she has committed the worst sin, but also because the society in which she lives will never allow her to forget that she is the worst sinner of them all. This is the reason Hester returns to her old home in the end, taking up her stigma and the scarlet letter until her death.
The Puritans held a strict social order that took into account each others perceived righteousness.
Therefore, those who were considered closer to God had a higher social rank in society from those who were considered to be closer to sin. Thanks to the story of Adam and Eve, men were perceived to be closer to God than women and religious men were closer to God than those who worked the fields. Though not theocracies, most colonies in New England were dominated by Puritan mores and doctrine (Clark, 1999). Understanding this makes it easier to see how Reverend Dimmesdale could not be seen to be associating himself with Hester after Pearl was born because she was a fallen woman and he was the highest moral authority in the village. They came from opposite ends of the social spectrum, one representing extreme sin and the other representing ultimate righteousness. Pearls crime was in simply being born. She was born without a father, in obvious and undeniable violation of her mothers wedding vows as well as the word of God.
Socially speaking, this meant that she was touched by the devil himself and was therefore unclean and unworthy to associate with the other children in the village or to be treated with any kind of humanity by the other villagers.
With all this harsh treatment of not only herself, but also of her child, it is difficult for a person in modern times to understand why Hester didnt just pack up and leave for another town.
This is in large part because of the technological advances of the time and the interdependence the colonies had with one another. Colonies were not necessarily so separated from each other to the point that Hester could not have made the journey to the next town on her own. However, if she had, there was no guarantee that there would be a home waiting for her to move into. Building homes and establishing farms required intensive and often backbreaking toil (Jones, 1853), meaning unless a wife was expected, there was no reason for a home to be standing empty awaiting a tenant. However, even had she overcome that obstacle, trade that existed between the Puritan colonies would have ensured her scarlet letter would have followed her no matter where she went as long as she stayed within her religious framework. In addition, colonists found it necessary to rely upon each other for sustenance through the long, cold winters of the New England environment.
New Englanders evolved an intricate web of interdependence to meet the demand for labor, working for neighbors who sold their labor in return (Jones, 1853). Although Hesters crime was considered one of the worst crimes that could be committed, it would not have served the colony to have her locked away in prison, nor would it have been possible for her to have rebuilt her life elsewhere. Finally, it was considered necessary for colonists, especially female colonists, to stick close to the settlement as a measure to protect themselves against possibly hostile Indians. This is seen in The Scarlet Letter as it becomes evident that Roger Prynne was detained from rejoining his wife because he had been captured by Indians and had only recently secured his release before stumbling into Salem.
Restricted by these environmental concerns of living in a sparsely populated new colony in the wilderness, the rigid social hierarchy and the even stricter tenets of Puritanism as it was practiced both by the villagers and believed by Hester herself, there was little option throughout the story for any other outcome. The base portion of human nature brought Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale together because of their loneliness and their natural human attraction.
However, the higher calling of their religion, society, and environment necessarily kept them apart. Had just one of these elements been different, the outcome might have been much different. Hawthorne stays true to the literature of the period by presenting a story that both explores human nature as something destined for evil and that delivers a sermon of sorts regarding what it takes to live a good life.
Clark, Michael P. Puritanism. Encyclopedia of American Literature. Steven R. Serafin & Alfred Bendixen (Eds.). New York: Continuum Publishers, 1999, pp. 921-24. Web.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Alfred P. Knopf, 1992.
Jones, Abner Dumont. Cotton Mather. The Illustrated American Biography. New York: J. Milton and Company, 1853, p. 59. Web.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has plenty of lessons for both psychotherapists and psychoanalysts. It can be argued that no other novel dwells so much on the in-depth examination of the conflicts, dynamics and defenses attributes of shame (Adamson 53).
Although a number of critics on The Scarlet Letter have attributed Reverend Dimmesdale’s pain to guilt while Hester Prynne’s to shame, others suggest that both characters are distressed with shame. However, Dimmesdale’s pain is more severe than Hester’s because it is deeper and lethal (Kilborne 32). This paper will therefore attempt to analyze The Scarlet Letter through the glasses of deconstruction.
This paper will focus on how Hawthorn uses a deconstruction method to analyze the Puritan reading. Special attention will be placed on the turnaround of the Puritans’ order of reading and writing with its related transcription of reading as the non-origin authenticity of writing.
This paper will also talk about Dimmesdale and Hester and their conflicting views about the Puritan reading. Emphasis will also be laid on the significance of the scarlet letter imprinted on the bosom of Dimmesdale.
Salvation and damnation argument
According to Stewart, Hawthorne is considered to be a “Puritan of Puritans (16). But how can one attach a deconstructive of Puritanism to Hawthorne? Dimmesdale shouts, “Stand any here that question God’s judgment on a sinner? Behold! Behold a dreadful witness of it!” (Scheer 2). What ensues after this is unclear. “It was revealed!” Asserts the narrator, “but it were irrelevant to describe that revelation” (Scheer 2).
It can be argued that the revelation is about the scarlet letter imprinted on the bare bosom of Dimmesdale. It can be assumed that the presence of this imprint of sin on Dimmesdale’s rear end is not precisely masked in mystery. On the other hand, it is also not clearly asserted.
What the reader that ascertains from this context is the breaking of the spell that sets free Pearl’s tears and kisses and the concluding trade of words between the former treacherous partners.
Hester expresses the optimism that they use up their “immortal life together,” however, Dimmesdale scolds her when he says, “the law we broke!” (The sin here so terribly unveiled) let these unaided be in thy thoughts!” Later on, Dimmesdale shows gratitude to God for his “afflictions,” without which he believes he “would have been lost forever” (Scheer 2).
Dimmesdale submits his soul by extolling the God’s name and asking for “His will to be done” (Scheer 2).
A major part of the salvation and damnation argument in the critical canon is initiated by these last moments of Dimmesdale’s mortal life. The squabble on both sides-and the rationale of each side is in fact incontrovertible- center on either side of a symmetrical inquiry: if Dimmesdale assumes that he is damned, he is saved; if he assumes that he is saved, he is damned.
The argument put forward by Edward Davidson (among the formidable in the damned theory) appeals to the Romantic and Puritan theories of the Fall: Dimmesdale’s solipsistic partition of the spirit from the body (90). This argument posits that Dimmesdale incorrectly points sin to the body rather than to the spirit and therefore assumes that he is saved (Davidson 90).
Some of the proofs that Dimmesdale puts forward to sustain his assumption is Mistress Hibbins’s acknowledgment of Dimmesdale’s as being part of the Black Man. Davidson asserts that Mistress Hibbins, prior to the public confession made by Dimmesdale, is aware of the minister’s situation with unrivaled clarity (86). Accordingly, there is a debatable gap in the logic of this edition of the damned theory.
The gist of the matter is when Dimmesdale agrees to Hester’s plan to run away. Dimmesdale knows that he is damned because even his ensuing public declaration of guilt is not enough to turn things around. With respect to the logic of salvation, Dimmesdale’s public admission is absolutely unnecessary (Scheer 3).
Deconstruction of the Puritans
In what ways does Hawthorn presents his deconstruction of the Puritan community? The exact form this deconstruction occurs is the turnaround of the order of reading/writing with its associated transcription of reading as the non-origin authentic of writing. The quality of Puritan reality is based on a reading of selected Scriptures and texts (that are unreasonably factual text).
It is of necessity to acknowledge that the Puritan community asserts the texts themselves fairly than their reading of the pertinent transcripts as the basis upon which the quality of their realism rests.
The manner in which Puritans’ reading are conveyed by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter institutes theocracy that mirrors Nietzsche’s maxim which postulates that facts do not exist in the real world, only interpretations do (Nietzsche 267).
This implies that the arrangements made by Hawthorne with regards to the production and sustaining of the Puritan’s are based on the adage that social truths are creations grounded upon a circular reading. The truth is founded by a reading of the root of the reality in question where in every case the ensuing fact is an occulted form of the reading.
What implores the query is the reading (understanding) which acquiesces the reading. However, the fundamental (the productive) explanation is actually a type of writing-while-reading. Heidegger asserts that an interpretation is in no way an assumption-less understanding of a concept conveyed to us (191).
This implies that if we appeal to what stands there, then we discover that what stands there in the initial case is nothing apart from the apparent un-discussed conjecture… of the individual who performs the interpretation (Heidegger 192). It will be inappropriate to designate this interpretation as a type of reading. This implies that what is read constitutes what is written in the manner of reading.
It is this previous writing that is occulted- reading in the normal manner, which is, the second phrase of the order of writing/reading. Moreover, it is based on this occulting that Hawthorne’s deconstruction regarding the basis of the Puritans reveals. In other words, the truth is blameworthy and utter truth cannot be fortuitous (Kilborne 471).
This is exactly what the Puritans’ ruthless and inflexible reading of the Scriptures and associated texts (which are usually interpretations) fail to accept. Paradoxically, the Scripture both verifies and discards all human power that compares itself with the godly.
The Bible (the Writing) is a Reading that usually re-writes the readings. This aspect of the Scripture (readings/writings) begs the question: Were there defects in the original truths? In other words, one could argue that what is reflected in Hawthorne’s argument about the Puritans mirrors that concealed defect of the truth where all answers are simply fragmented questions (Scheer 12).
Examples of Hawthorne’s Claims
There are numerous examples in the texts to substantiate Hawthorne’s claims. A few examples should be enough. For instance, Hawthorne narrates about the earliest practical for prison and cemetery envisaged by the Puritan constructors for their “Utopia of human virtue and happiness” (47). This stems from the Puritan community’s reading of the outcomes of the Fall (to appeal to common sense here would simply invoke the question given that prisons and cemeteries did not exist in the pre-lapsarian ecstasy of paradise).
The society of “religion and law” (Hawthorne 50) erected by the Puritan community in the wilderness and the periphery of the New World is therefore overwhelmed from the onset by a post-edenic autocracy which fails to acknowledge (ironically in the same manner of recognizing) that the first sin has indefinitely prevented humankind from achieving human happiness and virtues on earth.
Therefore, prisons and cemeteries constitute a segment of the text marked on the wilderness. According to a reading of the Scriptures (which is also a reading), both prisons and cemeteries are imprinted on earth to serve as punishment to humans from the beginning (Scheer 13).
It is important to note that sustained reading also is“writing” in itself. However, what is read does not automatically imply what was written in the first case. As a matter of fact, it is by virtue of this unexplained inconsistency between writing and reading that Hawthorne exploits in his deconstruction of the Puritan community. Again, this reading/writing signs abound in Hawthorne’s book.
Consequently, the “grim rigidity verdict” (punishment) imposed by the Puritans upon Hester Prynne turns into a “living sermon against sin” (Hawthorne 63). The present of the scarlet letter on the bosom of Hester is thus not only a type of “writing” in the accurate sense but also in the figurative manner of the phrase.
“This writing derives is based on the violent and forcible alteration of the camouflage into a disclosure grounded on a broad though aggregating Puritan reading which, according to the “grim beadle”, gets its collective sanction from the violent and forceful writing of a communal structure” (Hawthorne 56).
The creative manner in which Hester “writes” her letter “A” is ambiguous to the bleak texture of Puritans’ realism where the alteration of the camouflage into disclosure as reflected in this case by letter “A” automatically becomes manifest. In addition, the symbol of sin is a ploy, the archetype of all workings of art being the mastermind of the Fall (Scheer 14).
The inconsistency between the writing and reading becomes manifest to the reader who understands that not only is Hester symbolized by the Scarlet letter but also obscured by it. Hester is not only concealed by the letter from “human charities” (Hawthorne 81), it also gives her liberty to speculate.
If the Puritans knew about this, they would have considered it a deadlier offense than the disgrace caused by the Scarlet letter. This uneven link between the signifier and the signified prolongs further to Puritan members’ majority of whom declined to construe the scarlet ‘A’ by its initial meaning (Hawthorne 164).
Thus, the concealment of what is made obvious is the self-deconstructive aspect that Hawthorne presents in his texts. What is reflected in Hawthorne’s text is a type of imprinting that his text must both impulsively reveal and repeat. Accordingly, his writing reflects the reading of the Puritan writing/reading of a reality produced by the imprinting of the Scriptures and associated texts regarding the reality in question.
For instance, as Hester evaluates her past experiences that have contributed to the stalemate of the scaffold, where she is compelled to disclose her own scarlet letter and its existing counterpart (Pearl, considered by Puritans as a symbol of adultery, a living disclosure of prior hidden sin) crafted by both Hester and her hidden counterpart.
Hester is thinking about a “new life” that is yet “feeding on time-worn materials…on a crumbling wall” (Hawthorne 58). According to this sentence, Hester is not only thinking about the dissimilarity between the New and Old World bust also the remains of the concept of the lost paradise (the collapsing of the barricades of Eden, once a place of happiness).
Thus, Hawthorne’s text has plenty of scriptural examples of inter-textuality that imprint themselves on a texture that is eventually vital with respect to text-making by Puritans (Scheer 15).
The compulsive nature of Hawthorne’s text (exposure/recurrence) makes the Scarlet Letter a fascinating book for deconstruction. The link between art and sin in Hawthorne’s book has attracted abundant treatment in the critical law. On the other hand, Hawthorne’s text faces both approval and rejection with regard to this connection.
For example, Leslie Fiedler makes a comment about the letter “A”. He asserts that this letter “may have represented to Hawthorne not only Adultery but Art,” by “involving precisely that adornment of guilt by craft which he attributes to Hester’s prototype” (Fiedler 237).
On the other hand, Claudia Johnson considers the “productive irritant” that drives Hawthorne into art as the “sinful” dismissal of art which Hawthorne had come across in numerous instances (8). Ironically, this same accusation can be traced in Hawthorne’s text.
It is wrong to assume that Hawthorne is disrespectful of art. On the contrary, he senses that he has justifications to be wary of the artistic undertaking preciously because of the unforeseeable twist it make assume.
The Puritan’s Dilemma
The deconstructive venture evident in Hawthorne’s romance is itself a sign of defiance per excellence. Although it is not aptly expressed in many words, its more telling statement is that the Puritan creation of reality (based on imprinting and writing/reading) is a ploy which is almost permanently subdued.
The Fall remains the source of this subdued art although in the case (Fall) of Puritan power, the exact sin under consideration here is the arrogant manner in which humankind usurp divinity and pretend to dispense God-like judgment (Scheer 16).
The Puritan dedication to the disclosure of hidden sin repetitively lends credence to creative arrangements (dignitaries on the balconies, pillories, scaffolds, etc) without which the intended disclosure of hidden sin would be impossible.
To be certain, Hawthorne makes it obvious that the Puritans were cautious of the any kind of pretentious ploy or ceremony, essentially considering it as wicked, they were nonetheless “native Englishmen…of the Elizabethan epoch” (Hawthorne 230). For example, Kenneth Murdock countless illustrations of the impasse Puritan divines encountered as they attempted to convey their religious tenets (34).
He asserts that although Catholics and Anglicans both used organ music, incense, and other instruments in their religious activities, to Puritans, this was a testimony of their sinful ignorance of Scripture (Murdock 34). As a result, the Puritans rejected the use of metaphors, especially those that appealed to the sense, in religious worship. Here, the link between metaphor and sin is fairly clear according to Puritan’s imagination.
The Puritan divine were even compelled to acknowledge, rather unwillingly, that the Holy Scriptures contain metaphors that appeal to senses. The explanation for this is not difficult to unravel. Given that we are imperfect, we are unable to appreciate any language that fails to appeal to the senses. Although such appeal is essential and useful, it is nonetheless unacceptable (Scheer 17).
Hawthorne’s romance mirrors this Puritan predicament in a true historical fashion. It not only dwells on their religious tenets but also focuses on their political rituals. For instance, during the Election Day, Hawthorne asserts that had they maintained their traditional taste, the New England colonizers might have demonstrated all ceremonies of public merit by banquets, bonfires, and processions and pageantries (230).
Although, during Election Day, there was some semblance of this sort, what the Puritans forbade is specifically the humor, the mischievous and the potentially insubordination (which would be synonymous to metaphors that are deemed indecent because they appeal to senses).
Therefore, Hawthorn informs us there were no minstrel, no offensive shows, and no juggler, with his deceptions of imitating witchcraft. All this activities were banned by the stiff laws of Puritans (Hawthorne 231).
The repression of artifice of potentially impish appeals to the senses, of historically pretentious political and religious traditions, ceremonies or rites becomes- according to the narrator- the symbol of an unconscious suppression of the creativity which is nonetheless the basis of the Puritan society and their writing/reading of reality.
It is also the foundation of the Puritan’s idea of a bleak and firm version of the human/divine dichotomy. However, in spite of the Puritan’s distaste for artifice, they remain unwilling dramatists and rhetoricians. On the same note, there is no gap of uncertainty in the framework they imprint on the facade of their reality.
Accordingly, it can be argued that The Scarlet Letter is not a disclaimer of the religious whims but a deconstruction of its gloomy absolutist aggregation. It is the absence of a redemptive fault in their theology that remains-according to the narrator-the incorrigible fault of the Puritans (Scheer 19).
The issue of the scarlet letter stamped on the bosom of Dimmesdale lends credence to the paradigm signified by the gap between the consciousness of the minister to the Puritan’s principles and his cataleptic romanticism. It is the former that compels him to make a public confession.
On the other hand, it is the latter that permits him (the minister) to consent to Hester’s evaluation of their illegitimate affair, “what we did had a consecration of its own” (Hawthorne 195). Without doubt, it is not possible to attribute Puritanism vs. romanticism to the narrator.
The alienated outlook of Hester with respect to human institutions (regarding whatever is established by the legislators or priests and making summary criticism without any reverence) may have liberated her. On the other hand, it taught some important lessons (Hawthorne 199). Dimmesdale is tortured by the disparity between what his real personality and what he appears to be.
Hester, also experiences the same disparity. However, she uses it to rebuff the system. Hawthorne tells us; “wild, heathen Nature has never been subjugated by human law, or…illuminated by higher truth” (203). This implies that Hester’s suppression by the Puritan tenets is peripheral (Scheer 20).
As readers, we cannot tell if Dimmesdale has agreed to escape with Hester, her illicit lover. Dimmesdale “fancied himself inspired” (Hawthorne 225). It can be deduced from this statement that Dimmesdale disapproves the apparent link between art and sin, which is the unavoidable outcome of the Fall, the biblically corroborated origin of both art and sin.
It is this denial of the fault of truth and sin of the art that is liable for hollowing the scarlet letter on the bosom of Dimmesdale. Hawthorne’s deconstructive argument should be emphasized here: it does not carry much weight whether it is present or not for nothing that is simply imprinted is actually there at all, in spite of the fact that it is.
Works Cited
Adamson, Joseph. Guardian of the inmost me. SUNY Press: Albany, 2009. Print
Davidson, Edward H. Dimmesdale’s Fall. The Scarlet Letter. Ed. John C. Gerber. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1963. Print
Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. Del – Delta: New York, 1966. Print
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Ed. William Charvat et al. Ohio UP: Columbus, 1850. Print
Heidegger, Martin. Sein und Zeit, Being and Time. Ed. John Macquarie and Edward Robinson. Harper & Rowe: New York, 1927. Print
Johnson, Claudia D. The Productive Tension of Hawthorne’s Art. The U of Alabama P: Alabama, 1981. Print
Murdock, Kenneth B. Literature and Theology in Colonial New England. Harper Torch books: New York, 1949. Print
Nietzsche, Friedrich. 1901. Der Wille zur Macht, The Will to Power. Ed. Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale. Random House – Vintage: New York, 1901. Print
“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an excellent piece of literature enabling us to examine the way historicism can be applied to understand the value of moral lessons which can be derived from a certain opus of any particular literature period. Along with historicism, this excellent literature piece presents a valuable ground for the analysis of symbolic addresses applied in it especially in connection to the historical background of this opus. The symbolism in connection with historicism may be applied to reveal the most appealing ideas and address the most complicated issues of human life, and this concept may be well explored within “The Scarlet Letter”.
This romantic work discusses a row of important problems existing within the community of people it relates. Speaking about historicism as a successful critical approach for studying literary works of this kind, it should be mentioned that it relates to the main points of this novel in an excellent way helping to understand a row of important details which the author applied to reveal the moral dilemma of the main heroine of his book. Generally, such important themes as legalism, guilt, immorality, and sin related in the novel may be discussed through the prism of historicism, and even the very title of the novel featuring the word “scarlet” or extremely red highlights the ideas of sinful practices described in the novel along with the need to repent which were so timely for the society during the historic period when the author wrote his novel.
Addressing a row of important lessons which can be derived from “The Scarlet Letter”, it can be very beneficial to do so in terms of their connection to the historical background of this important literary work. Historicism can be evaluated as an efficient approach helping to find out the value of this novel and to go deep into the ideas put by the author into it. According to Critical Approaches (par. 7),
The Way Historicism Helps to Identify the Value of Moral Lessons Presented by the Author in the Novel
Historicism may approach a text from numerous perspectives, but all perspectives tend to reflect a concern with the period in which a text is produced and/or read. No “history” can be truly objective or comprehensive because history is constantly written and rewritten; however, studying the historical context of work, particularly in contrast with that in which it is read, can illuminate our biases and hopefully enable us to understand the text (and the culture, context, ourselves) better.
It appears, thus, that the novel presents a row of deep ideas that can be efficiently analyzed using historicism helping to see all the riches of thought and morality which are incorporated into this inimitable piece of literature. Evaluating the text from the point of view of historicism, the first thing to be mentioned is the period when the text was written. The novel was created in 1850, the period when moral values underwent serious changes in western society, thus, establishing a ground for discussions in this area, and Hawthorne can be acclaimed for his findings in this area which were praised not only by his contemporaries but by the next generations of critics and readers (Baugh 207). Discussing this novel from the historical point of view helps to see the depth of the moral issues addressed in it especially with regards to the time when it was written and the common way of thinking spread in those days.
“The Scarlet Letter” helps to understand such important moral lessons as the necessity to forgive those who repent and to offer them a second chance. In this vein, the experience of the main heroine and the response to her actions from the other characters described in the novel appears to be very emblematic (Dobie 142). Speaking about the symbolism of this novel in connection to historicism, scarlet color is to be addressed. Scarlet is a well-known allusion to sin and guilt which is commonly applied since the days when Hebrew Scriptures were written. There this color was applied with regards to the sinful nature of the whole human race, and as this literature piece is the address the themes of living in the Puritan society which was famous for its piety and devotion to the Holy Scriptures it is no wonder that the author resorts to the use of this symbol ((Dobie 241). In addition, the symbol of scarlet “A” meaning “adulterer” was connected to the image of the adulterer “Babylon the Great” from the Bible who was wearing the clothing of this scarlet color and was a fountain of all sorts of sinful adulterous practices.
The Connection Between Historicism and Symbolism Incorporated into the Novel
With regards to the issues that Hawthorne raises through the historical symbolism of this novel, it should be said that they are a lot. According to Shalt ( par.7).,
Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth experience the effects of sin and guilt in different forms and are forced to handle their dilemmas. Hester has been shown to deal with her sin of adultery most effectively and has used it to her advantage while Dimmesdale has handled his sin least effectively. Since Hester is no longer a real part of society, she doesn’t have to constantly conform to Puritan lifestyles. Hester feels free to express her opinions in her house in the forest and does so by doing things such as letting her hair down or letting Pearl adventure outside.
Such serious issues were often addressed during the end of the nineteenth century as the society affected by the ideas of progress including industrialization and capitalization decided to revaluate the standards of morality. The main of these issues are related to moral values, sinful practices, being religious, seeking God’s forgiveness, finding a way to cope with a feeling of guilt and pain, etc. Through the symbolism of allusion to scarlet color, the author can get one’s audience involved in a serious meditation on the themes of morality and sin along with public opinion about these crucial issues. Discussing the facts which this work reveals about the community it speaks about, it should be stated that Hawthorne as the author of this important work acts as a psychologist and the expert of human hearts with profound knowledge concerning the ruining effects of the feeling of guilt and the desire to revenge. The author seems to invoke the society not to be that strict to people who repent as their feeling of guilt is their biggest “torture stake” which they must face from day today. Hawthorne describes the severest feeling of bitterness the main heroine has in the following words: “be it sin or no,” said Hester Prynne bitterly, “I hate the man!” (Hawthorne 234). This feeling is enough for a punishment; so, Hawthorne appeals to the society with a petition to show mercy for such people as Hester Prynne.
Concluding on all the information related above, it should be stated that “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne can be evaluated as a meaningful piece of literature addressing a row of important social issues including sinful practices, subtraction, feeling of guilt, and repentance. Hawthorne applies the symbol of scarlet “A” meaning “adulterer” which the heroine was wearing as a sign of her sinful past addressing biblical ideas which were common for the Puritan society described in this literary work. Through such symbolism, the author can get one’s audience involved in a serious meditation on the themes of morality and sin along with public opinion about these crucial issues. It appears, thus, that the novel presents a row of deep ideas that can be efficiently analyzed using historicism helping to see all the riches of thought and morality which are incorporated into this inimitable piece of literature. Evaluating, this novel from the historical point of view shows the depth of the moral issues discussed in it especially with regards to the period and a common way of thinking spread in those days. “The Scarlet Letter” helps to understand such important moral lessons as the necessity to forgive those who repent and to offer them a second chance. In this vein, the experience of the main heroine and the response to her actions from the other characters described in the novel appears to be very emblematic.
Works Cited
Baugh, Albert. The Literary History of England, United States: Literary Licensing, LLC, 2011. Print.
Critical Approaches. n. d. Web.
Dobie, Ann. Theory into Practice, United States: Wadsworth Publishing, 2001. Print.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter, New York: Bantam Classics, 1981. Print.
Shalt, Jack. 2008. Analysis of Sin and Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”. 2008. Web.
The book by Nathaniel Hawthorne titled The Scarlet Letter is considered the best work of his not in vain – the contents and the topics touched upon in it raise much profound thinking and reveal the true nature of human beings under the pressure of the Puritan community that does not accept any sins and weaknesses and struggles only for integrity and honor. Hawthorne managed to reveal the whole scope of inner qualities, the torments that people experience when their sins do not let them go, and the transformations that occur in people when they are possessed by evil thoughts and intentions.
The narrative begins from the preamble in which the narrator justifies the contents by the manuscript he occasionally found and then proceeds to tell the story itself. The narrative takes place two centuries earlier in the newly settled USA, in the Puritan colony where the woman called Hester Prynne leaves the prison with her daughter Pearl – she is urged to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest that signals her adultery. She kept the name of the man with who she committed it secret, which causes even more accusation for her. It is also mentioned that she has a husband who did not arrive in the USA, but as it turns out further he did, and took another name – Roger Chillingworth – and continues his medical practice in Boston (Hawthorne, 1889).
As the narrative develops, the reader understands that Arthur Dimmesdale, the official who protected Hester and helped her remain with Pearl is the person with who she had adultery. When Dimmesdale suddenly falls ill because of the inner torments he has because of the sin they committed, Chillingworth driven by his wish for revenge tries many forbidden and dangerous medicines on him, worsening his state and adding to his aching conscience. Pearl often asks why her parents do not reveal the truth, and he finally confesses to the community dying at the same time. Chillingworth is frustrated by his failure of revenge because the plan they had arranged was to run away in three, with Pearl. As the plan was ruined because of Dimmesdale’s confession, he also dies in a year and Hester with Pearl leave Boston, with Hester coming back in some time after Pearl’s marriage and continues wearing her scarlet letter “A” (Hawthorne, 1889).
Interpretation
Initially, Hawthorne was trying to find out how sin and knowledge are connected in human nature and how they can be mutually justified – by the adultery Hester and Arthur commit they give birth to new life, to their child who becomes the true treasure, a symbol of their secret love. But at the same time, these two people have no strength to overcome the stigmas of society and have to keep their love secret, with Hester carrying a whole load of shame and persecution on her weak shoulders. Even being a strong-willed and independent woman, she is broken by the pressure of society and subdue to the stigma, which is symbolically shown at the end of the book when she returns to the city where everyone has long forgotten her shame and sin but still wearing the scarlet letter as a sign for her self-punishment and identification in the old world she left.
The topic of evil is also clearly felt and analyzed by Hawthorne – through the image of Chillingworth the author manages to show how the dark sides of one’s personality can create a horror that will spoil his own life and many other lives. Hawthorne shows complete immorality in tests that Chillingworth conducts on Dimmesdale without any hesitations, considering him to be the root of his misfortune. Again, the topic of the whole book, the question that is asked by the author and is hardly answered is who is wrong, who committed the initial sin that brought about such disastrous consequences? Was it Hester because of her infidelity or Dimmesdale who refused to accept Pearl and save Hester from her shame? Or did everything started even earlier, from Chillingworth who killed all emotions between him and her wife thus pushing her to act the way she did?
This question is rather hard to answer, but what is clear is that all those people would not have lived the life they did if something had not happened. Human life is full of mistakes and sudden turns, so in case people live only according to the rules prescribed by tough religious dogmas and considerations of morality and multiple virtues, there will be no life at all – it will become plain and gray, losing colors and sense. Hawthorne investigates the way life was arranged in the USA in the 17th century under the Puritan influence and tries to find out how those who do not fit the profile established by the community are treated and how they survive, physically and spiritually.
Evaluation
It is possible to say that the book possesses the power of persuasion in the evils the Puritan society used to have – people’s lives were ruined by religious pressure; parallel to the overall picture of a community that existed in the USA he shows the individual effort of several people to face the challenges they have come across. So, I would advise other students to read this book because it reveals much about the secrets of human nature. But in general, I think the book is not highly relevant for the present time because there are only local Puritan communities and the society in any country enjoys a much higher degree of freedom and democracy, so the situation in which the heroes of this book found themselves are not likely to be repeated. I learned much about human relations and the weird destinies that move people and make them act in different ways, and surely I think it is a great experience in my life. But the characters remained too distant from me because of the great difference in life perception by a person born in the 20th century and people who lived four centuries ago.
References
Hawthorne, N. (1889). The Scarlet Letter. Houghton, Mifflin and Co.
The most famous of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novels relates to the fate of Hester Prynne. She is at the pillar of shame with an illegitimate daughter in her arms. Among the public humiliation, witnesses are Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, and her seducer, the priest Arthur Dimmesdale, the baby girl’s father (Gao 1729). The tragedy that bound these three people reveals the spiritual traits of the novel’s heroes, revealing the bravery and generosity of some and the cowardice and nothingness of others. Thus, it is essential to determine how the author used the symbol of the scarlet letter to highlight the sinful person and identify whether it is possible to atone for the guilt or conceal it.
The Intertwining of the Basic Feelings of the Protagonists
Confession of Sin
Hester gives birth to a child by an unknown lover, and her husband disowns her. The Puritan community embarrasses Hester by sentencing her to wear the scarlet letter A on her chest forever. The author used this color as a sign of shame to describe the woman’s action. At the same time, the fact that she constantly wore this symbol demonstrates her desire to atone for her sin. The Puritan community, with her husband, torments Hester to identify the child’s father, with hants “will be known! – he will be known! – he will be known!” (Hawthorne 71). Further, the deceived husband devotes himself to the vengeance of his wife, while Hester, enduring humiliation and exaltation over the years, voluntarily lives among persons who hate her. Hester’s impeccable behavior and selfless help to those in need lead to the fact that the townspeople gradually begin to treat her even with peculiar respect. Even the scarlet letter no longer appears as a symbol of sin but of inner strength.
Secret Guilt
While Arthur, a saint in the eyes of the congregation and the worst sinner in his own eyes, exhausts himself with hypocrisy. Priest Dimmesdale, guilty of violating the moral law and concealing his guilt, is not condemned, but “the heavy crimes and sufferings have intimately bred him with the whole sinful brotherhood of men” (Hawthorne 172). When Dimmesdale preaches a sermon in honor of Election Day, he feels his mind become muddled. The people gather in the market square to hear Dimmesdale preach, and Dimmesdale chooses to repent to the public. He stands at the pillar of shame, confesses his sin to the people, and removes the priest’s scarf (Hawthorne 285). Therefore, it can be argued that the woman atones for her sin and has a chance at a life without fear or guilt, while the man conceals it and consequently cannot escape it.
The Influence of Intentions and Their Consequences on Personalities
The Intentions and Actions of the Characters
It is essential to remark that Hester and Dimmesdale commit a grave sin, for which both pay the price in this life. Hester attempts to redeem himself, while Dimmesdale destroys himself from within (Gao 1726). Chillingworth plans for revenge but does not know the child’s father’s name because the woman is determined to preserve Dimmesdale’s reputation. Chillingworth is intent on revenge and tries to discover the father (Gao 1726). While Hester strives to cope with her blame by participating in hard work and admitting her sin, Dimmesdale is drowning in feelings of guilt lingering above him emotionally and physically.
Which Is Worse, Sin or Vengeance?
The three heroes lead lives of atonement, sin, and revenge, and when the truth is revealed for all to understand, then Dimmesdale is freed from his inner turmoil. Chillingworth loses the meaning of life when the priest admits his sin (Gao 1725). Therefore, Hester and Dimmesdale atone for sin and attempt to free themselves from it, while Chillingworth increasingly acquires negative emotions and the need for revenge consumes him.
Freedom from the Burden of Guilt
Guilt as One of the Symbols of Christianity
The novel is filled with Christian virtue despite committing a grave sin. Hester’s refusal to name her daughter’s father protects him from public humiliation and burdens his conscience until he openly confesses. Even though Chillingworth had no part in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, Chillingworth feels a desire for revenge. This is not a Christian virtue, and it gradually destroys him (Luke 23.41). At the same time, Dimmesdale is freed from his guilt by a sincere confession before an audience and the praise of God, while Hester “will redeem herself for the rest of her life” (Hawthorne 44). Accordingly, they choose Christian methods to save their souls, while Chillingworth, on the contrary, only piles on the hatred.
The Consequences of Heroes’ Decisions
After Dimmesdale’s death, Chillingworth, who had lost the meaning of life, immediately becomes weak. Not a year later, he dies, and he bequeaths his entire vast fortune to little Pearl. After his death, Hester and her daughter Pearl disappear, and many years later, Hester returns and voluntarily wears the emblem of the sight again. A woman can live and atone for her guilt because “she had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom” (Hawthorne 250). Pearl is happily married but constantly remembers her mother, writing to her and sending her gifts (Hawthorne 321). Hester wants to live where she is a sinner to atone for her sin.
Conclusion
Therefore, sins cannot be hidden from God; the only method of forgiveness is to repent sincerely. However, concealing sin leads to a torment of conscience, which later results in a confession of guilt, but there may no longer be time for atonement. It is significant to note that the worst feeling in the novel is hatred and revenge, which only escalates and cannot be dispensed with without sincere forgiveness of the actions of others.
Works Cited
Gao, Haihong. “An Analysis of Symbolic Images in The Scarlet Letter.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1725-1731.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter: 1850. Infomotions, Incorporated, 1850.
The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Cambridge UP, 2004.
Nathanial Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in the middle of the nineteenth century. It is a story that is set in the early New England colonies which were strongly influenced by the Puritan religion. In his attempt to show the real conditions of life in this earlier time, Hawthorne tried to include ideas and concepts that would have been familiar to the Puritans, but that also helped to illustrate the dark side of people even in his own time.
One instance where this is shown is in the instance where Hester could not just run off with Reverend Dimmesdale when she discovered she was pregnant. This treatment was particularly cruel since Hester had not had an option of who she married before she left England, her husband had not been seen or heard from in many years, and in any other case, she would have been free to marry the father of her child before the pregnancy became known. The book opens with Hester emerging from prison carrying her three-month-old fatherless baby, illustrating the dark side of human nature in the way that other people treat her, the way that she sees herself.
The birth of her baby made it obvious to the rest of her village that Hester had sinned greatly against God. To win her place in heaven, then, it was necessary for her to suffer the lowest status on earth to do penance for her past deeds, marked by the scarlet letter of her sin, which “had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Chapter 2).
For both Hester and for the townspeople, the mere presence of this letter appearing this one time on her dress is enough to mark her as something different from the rest of them and secluded. Because she can leave the village (there is nowhere else for her to go), she will forever be excluded and alone. Even though the letter is elaborately decorated, it is a badge of shame that, as one spectator noted, “not a stitch in that embroidered letter but she has felt it in her heart” (Chapter 2).
By the time she steps out of the prison, Hester has already felt the sting of her shame enter into her soul and knows that she will never escape from it. Even if she is not forced to actually wear the letter, the baby that she carries will always be a reminder and the people will never forget this unusual occurrence. The darker side of human nature is revealed in this because people will not forget something bad that they know about another person and will continue to hold it against them for the rest of their life no matter how good they are in the future.
For some people, this profound exclusion within society is not enough punishment, though. The women watching Hester come out of the prison talk about how she is receiving a very light punishment in being forced to wear the letter and to stand on public display. One woman insists that the letter should not be a removable mark on her gown, but instead a mark in her skin. “The magistrates are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch … At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead” (Chapter 2).
While another woman attempts to convince the others that Hester’s mark is quite deep enough, another woman quiets her with the remark that even a brand in the skin is not enough. “What do we talk of marks and brands, whether on the bodice of her gown or the flesh of her forehead? … This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book” (Chapter 2). Although the men around them seem to feel the women are being overly harsh, Hester’s punishment is not complete with a jail sentence or the probationary term of life under the scarlet letter.
She is also required to stand on public display for a certain amount of time under the silent and accusing glares of the townspeople. This aspect of the scene illustrates how the darker side of human nature will always want to give greater physical punishment as a means of guaranteeing that the individual suffers. Although Hester’s punishment is long-term and severe, the women want it to be greater because they want to see her squirm and Hester continues to hold her head high.
As if being imprisoned and sentenced to appear wearing the red letter even this one time isn’t enough punishment, Hester is then questioned by the frightening black figures of the town leaders. She’s offered a chance to get rid of her scarlet letter if she will name the father of her baby, but Hester has already been damaged beyond repair. She tells Reverend Dimmesdale that he will never be able to remove the letter: “It is too deeply branded.
Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony as well as mine!” (Chapter 3). Only later does the cruelty of this scene become clear as the reader understands that Dimmesdale is the father of the baby. If he had truly wished to save Hester from the isolation and harsh punishment of her neighbors, he could have done so long before this. That he hasn’t illustrated to Hester that his love for her is not sufficient to carry them through any future difficulties.
Despite the love they supposedly felt for each other, Reverend Dimmesdale could not be seen to be associating himself with Hester after Pearl was born because she was a fallen woman and he was the highest moral authority in the village. They came from opposite ends of the social spectrum, one representing extreme sin and the other representing ultimate righteousness. It is interesting to compare Hester’s strengths as a sinner to Dimmesdale’s weaknesses as a pillar of moral character and righteousness. “Notwithstanding his high native gifts and scholar-like attainments, there was an air about this young minister – an apprehensive, a startled, a half-frightened look – as of a being who felt himself quite astray, and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own” (Chapter 3).
The reason for this appearance, of course, is because he was ‘quite astray’ from what he preached to the rest of the community. This reveals the dark side of human nature as a man becomes a coward in the face of his own challenges. Dimmesdale does suffer a great deal of punishment throughout the remainder of his life because of his sin with Hester Prynne, but it is carried out almost entirely in secret and is only brought to public awareness as he dies. Instead of standing up for her, Dimmesdale allows himself to remain hidden.
Throughout this scene of Hester’s returning to society from the darkness of the prison, Hawthorne indicates there are many levels to the dark side of human nature. There is the cultural element that people will never forget something bad that someone did and will manage to hold it against them forever. There is also the element that people want to watch ‘bad’ people suffer horrendously for their deeds and that psychological punishment is somehow not considered to be sufficient. Finally, there is the element of cowardice that would enable one person to allow another person to suffer tremendous isolation and punishment rather than stand up for them as would be right. It is because of this dark side of human nature that the story is possible at all.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Alfred P. Knopf, 1992.
Authored by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is a fascinating masterpiece featuring Hester Prynne as the protagonist. Hester bears a child, Pearl, who is a byproduct of an adulterous affair. Amid facing imprisonment, the main character strives to leave a life of repentance struggling to restore her dignity.
The author sets the novel in the seventeenth century in a Puritan community within Boston, Massachusetts. In this city, Hester gets out of the prison. She is carrying “her daughter in her arms with her body covered with a gown referred to as a rag of scarlet cloth that takes the shape of letter A” (Hawthorne 10). It signifies adultery. In the end, Dimmesdale reveals letter “A” marked in his breasts where Pearl kisses him only to mark the death of Chillingworth.
To deliver his targeted lessons, Hawthorne revolves around the main character to present the theme of remorse, transgression and conformity. Though the development of these themes is also a subject of other characters such as Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, Hester is outstandingly the central character since she makes the latter two behave in the manner they do in the novel to the extent of contributing towards their demise.
Hester is aware of the identity of one of the elderly onlookers as being her past lover. However, she goes down with a crowd of fathers and never puts it in white her identity. Her capacity to maintain secrecy is astounding since, as the author informs in chapter two, “One token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another” (Hawthorne 31). It also evident that the elderly man is not aware of the reason as to why Hester encounters the punishment.
However, one of the elderly onlookers informs Chillingworth the reason behind the punishment: her involvement in an adulterous affair. Despite the fact that the novel is all about Hester, the author explores nothing much about her personality. Rather, he focuses on the forces that shape her real being.
In the early chapters of the book, the reader becomes aware that Hester was a strong and a morally upright woman. She recalls her parents as being passionate and vital role models who more often attempted to curb the likelihood of the emergence of incautious behaviors in her. Since she involved herself in an affair that resulted to public shaming, it is also evident that she was passionate in nature. Though shamed publicly, she does not allow these acts to change her personality or feel sorry about her past.
This fact is somewhat evident when she proclaims that “But this had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose” (Hawthorne 45). Furthermore, the reader meets her in the novel as a woman who worked to gain hefty communal acceptance through her charitable work: something that she does as the main chore of her life when her daughter marries a European upon the demise of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth a year later.
By refusing to accept the societal tagging of acts referred to as ‘sinful’ to afflict her, Hester emerges as an ample character that questions and speculates the organizations of the society, enormously placing the moral aspect of the society into interrogation. The strong belief on her autonomy to reason and take charge of her actions arguably is as an immense source of her motivation.
As previously mentioned, some of the universal ideas introspected in The Scarlet Letter include offense, culpability and legalism. Conceptualization of sin infers bringing forth knowledge about the existence of sin and the repercussions of involvements in sinful behaviors. As it is evident in the Judeo-Christian tradition, sin fosters the separation of evil from the good. The result is the ample laying forth of true human nature, which is a subject of exposure to challenges and the urge to sin.
The tale of Hester and Dimmesdale is perhaps reminiscent of the Judeo-Christian tradition tales of Adam and eve. The similarity in these tales lies on foundations of the repercussions of sin, suffering and pain. In the two accounts, knowledge results from sinning. “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread” (Hawthorne 67).
For Hester, the letter is a discriminating passport depictive of her landing into places that other women in the New England had not endeavored. This way, she can contemplate about herself and the surrounding society in a more bold way. The realization of the fact that “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (Hawthorne 105) makes the theme of sin and knowledge even more conspicuous in the novel.
Though Hester does not plainly admit that she was involved in sinful acts, the repercussions of sin are imminent since “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom” (Hawthorne 147). Even though Hester and Dimmesdale are empathetic, attempting to reconcile themselves on daily life experiences, sin has certain moral consequences, which need to be conspicuous before the eyes of the society.
This is perhaps true since the society elders put more emphasis on seeing Hester go through the experiences of her involvement in sin right here on earth. The Puritan elders view sin as something worthy punishing. Unfortunately, this experience is prejudiced since Dimmesdale does not go through such experience. Later, women come to realize this fact.
They strongly believe that Hester’s source of sin relates to sexism of the men in their town. They seek help from her when faced with similar sexism forces emanating from the men. Even though the Puritan village may remain stagnant about the perception of the true nature of one’s involvement in sin, Dimmesdale and Hester are perhaps real witnesses that sin may create better platforms of understanding others and making one become sympathetic.
More importantly, it leads to personal growth. “Shame, Despair, Solitude: These had been her teachers – stern and wild ones – and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss” (Hawthorne 165). In fact, it is perhaps after going through extraordinary circumstances that makes her an imperative figure in the society.
There is always a reason behind the publishing of every literary work. One could interpret a scholarly work from the contexts of the implied or textual perspectives amongst other perspectives. From the textual perspective, The Scarlet Letter is entertaining. More often, the reader feels sympathetic to Hester. However, he/she still advocates for harsh punishment for deceit, infidelity and hypocrisy as some of the detriments of the basic unit of society. This is also perhaps more consistent to what the Puritan elders thought.
The author seems bothered by the manner in which the society takes issues of equality. Is adultery a question of only a single gender: women alone? Was there no man figure in the picture during the act? Were the two genders not supposed to get an equal punishment? Even though Hester never revealed the real father to Pearl, arguably, the author, Hawthorne intended to raise the question of male dominance during the seventieth century.
The author perhaps also intended to put the societal leaders, who should act as moral guiders, into perspectives based on their ability to involve themselves in conspiracies that are detrimental of the moral institutions they proclaim to defend. Dimmesdale, a minister, would be the last person Chillingworth would have anticipated being involved in a secret affair with Hester.
However, amid such leaders, the author provides some hope of the emergence of better males’ generation when he presents Chillingworth as a scholar who allowed Pearl to inherit his property despite her being not his real daughter. Here, education stands out as an essential catalyst for transformation of society.
As portrayed in the end of the novel, every vice has its end, whether maintained in secret or not. The reader finally realizes the identity of Pearl’s father. Her mother’s grave is next to Dimmesdale. They both share the letter “A” in their common tombstone just as the letter was evident on Dimmesdale’s breasts.
It was also the shape taken by the scarlet cloth won by Hester. This way, the author offers an indication of the likelihood of eradication of a generation characterized by sin, and ushering in of a new one free from sin. In fact, The Scarlet Letter stands out as an informative literary masterpiece.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. London: Ticknor, Reed and Fields, 1850. Print.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale is a main character. In the novel, Dimmesdale comes out as a hypocrite. He is depicted as a kind man, full of wisdom and eloquent speaker. He is a respected clergyman. But he is involved in sin of adultery and he keeps it a secret for seven years.
As a result guilt consumes him for seven years until he goes through a transformation. This paper explores the effects of hiding his sin and his transformation.
First effect is that, hiding his sin erodes his conscience. He is a preacher of the word of God and encourages the congregation to confess their sins openly. On the contrary, he chooses to conceal his sin which makes his conscience questionable. Keeping his sin a secret punishes him inwardly.
He knows the shame that he may face but he prefers to punish himself by remaining silent about his sin. He remains in a state of self condemnation hence eroding his conscience. Dimmesdale feels like a coward because he lacks the courage to admit his wrongs.
As a result he chooses to conceal his sin which exposes him to an inward pain. Concealing of his sin also costs him his soul’s peace; he remains disturbed for seven years.
Secondly, concealing of his sin affects his physical and mental well- being. He knows revelation of truth about him would make people in the town look down upon him. These thoughts torment him and as a result he goes through a period of depression. His concealed sin leaves him without peace.
The thought of shame that may befall him results to mental distress. The burden of his sin wears him out mentally and physically thus resulting to depleted health and which makes him so weak that he even thinks of his death.
Since the sin was committed Hester and Dimmesdale had no chance to be alone. At some point, the burden of fear of shame overpowered Dimmesdale “-how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen- since the days when she had familiarly known him” (102)
He decided to run away with Hester and their baby; Pearl. Unfortunately the ship was not leaving for the next four days. At some point Hester discloses to Dimmesdale that her husband knows the two sins that had been tormenting him. Hester and Dimmesdale talk and he seems to be happy and relaxed.
“Do I feel joy again?” Dimmesdale wonders at himself. “Me thought the germ of it was dead in me! -I seem to have flung myself- sick, sin stained and sorrow blackened- down upon these forest leaves, and to have risen up all made anew, and with new powers to glorify Him that hath been merciful! -This is already the better life! Why did we not find it sooner?”(198) Dimmesdale is delighted.
Dimmesdale decides to confess his sin to the rest of the congregation once they return from the forest. He wonders at himself. “That self was gone! Another man had returned out of the forest; a wiser one-” (200) Dimmesdale finds it wise and peaceful to confess his sin.
After giving his sermon, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and he tells the congregation of his sin. He also reveals the mark he bears at his breast. “He tells you, that, with all mysterious horror, it is but the shadow of what he bears on his own breast-. He tore away ministerial band before his chest.
It was revealed! -the gaze of horror stricken multitude was concentrated on the ghastly miracle; while the minister stood with a flush of triumph on his face, as one who, in the crisis of acutest pain, had won a victory.”(228) After the confession Dimmesdale was happy and died. “Farewell!” that final word came forth with the minister’s expiring breath.”(252) He finally set his soul free from the guilt of seven years.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel Inc, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Scarlet Letter: 1850. New York: Informotions incorporated, 2001. Print.
Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is a popular story. It has been adapted to movies and plays. I am familiar with the story even before I sat down to read the novel. Different books, articles, and films made numerous references to The Scarlet Letter. Therefore, even before reading the novel I have bits and pieces of information in my head that enabled me to paint a negative picture of the Puritans. As I read through the introductory part of the novel, the statements made by the narrator reinforced the idea that the Puritans were bad people. However, my mind cannot reconcile the fact that they wanted to live pure and holy lives. Therefore, there was something wrong with the way they perceived the people. In addition, there was something wrong with the way they perceived God.
The Puritans in the story behaved in the most despicable manner, because they focused their attention on human frailty. I believe that their obsession on human error made them cruel and mean. Hawthorne illustrated this problem when he described the creation of the letter A, and he wrote: “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy” (Hawthorne 65).
It is shocking to finally realize how the Puritans invested on human failure. I was surprised at the obsession they had when it comes to the sins of the people. I think that a change in mindset will radically alter the way they see the world. I believe that Hester Prynne made a mistake. However, there is no need to glorify her sins. A change of mindset will enable them to perceive Hester Prynne’s outstanding qualities. She was kind and generous. In fact, she was unwilling to abandon her baby. Hester Prynne’s decision to take care of the baby speaks volumes about her true character.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter, London, UK: Knight and Son Publishing, 1851. Print.