Consequences And Redemption In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

By revealing this small, hidden regret, he exposes Hester’s tortured state of mind. Unable to reach salvation in the town she desired to live in, she regretfully decided to leave and abandon her sorrows. The burden society placed on her with the scarlet letter was too demanding for her to handle any longer. Similarly, Arthur Dimmesdale was distressed from his ignominy. Afraid of societal repercussions, Dimmesdale had been “overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast” (102). Society’s extensive honor toward him exacerbated his pain, thus causing society to trap Dimmesdale; this prevented him from revealing his dark secret and reaching salvation. Additionally, he began to picture his surroundings as an obstacle designed to hinder his path to redemption. His shortcoming to reach salvation agonized Dimmesdale to the point where he was incapable of recalling “[any] text of Scripture, nor aught else, except a brief, pithy, and, as it then appeared to him, unanswerable argument against the immorality of

Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester’s punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours and wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the town. Although Hawthorne does not pardon Hester’s sin, he considers it

Hester's shame does become very influential in her life making her unable to express herself freely. "Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But under the leaden infliction which it was her doom to endure, she felt at moments as if she must needs to shriek" (52-53). Hester's guilt has surfaced fully because when she wants to simply express herself, she is prevented from doing so due to her guilty conscience. She wants to take revenge on everyone that has passed judgment on her by giving them a disdainful smile, but she is fearful that she might start feeling guilty for doing such a thing. It seems Hester can live without any consequences of sin if she is able to suppress her anger, but she is actually being slowly isolated from the world. Living peacefully for Hester is slowly isolating her because she acts kind to others to avoid confrontations, which shows that she is afraid of the world and is actually trying to hide from it. Guilt is still the consequence that causes Hester to become isolated from the world around her, but there is another larger consequence which she is reminded of everyday.

Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of

Not only did they judge her harshly privately, but they judged her publicly as well. A old hag in the crowd while Hester was leaving the prison heeded “This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (Hawthorn 36) There abrasive amounts of judgment in part stems from their fear on how Hester actions reflect on the puritan society as a whole. The community also viewed Hester with the slightest bit of pity and during her first experience of public shaming “The scene was not without a mixture of awe, such as must always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame in a fellow-creature” (Hawthorn 39) Even though much of the society was blinded by their overpowering waves of judgment, many felt a small bit sorry for Hester situation. The puritan society was riddled with corruption and sins much worse than Hester's, making Hester's punishment hit close to home with many of the community. Hester's sliver of relatability allows the community to grow warmer feelings for her as time wears

Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments

The Scarlet Letter is a novel about a Puritan woman who has committed adultery and must pay for her sin by wearing a scarlet “A'; on her bosom. The woman, Hester Prynne, must struggle through everyday life with the guilt of her sin. The novel is also about the suffering that is endured by not admitting to one’s wrongs. Reverend Mister Dimmesdale learns that secrecy only makes the guilt increase. Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to display how guilt is the everlasting payment for sinful actions. The theme of guilt as reparation for sin in The Scarlet Letter is revealed through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of northeastern, colonial settings, various conflicts, and

The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the nephew of John Hathorne. During the Salem Witch Trials, the only judge that did not apologize for the remorseless and cruel acts that were put upon many men and women was in fact John Hathorne. Nathaniel changed his last name from Hathorne to Hawthorne in an attempt to disassociate himself from his uncle. John Hathorne is the reason why Nathaniel Hawthorne is obsessed with the puritan times. Hawthorne lived in the 1800s, but the setting of the novel is based before the Salem Witch Trials were held in the 1600s. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the scarlet letter, Dimmesdale, and burrs to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.

Hester’s punishment goes beyond the symbolism of the scarlet letter A she must wear on her chest, to the point where she is stripped of her humanity and is completely objectified, lowered to the level of a savage animal, unable to deny her base desires. However, if Hester had been a man, no one would have thought all too much of it, and let it go sooner. The only reason people reacted so strongly to finding out that Dimmesdale was the person Hester cheated with is because he’s a man of the cloth and also because he died right after confessing. In fact, the puritan patriarchs and some others defended that Dimmesdale’s confession was an allegorical performance and merely a continuation of his moving

He cowers in confidence by refusing to expose his sin and torments himself through starvation and whippings. The carving of the scarlet letter is a self-induced punishment manifested by the shame he feels and desires to release. The inscribed A signifies "the effect of the ever-active tooth of remorse." Dimmesdale and Hester are equally guilty of the same crime, yet denied his responsibility and left Hester to bear the blame of his punishment at "which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit."(ch. 18) As Hester was able to confront her sin and become ostracized from the Puritan community, Dimmesdale continued to be the respected minister. His selfishness, deteriorating health, and cowardice actions reflected the secrecy of his

Guilt can destroy someone mentally. According to The Scarlet Letter, it can destroy someone physically as well. Dimmesdale is one of the main characters who chose to keep his sin a secret. Not only does he have to live with the knowledge and guilt of what he did, but he has to constantly pretend that he is more pure than he is. The people of the Puritan town tortured him in a way, because the large amount of praise they gave the minister just made him more guilty and remorseful. The novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in a 1600’s Puritan community named Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dimmesdale has had an affair with the main character, Hester Prynne. He never confessed to his actions, so he never suffered any direct consequences. Because of this, the puritan town’s view of Dimmesdale stays relatively the same throughout the novel, until the ending. Dimmesdale has been kept down heavily from the guilt and remorse brought from keeping his sin a secret.

Although both Hester and Dimmesdale committed the same crime, which was adultery, their scarlet letters are different from one another in many ways. One way they’re different is because Hester’s scarlet letter was an article of clothing. Dimmesdale’s scarlet letter, however is carved into his chest. Since Hester’s is out and into the open for others to see, she is looked down upon. At the time, adultery was a huge sin. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, had to live his life as a coward hiding the truth. He did not tell people of his crime; he kept it to himself. This is another way their scarlet letters are different. The two handled the situations very differently. Hester took the consequences fairly, while Dimmesdale showed no sign of giving in to the townspeople. Since Hester lived a harsh life due to all the attention and hatred she received from others, she grew up to become quite a strong woman. Dimmesdale becomes weaker, even paler, over time. Although the two have their differences, they also had some similarities. Both of them were, in a way, cowards. Yes, Hester took all of the blame while Dimmesdale took none of it, but the two still didn’t want to have the town see the whole situation they were in. hester did not want them to find out about her husband, Chillingworth, or about her true love, Dimmesdale. Of course she took the penalties of committing adultery, however, she does not want the people to know exactly who she committed the crimes with/against. Both

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne paints a picture of two equally guilty sinners, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, and shows how both characters deal with their different forms of punishment and feelings of remorse for what they have done. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale are both guilty of adultery, but have altered ways of performing penance for their actions. While Hester must pay for her sins under the watchful eye of the world around her, Reverend Dimmesdale must endure the heavy weight of his guilt in secret. It may seem easier for Reverend Dimmesdale to live his daily life since he is not surrounded by people who shun

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.

In “The Scarlet Letter,” Hawthorne presents the consequences of sin as an important aspect in the lives of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingsworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale. The sin committed, adultery, between Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale had resulted in the birth of their innocent little girl, Pearl. This sin ruined the three main characters’ lives completely in different ways. With the sin committed, there were different ways the characters reacted to it: embracing the sin, concealing the sin, and becoming obsessed and consumed with it. With each reaction to the sin there were also different actions of redemption.