Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Pearls are made in the darkness of a clam. Pearl was born in prison, into darkness. Hester paid the ultimate price of having pearl. Pearl is the result of the sin, adultery, that Hester and Dimmesdale committed. Hawthorne explains, “ Hester prynne- yes, at herself- who stood on the scaffold of the pillary, an infant in her arms…” ( Hawthorne 58) . This quote shows that Pearl isn’t an ordinary baby. Pearl is a result of sin and is a constant reminder of that. Hester can not get rid of Pearl, she going to spend the rest of her life with her life with Pearl and the guilt of how she got here is always there. As the story goes on, Pearl grows up and she knows who her father is. The town notices that Pearl was a little off. One time a group of kids was making fun of her and she started screaming and throwing rocks at the kids. Dimmesdale exclaims, “not then,Pearl” said the minister “but another time!” (Hawthorne 153). This proves Pearl knows Dimmesdale is her father and she asks him when he is going to claim her. Pearl is a very smart kid, nobody told her who her father is, she just knew. Dimmesdale feels guilty for not standing on the scaffold when hester did. Pearl is a constant reminder to him of the sin he committed. Pearl is a symbol of guilt not only towards Hester but dimmesdale,

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist who wrote many novels and short stories who was born on July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He originally had his last name as Hathorne - without the ‘w’ – but changed it due to not wanting to draw attention from his ancestor John Hathorne who was the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody in 1842 and had three kids. They ended up moving all around Massachusetts but then they finally decided that they’d settle in Concord, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s first novel written is called Fanshawe in 1837. Hawthorne wasn’t sure how he felt about it, so he published it anonymously. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the novel was criticized heavily

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale gets sicker and sicker the longer he holds in his secret sin of Adultery. It takes place in a Puritan society, which was a strict, conservative, and simple group in Boston Massachusetts. The book focuses on the sin of Hester Pryne committing adultery and having a child, Pearl, with a man other than her husband, Chillingworth. Hester gets shamed and laughed at on the scaffold used for public humiliation. The vulnerable and weakening Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale comes closer to confessing to being Pearl’s father throughout the three scaffold scenes. “Sin as sickness” is a major theme in the book that is represented through Reverend Dimmesdale’s internal conflict. The more Dimmesdale

Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in an era commonly referred to as “The Transcendentalist Movement” (“The Scarlet Letter”). “Transcendentalism a reaction against the rationalism of the previous century and the religious orthodoxy of Calvinist New England, it stressed the romantic tenets of mysticism, idealism, and individualism” (“The Scarlet Letter”). It sees God as an important part of a person and the world, God was not a “harsh distant figure” (“The Scarlet Letter”). Simultaneously, Puritan values and ideas also played a major role in shaping The Scarlet Letter. “The Puritans are all alike and, taking themselves for the standard, see all difference and variety as unnatural, bad” (Baym 53). That is, anything out of the norm, Puritans will instantaneously oppose it and disassociate themselves from it. “Because they are dedicated to forms, rules, laws, [and] structures, the Puritans have no tolerance for secrets: they take people as purely public beings, and they hate and fear anything

Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, revolves around sin and punishment.  The main characters of the novel sharply contrast each other in the way they react to the sin that has been committed

Reverend Dimmesdale was a renowned, prideful man stricken with sin and extreme guilt.  From the time Hester and Dimmesdale made love, he was grievous of his sin but he also felt a great love towards her.  Dimmesdale's stubborn pride troubled him greatly, and although he tried many times, he could not confess his sin to his religious followers.  Dimmesdale felt guilt so strongly that he scourged himself on his breast and patterned an “A” into his own flesh, yet he could not confess his sin until his grief grew so great it caused him to perish.  Reverend Dimmesdale's sin was greater than Hester's because he let his pride conflict with his repentance, and let his life be ruined by his anguish.

From his actions and poor judgement, individuals can see how much of a coward Dimmesdale is compared to Hester. Although, both have wrongly committed sin, this demonstrates how each character was able to deal with shaming. Pearl, on the other hand, is the living sermon. She is the product of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a constant reminder of how Hester cannot avoid of what has happened.

Dimmesdale is the head minister of the town who ends up having an affair with Pearl, and getting her pregnant. Dimmesdale knows he has committed a sin as quoted "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 fellow-sufferer!" (Hawthorne 64). Additionally, dimmesdale does not publicly reveal he is Pearl's father until the end of the story; in which Dimmesdale dies shortly after revealing this major sin not helping Hester at all. Correspondingly this is why Hester is able to overcome so much, because she is dealing with basically everyone's problem and most of the others surrounding her only cause her grief and

English classes throughout the United States study various types of literature. One novel in particular that has been and still is interpreted is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. This novel has reason to be such a strong piece of literature throughout history, specifically being that it includes many different themes. One of the messages that is useful and understood in our world today is the subject matter of sin. Today , we take sin less serious than the puritans in The Scarlet Letter; but one sin/mistake can not define who we are.

out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take

In Puritan societies they placed great importance on a person's reputation, without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, go through their lives struggling with themselves trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with their sins. The novel is mainly based on the main characters sin which is adultery, but many others in the novel are sinners as well. The three main characters have sinned and they all cope with their sins in different ways. The novel shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth.

The Deadly and Horrific Effects of Sin In Nathaniel's Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter the effects of sin are thoroughly evident in several characters in the novel. Firstly, Hester Prynne’s sin affects her life in the sense that she is never able to recover from it. Hester is made to wear the scarlet letter in the shape of an A. At the beginning of the book Hester is scared and embarrassed, she “clasped the infant closely to her bosom” (50).

Through out the course of history, those who were considered sinners were often out casted from the society. This is much the case with Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. After a public trial, Hester is considered a sinner due to her birthing of a so called “devil child”. Hester is convicted to the life long bearing of a scarlet letter on her chest. The Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears symbolizes the change in perception of sin through out the novel. Due to the revelations of the governor Winthrop and the reverend Dimmesdale, the way sin is perceived changes from one of shame to the idea that every one is a sinner in their own right.

The Sin of All Sins Are all sins truly equal? Some may say so, but Nathaniel Hawthorne would not agree. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with her minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. She becomes pregnant with an illegitimate child. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, then makes it his goal to figure out the identity of the father.

Puritanistic Beliefs represent an prejudiced and discriminatory way of life - Throughout The Scarlet Letter, one of Hawthorne’s major points revolves around his criticism of the actions and beliefs of Puritanism. In constructing a novel whereby a woman is able to overcome the prejudice of society, Hawthorne consequently reveals the darker side of Puritanical society: an environment of unreasonable animosity and hatred.