The Role Of Forgiveness In The Scarlet Letter

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

Hester did an inexcusable sin, however she redeemed herself by doing kind acts throughout the town and was forgiven by the town and God. Some may argue that Dimmesdale wasn't forgiven due to the fact that he didn't confess to his acts, however the Scarlet Letter states “Dimmesdale leans on Hester for support and begins to confess ,calling himself the one sinner of the world.” This goes to show that Dimmesdale may in fact be forgiven.

Every character in the novel The Scarlet Letter, deals with things that are done to them, and things that they do to themselves differently. The four major characters that have to seek forgiveness and forgive others are Roger “Chillingworth” Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, and Pearl. Some gain forgiveness from others, some refuse to give forgiveness, and others are tortured by not being able to forgive themselves. This affects them all in different ways, positive and negative.

While reading The Scarlet Letter you may question if they, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, are forgiven. Personally, I think by the end of the novel the reader can see clearly that both of them had been forgiven by God, the colonists, and themselves.

The presence of guilt has been felt by all human beings. As guilt grows in a

In the book The Scarlet Letter dimmesdale, pearl, and Hester were not forgiven. The sins they committed had just been told to the people so they were very angry that Dimmesdale had kept the secret that long. Also she put the letter back on so the sunlight went away from Hester even though it was on her before.

Even though Hester’s sin is the one the book is titled after and centered around, it is not nearly the worst sin committed. Hester learns from her sin, and grows strong, a direct result of her punishment. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. “ Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers--stern and wild ones--and they had made her strong... “ Hester also deceived Dimmesdale, also committing the sin of deception. She swore to Chillingworth that she would keep their marriage a secret. She even withheld this from Dimmesdale, whom she truly loved. Hester finally insisted on telling Dimmesdale and clearing her conscience. In this passage, you can see how he grows angry at Hester: “O Hester Prynne, thou little, little knowest all the horror of this thing! And the shame!--the indelicacy!--the horrible ugliness of this exposure of a sick and guilty heart to the very eye that would gloat over it! Woman, woman, thou art accountable for this! I cannot forgive thee!”  Dimmesdale does forgive Hester. She has done

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

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne exhibits how three very unique characters are evidently brought together by the sins that they have perpetrated and how they manage to perform acts of atonement in the puritanical Boston society. Hester Prynne sins by committing the shocking transgression of adultery. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who as well engages in adultery with Hester, abandons her and their daugher because of his own cowardice and hypocrisy. Roger Chillingworth grows to become a maleficent being who tries to corrupt the very soul of Reverend Dimmesdale. Although Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale do sin greatly, it is Roger Chillingworth who sins to the most ferocious degree.

The relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester in The Scarlet Letter demonstrates that forgiveness allows individuals to heal their lives and emotional wounds. When Arthur Dimmesdale exclaims that he would not forgive Hester for hiding Roger Chillingworth’s true identity for seven years, Hester replied, “Thou shalt forgive me! Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive” (Hawthorne 133). By receiving forgiveness and compassion from another sinner, Hester had the capability to forgive herself for her own iniquities.

Sin affects us all and with sin comes punishment. For example, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter, New England punishment is described as cruel and highly unreasonable, as seen in the whipping of disobedient children (Hawthorne ch.2 par.1). The Puritans especially had questionable antics towards anyone who dared to disagree with their religious views. This was seen in the banishment of Anne Hutchison, in the November of 1637; she was accused of blasphemy (People and Ideas par.7). Not only do punishments chastise their victims physically, they also influence their social and spiritual lives as well.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter he raises the argument of whether or not the characters are forgiven. Only one character is without a doubt forgiven and that is Hester Prynne. However this raises the question of whether Hawthorne is forgiven as well. I believe that Hawthorne is forgiven for the same reason as Hester which is that he owned up to the sins that were committed.

In the forest scene between Hester and Dimmesdale, Sandeen suggests ”She clasps him desperately and demands his forgiveness” (373). If Hester had not thought Dimmesdale was the love of her life, she would not be so desperately asking for his forgiveness. Hawthorne writes “All the world had frowned upon her,- for seven long years had it frowned upon this lovely woman,- and still she bore it all… Heaven, likewise, had frowned upon her, and she had not died. But the frown of this pale, weak, sinful, and sorrow-stricken man was what Hester could not bear, and live!” (133). Hester does not care about the church or the world giving her forgiveness. The only person whose approval and forgiveness she cares about is Dimmesdale’s. She loves him so much that she can accept that the world cannot accept her, but she needs Dimmesdale to accept her. 7

"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

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.