Analysis Of ' The Scarlet Letter '

Repeatedly she stays silent to protect both those she loves and those she is indebted to. One instance of this is when she denies information about Dimmesdale, her lover, to her husband in order to protect him, saying “‘That thou shalt never know!’” (Hawthorne 69). This privilege of trust is not just exclusive to loved ones however, as she turns right around and offers the same deal to her husband, who asks her to “‘[b]reathe not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband!’” (Hawthorne 69-70). She complies, and no one ever finds out their prior relation. Hester is loyal to more than just the people around her, however. Hester is also loyal to her punishment and societal beliefs despite her lack of respect for the clergymen and their decisions. Hester has the option to escape her punishment, but chooses not to, rather displaying her embroidered ‘A’ to the public “... which was of a splendor in accordance the the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony” (Hawthorne 50). She views this mark of her sin as something to be proud of, decorating the letter like a trophy and taking a firm ownership of her sin. At the same time she also remains loyal to her ideals, refusing to believe she has done anything wrong. Hester “remains unwilling to separate herself from her sin by recognizing it as a sin,” and as a result maintains a strong “devotion to

First, Dimmesdale is minister and is the one to preach weekly sermons to the people of Boston. In his sermons he ministers that sinners will wither and drown in the guilt of their sin not by the wrath of God, but by the self-acknowledged shame and guilt. “ He had striven to put a cheat upon himself by making the avowal of a guilty conscience, but had gained only one other sin, and a self-acknowledged shame, without the momentary relief of being self-deceived.” (149) Outwardly Dimmesdale teaches that guilt will drown you, while inwardly he is the one that is drowning. His physical appearance is constantly getting paler and he is developing an illness, an illness from bearing his

In his essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence criticizes Hester’s immoral behavior for her adulterous actions. Lawrence views her as a shameful member of Puritan society and centers his argument on her sin and its effects on the story’s plot. D.H. Lawrence’s use of different literary techniques strengthens his claim that Hester is not the heroine through his sarcastic tone, abrupt syntax, and biblical allusions.

The dark diction and deathly imagery showing sickness and decline highlights the physical and spiritual wounds Dimmesdale suffers because of his refusal to confront his sin. Dimmesdale suffers with the injury on his chest made by himself and his guilt, which carved the A in his chest.

Immediate horror encompassed him because he is afraid of being discovered by the town. Alone

Dimmesdale was expected to live a perfect life, when in reality he was just human. He is well educated and has a philosophical turn of mind. There is no doubt he is devoted to God. His agonizing suffering is from his inability to publicize his sin, until he can’t take it anymore.

Though not exemplary, his actions are rooted in the desire to surpass the ordinary and to achieve personal dignity and nevertheless, his means are tragic and striving towards what is humanly impossible only destines him for downfall. His intentions are never sinful, just fallacious, as he doesn't understand that in his desperate strive towards salvation, he inadvertently becomes "a man devoid of conscience, - a wretch with coarse and brutal instincts" (137). Yet, it very well may be as Hawthorne notes, “...human to avoid the peril of death and infamy…” (147) as we hold these to be "the inscrutable machinations of an enemy" (147). Thus, some readers say he cannot be blamed entirely for what he does to himself. It is clear in this light that Dimmesdale's fatal flaw is not his sin, but his hypocrisy, as his sin is amplified by his refusal to face and accept it. He is aware of the "subtle, but remorseful hypocrite" (92) that he is, yet refuses to correct himself. Dimmesdale's flawed nature is additionally a comment made by Hawthorne on the effects of private vigil and public shame. He carries on, "looking pure as new-fallen snow," while his heart

He had told the truth but “‘transformed it into . . . falsehood’”, which did nothing to relieve his guilt. The people of the community thought of Reverend Dimmesdale as an esteemed and holy man and “this public veneration tortured him!” The guilt affected him both mentally and physically. Throughout the book, Dimmesdale’s health progressively gets weaker until the strain of his sin physically kills him.

Hester is transformed through the scarlet letter in order to survive the harshness of her new reality. It defines her now, however, she is “strengthened by years of hard and solemn

Hester’s scarlet letter is a piece of clothing, the “SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorn 51). Her interpretation of the extremity of her sins is one of self composure and calm. She views her sins solely as a "violation in the natural order" of the environment and therefore cannot even perceive her sin as being evil except through outside influence. Dimmesdale on the other hand, has a scarlet letter carved in his chest. This is revealed when Dimmesdale was giving his revelation, in which “he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed!” (Hawthorn 232). Dimmesdale 's personal interpretation as to the extremity of his own sins is a "violation of God 's law," which is the law that he is totally dedicated to and supported by. Dimmesdale 's interpretation of his sin is much more severe than Hester 's, it is a violation and direct contradiction of his own self consciousness and physical existence. Therefore the appearance of his A, even though it is never directly described in the novel, must be powerful, broken, and brutally dishonest (...a ghastly rapture; Hawthorne pg.95). Since the Scarlet Letter on Hester is visible to the public, she was criticized and looked down on. “This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die” (Hawthorn 49) is said by a female in the marketplace talking about Hester. She becomes a stronger person through living this hard life.

Through the story, while Hester received the punishment she deserved for, Dimmesdale hided his sin. The longer he hided his crime, the more he suffered both mentally and physically. All the pain ended when he finally faced his sin and stood with Hester and Pearl. As he finally admitted the crime, what Dimmesdale was able to face was the death, free of

Dimmesdale was ashamed of what he did and wanted to confess his sin, but for the longest time, he could not get himself to stand before a crowd. “For, as it was impossible to assign a reason for such distrust and abhorrence, so Mr. Dimmesdale, conscious that the poison of one morbid spot was infecting his heart’s entire substance, attributed all his presentiments to no other cause” (94). Dimmesdale was so upset with what he did that he began to hallucinate and would starve to punish himself. At the very end of the novel, Dimmesdale confessed his sin while he was giving a sermon to a crowd.

He admits this to Pearl as they stand on the scaffold. (p.158).  The third and final time that the scaffold portrays feelings of guilt and shame is in the last chapter.  Dimmesdale finishes his sermon and climbs the scaffold stairs.  To the dismay of the watching crowd, he makes his confession "with a voice that rose over them, high, solemn, and majestic -- yet had always a tremor through it, and sometimes a shriek, struggling up out of a fathomless depth of remorse and woe." (p287)  The events that occur at the scaffold make it the perfect symbol for the impressions of shame and guilt throughout the book.

Throughout the novel, there are many conflicts that are all based around the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter. All of the main characters are involved with these conflicts, and in the end they all seem to resolve or accept their problems. The main conflict within the novel is based on the actions of Hester Prynne. At the beginning, Hester Prynne is told that she must wear the scarlet letter upon her bosom and never take it off. Hester had committed a sin, which many come to believe is adultery, and the judges attempt to make example out of her in order to prevent this issue from occurring again.

Even though he is a man of God he had an affair with Hester and nobody knows that. Dimmesdale lives with a man that goes by Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is actually Hester's lost husband but they have decided to keep that a secret and Dimmesdale does not find out until near the end of the book. Chillingworth finds out that Dimmesdale is the father and is planning to take revenge. Hawthorne narrates, “ The physician advanced directly in front of his patient, laid his hand upon his bosom, and thrust aside the vestment… with a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror.” (Hawthorne 126). Hawthorne imagines this moment for the reader as chillingworth finds what Dimmesdale has been doing to himself. When he finds this out he is filled with emotions and is happy to see him suffer from guilt. Later on we find exactly what Dimmesdale is doing to himself. Hawthorne describes, “ In Mr. Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge.” (Hawthorne 132). He describes this room to the reader in order to show that Dimmesdale feels so guilty and sinful that he is torturing himself. This contributes to the theme of guilt because it shows he feels so guilty he will beat himself but not kill himself. He doesn’t kill himself because that would be the easy way out. Both of these moments contribute to the overall theme of guilt because Dimmesdale is hurting himself and it is like the devil is feeding off of his suffering.