The Devil And Evil 's Influence On The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter submerses the reader in the Puritan’s culture. The story involves the Puritans portrayal of the sins of a young woman. Although a difficult read, the book stirs the reader to obtain a high moral compass. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.

Physically deformed and mysterious, Roger Chillingworth finally met his wife after being separated from her for almost two years.  He showed no great anger towards her and took upon himself some of the accountability saying it was “...my folly and thy weakness,” (Hawthorne 52) which was the cause of Hester's sin.  Chillingworth's only feeling was one of revenge towards the man who had been Hester's lover.  Chillingworth was obsessed by hate and revenge so much that when Dimmesdale died “... the life seemed to have departed...” (Hawthorne 72) from him and he died within a year of Dimmesdale's death.  Chillingworth never felt guilt or attempted repentance because he “... violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart.” (Hawthorne 133).  He sought to destroy Dimmesdale's

This motivation drove his evil deeds. The other characters, while having made bad decisions, were not motivated by destruction, but rather lust, perhaps even love. The intent of Dimmsdale and Hester’s relationship and behavior was not to intentionally harm anyone. Conversely, Chillingworth is evil at heart. Chillingsworth’s sin is revenge and he it is whole intention inflict the most damage possible upon Dimmesdale. The fact that Hollingsworth’s goal is to cause others pain shows that he is evil. Another example of Chillingworth’s true nature can be found in chapter 14 “in a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into the devil”(page 110). Chillingworth explains to Hester that his evil nature will not allow him to stop harming Dimmesdale. Perfect in his role as “The Leech”, Chillingworth is not only fueled by Dimmesdale’s suffering, but it is necessary for him to survive. Chillingworth's character cannot exist without causing others pain. Chillingsworth’s sadistic nature and the severe extent to which it controls and directs his life is a clear sign that Chillingworth is an evil person

The characters in the Scarlet Letter are judged greatly through how and who they are able and unable to forgive. Such as the main female lead, Hester Prynne, and her struggle for the town to forgive her, finding the will to forgive herself and having God forgive her. Although, this was hard because every day she had to live with the scarlet letter upon her chest as a reminder of her sin. Another character that had one of the roughest times in the novel was Arthur Dimmesdale. This man kept a sin hidden for most of the novel and let it eat him away. The person that Dimmesdale needed to forgivehim the most was Pearl. He spent most of the novel trying to earn her beloved trust. Pearl would ask him favors to go into town with her but it

Nathaniel Hawthorne, a well-know Dark Romantic, employs the issues prevalent in Dark Romanticism in his novel The Scarlet Letter. These include the concepts of: guilt and sin, good and evil, and madness in the human psyche. Guilt and sin are heavily addressed in the novel, focusing on Hester’s outward versus Dimmesdale’s hidden guilt, and the sins committed by the adulterous couple and the revenge-driven Roger Chillingworth. The idea of what good and evil are is questioned in the novel. For example, the reader is led to question if Hester was right in not revealing Dimmesdale, and in turn if both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth were

Roger Chillingsworth was a cruel man to Hester but mostly Dimmesdale. Slowly he crept his way into dimmesdale’s life so that he could torture him the worst possible way without Dimmesdale's even knowing

Why do these characters in the Scarlet Letter have a “good and evil” side to them? This question is what most readers ask themselves when reading the Scarlet Letter. While I read this book, I felt that you could pick out whom Hawthorne was trying to depict as sinner and a saint. This book is a perfect example of the argument that people have now a day that everyone has a good and a bad side. All of these characters have good and evil in them and there perfect examples in this book. Light and dark imagery, alluding to the larger conflict between good and evil, is present throughout the novel in the characters of Hester Prynne, Pearl, and

Although man strives to prevent falling into the hands of temptation, the devil constantly lures the souls of man into his kingdom. Sin in today’s society is viewed as the evil nature that hides within the human soul, mind, and heart. Furthermore, sin is a humanly characteristic that leads to the downfall of man since it brings greed, corruption, and lust into the daily lives of man. In the “Scarlet Letter,” by Nathanial Hawthorne, the story’s plot line follows the lives of three characters that are guilty of committing evil and sinful acts before the Puritan community.

Beauty, sin, nature, revenge, forgiveness, mercy, turmoil, all of this and more, shoveled together in one book. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, features twisting turns of events and troubled characters, all which make the novel a classic. The book’s characters seem to fall into certain archetypes, such as the hero, the devil incarnate, and the friendly beast, etcetera. It is believed that Roger Chillingworth, the long, lost husband of Hester Prynne and the center of inner turmoil for many characters, is the antagonist. However, Chillingworth, due to the readers’ judgements of his actions rather the reasoning behind them, is misperceived and is in need of a reevaluation.

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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of Puritan Society as a whole as the antagonist in The Scarlet Letter shows that societal norms and what is considered socially acceptable causes people to act and judge the way they do. With religion being the bond that hold the Puritan community together, The Bible and the teachings of the church dictate what people in that society interpret as right or wrong. There is no true villain in the novel because in order for there to be a villain there must be a clear struggle between good and evil, and the struggles in The Scarlet Letter cannot be classified as explicitly good and evil, because based on the reader’s opinion on the sins the characters committed, who is truly ‘good’ and who is truly ‘evil’ will vary. While

“A quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (116). At this point in his disastrous life, Chillingworth did nothing but contemplate and execute anything to cause Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover, the most agony. Who, other than the devil’s advocate, would go to such lengths to hurt someone? Chillingworth was completely absorbed in his plan for revenge which shows his Satan-like qualities. “Never did mortal suffer what this man has suffered” (141). As retribution, Chillingworth needed to torture Dimmesdale; nothing else would satisfy

Doubtlessly, many people do not know the extent of impact of Sin upon other people unless they experience it. In general view, some people say that Sin or good doing can be forgotten after committing it, and there is no side or main effect in the psycho and mentality either in the soul of the sinner nor in physical effect.

The one definite reason for Roger Chillingworth’s desire for retribution on his perceived enemy results from Dimmesdale’s act of adultery with his wife while he had not been present. Chillingworth sends Hester Prynne, his wife, to the "New World" two years before while he had been busy in England. Hester becomes impregnated by the town’s minister, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth becomes infuriated; he alters his identity, giving himself a new name and profession. Chillingworth still has to determine who has committed the act with his wife. He acts stern with anyone that speaks with him and expresses rage at everyone for letting the act happen. Chillingworth suspects something about the minister at first glance but has no proof if Dimmesdale is actually the one who enacts the crime with his wife. Chillingworth asks to stay with Dimmesdale for medical reasons, utilizing his fake profession as a

"The happiness of the wicked passes away like a torrent!" This quote from Jean Baptiste Racin summarizes The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in one sentence. The novel's main focus is on three main characters and how the sins they commit affect their lives in the strict Puritan town of Boston around the year 1642. Hawthorne was very knowledgeable of his Puritan ancestry and shows it by incorporating some important thoughts and traditions into this story about sin and confession. Throughout the novel, the physical, social, mental and emotional changes that result from sin in the lives of the characters are never positive and the outcome of their spiritual