Hawthorne's Use Of Redemption In Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne’s message about obtaining salvation through the means of being open and true to yourself, is shaped by the contrasts of consequences the characters Hester Prynne, who publicly acknowledges her sin, and Arthur Dimmesdale, who hides his sin, face. In Hester’s case, she was publicly shamed for her sin from the beginning and was forced to wear the symbol of her sin, the scarlet letter “A” representing adultery, to isolate her from the rest of society. She had the opportunity to leave the town and begin a new life free from the scarlet letter, but she decides to stay as, if she were to run away or remove the scarlet letter, she would be admitting to the shame of her sins. Her staying, shows she wants to change the scarlet letter to not represent her sin, but her as a character.

To begin with, Hester’s sin drove the story, but after the community established her as a sinner, she overcame her sins but she still struggled through other characters. Instead of depicting Hester’s inner turmoil directly to Hester, Hawthorne portrays her tumult through other characters in her life such as Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the community. Dimmesdale proclaimed to Hester, “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and

Hawthorne chooses to have Hester overcome her struggles. At the end of the book, Hester finds at least some degree of peace. The struggles and pain she went through were not pleasant, but they did provoke her to improve her relationship with God. Her burden seems lessened and if there is nothing else for her to be joyful about, her daughter Pearl has adapted and thrived in her new life. Hester Prynne shows mercy upon the sick and does charity work even when it goes unappreciated. She gave her time and effort to help the poor even when they rebuked her as well. Her dedication to try and fix her mistakes is admirable and the reader feels as if Hester has really changed for the better. The change in Hester makes the people respect her and come to her for advice at the end of the story. In chapter 13, Hawthorne writes about how the Puritans have mixed feelings about Hester, but the majority of the people now forgive and hold her in high regard. “They said it meant ‘Able’; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” (pg. 158) This quote shows how the interpretation of the letter and of Hester herself has changed. The new view of Hester gained by the Puritans is based on her response to the scarlet letter, a symbol meant to ruin her but in reality it made her

In spite of that, what makes her the protagonist of the story is how she is able to overcome her punishment that was meant to give her shame. Throughout Chapter 13 of the book, Hawthorne shows how Hester’s confidence has developed in herself and in view of the town, most noticeably when considering the meaning of the scarlet letter, “Such helpfulness was found in her ... that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength,” (Hawthorne 107). Instead of subjecting to the shame that was forced upon her, she grew above it, conveying a different aspect of the theme of guilt, which is redemption. This is not to say that Hester did not care about the sin she committed, as she is very much reminded of it every day of her life while living with the child of that sin. In fact, the author addresses this by saying, “In giving her existence a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder,” (Hawthorne 60). Hawthorne is implying how Pearl represents the outcome of a sin and arranged it so that Hester is always living with that sin, therefore, always being reminded of the shame she is supposed to

Hester’s reaction to guilt is taking full responsibility for her actions and confessing her sins to the townspeople. As a result of confessing, Hester struggles with the shame but, ultimately learns how to deal with it on her own. She deals with the shame by decorating

She also realizes that her shame, were she worthy to be rid of it, might “speak a different purport.”(471) Hawthorne does feel moral sympathy for Hester, but her place in the story is to exhibit that persons who appoint our moral concern may however value proper censure. The shame and the humiliation appear to have totally flattened Hester’s heart, even though the disgrace and the anguish pain have prepared a “Sister of Mercy” out of Hester. Much of the aloofness of Hester is because of the fact that her life has curved from fervor and feelings to contemplation. This conversion has a psychological

In Hester’s mind, her actions are justified by the fact that she “felt no love” with Chillingworth. Even though she feels that she is innocent, she blindly succombs to the punishment and consequences of her actions. Even though throughout the rest of the novel her goal is to break away and change the typical Puritan society, in this moment, she gives in to the court. Hester accepts the letter, but will not admit that she made a mistake. It is extremely hypocritical that Hester advocates for her individualism and originality in the Puritan society, but she never once protests the letter or her ruling. Hawthorne punishes Hester’s hypocrisy by making her an outcast in society with the scarlet letter.

Though their crime of adultery was mutual, Hester’s pregnancy forced her sin into the spotlight, and in Puritan society, the sin of having an illegitimate child was one of the worst a woman could commit. As punishment for her crime, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her chest as a sign of her wrongdoing. Because of this, Hester was forced to acknowledge what she has done and accept the repercussions of her crime, which ultimately makes her a stronger person and supports Hawthorne’s claim that it is “better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain” (Hawthorne 76). Hawthorne reveals Hester’s acceptance of her crime and her guilt the moment she walks out of the prison with her daughter in her arms, explaining that, “In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors” (Hawthorne 31). Because of her crime, many people expect Hester to tremble with fear upon being revealed to the town, but instead she holds her head high and embraces the punishment for her sin. This in turn allows Hester to appear stronger, more beautiful, and more dignified, and choosing to portray Hester in this way shows Hawthorne’s belief that it is better to confess one’s sin and live with it rather than deal with the

As the book opens, Hester is brought forth from the jail and walked to the scaffold. For the first time being seen in public named an adulterer, Hester shies from the public as they mock her. However, "She never battled with the public, but submitted uncomplainingly to its worst usage; she made no claim upon it, in requital for what she suffered; she did not weight upon its sympathies." (Hawthorne 140). Soon, it did not matter what other people thought of Hester because of her sin. She chose not to live with the humiliation, but she did have to live with herself.

Hawthorne describe Hester for having “a fire in her” retaining to that she was strong and her personality showed to be able to “burn” through any trial that tried to conquer her. The book also serves as a passport to the people who fully understand it and read

Together with the transformation of Hester, the scarlet letter once again symbolizes her identity as pure as an angel. Though she committed adultery and had to suffer a lot from this sin, her soul still remains in an original shape of purity. And the red color of letter A on her bosom, which once was the call of scorn, hate and bitterness towards Hester, now attracted people's warmth, admiration and love as if it were a red burning color deep inside her heart. Hester deserves the highest recognition that the scarlet letter has done for her: a woman with a pure heart and soul of an angel.

As a result of this eclipse of her former personality, Hester became everything the Puritans wanted physically. She was a great Samaritan in the community, and was utterly humble and honest. When she showed the worst in her at all times, she had nothing to hide from the people who she met, and their opinions of her could only raise. The irony in the fact that she became a model citizen in the eyes of the Puritans only points to Hawthorne's distaste for the Puritan way of life, for Hester manifested a perfect Janus; a two faced entity of whom no one knew the true nature. Physically, the Puritans loved her behavior, actions, and example.

However, suspicion of an affair had been brought upon the mother for the reason that the husband had been presumed dead for several years and the child had just recently been born. Hester is being punished for her sin, and her unwillingness to speak of whom the father is. There is a stranger, whom we find out is Hester’s Husband, that is in the marketplace on the day of her public shame, and he questions a townsperson of the reason she is upon the scaffold. Hester had committed adultery while her husband was out of town, and she denied to speak of whom the father was (Hawthorne 1). Hester and an unknown individual were connected with the sin of adultery, but only she endured punishment for the affair.

“Individuals...had quite forgiven Hester Prynne...It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick...” (149). Hester is protected from all evil that might be around her, and “had the effect of the cross on a nun’s bosom” (149). The letter became a symbol of love and respect, and meant something good. Hester is able to deal with the townspeople, and they see her and have a new liking for her. They seem to forgive her for everything that she has done, like it doesn't matter, or it never happened. If Hester ran away from Boston, it would have shown her weakness. It would have shown that people of the town had power over her, and could make her feel guilty. Running away would show everybody that she was ashamed, and wasn't really good enough to live among them. Staying in Boston showed the townspeople that she was able to overcome her shame and that adultery is a part of who she is as a person. By accepting her adultery Hester is able to move on, having learned from her experiences. At one point Hester says: “Were I to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak of a different purport” (155). This foreshadows that the letter A might show up in new ways.

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, there is a notion of sin and redemption. Was Hester Prynne the only one who committed a sin that required her to redeem herself to society? Hester Prynne had committed adultery in which has broken the sacred vow of marriage which then entitles society to judge her label her with the “A” on her breast. The outcome of her adultery was a new born baby girl who is both beautiful and kind but due to the judgment of her mother she was also labeled as the living embodiment of the scarlet letter on Hester’s chest. Both of these judgments are all rooted from the Christian church, which during that time had one of the greatest influence and power on society.