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How does forgiveness play a role in the scarlet letter
Sin and redemption in scarlet letter
The theme of guilt in scarlet letter
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It is true that we feel compassion, but can we truly forgive and forget?Never start with a question, but also not this one because your point is somewhat confusing. Do you want the focus to be on compassion or do you want the reader to question compassion? Hester, from ‘The Scarlet Letter ’, conceives a child through an affair, and her life after is full of struggles as she tries to circumvent through challenges to create a new life. Unfortunately, the life of repentance and dignity comes at a cost which she has to pay in order to earn it. This story relates to the ‘Crucible’ based on the famous Salem witch trials up close and personal. A trial that saw numerous people accused of witchcraft persecuted and executed by the colony. In a nutshell …show more content…
The society in which she lives is legitimized such that people follow a certain moral code. Refraining or overlooking of such codes leads to punishment as revealed by the women “this woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die” (The Ugly Woman, 7). The narrator however, echoes concern against following strict codes of conduct. Hawthorne presents the idea that lack of compassion and forgiveness makes a society dictatorial, he believes the need to observe and practice grace is imperative. Ruling through grace was expressed by Hester when she is forgiven by a society that had once punished her for same mistakes as the young girl retorts “let her cover the mark she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart” (A Young Wife, 6). Reverend Dimmesdale finds adequate grace after seven years of not confessing his sins because of the repercussions that would come thereafter. He begs Hester to reveal his name so that he can as well reveal his sin “be not silent from any mistaken pity, and tenderness for him” (Reverend Dimmesdale, 26) YOur …show more content…
The circumstance around his affair are rather intriguing because while he was expected to take care of his wife, he cheated on her with Abigail. Forgiveness in this case is paramount since the storm cannot settle if Elizabeth does not forgive her husband and if Proctor cannot forgive himself, as he says “I cannot speak but I am doubted, every moment judged for lies as though I come into a court when I come into this house” (Proctor, 52). There is a sense in which the wife feels so betrayed that she cannot properly discard judging Proctor, as indicated in the statement “spare me! You forget nothin’ and forgive nothin’ ” (Proctor, 52). Proctor cannot forgive himself because he perceives his mistakes and finds no reasons to receive any better treatment from Elizabeth who notes “I think you be somewhat ashamed. For I am there and she so close” (Elizabeth,
Elizabeth Proctor is a bitter woman who has been hurt deeply by her husband and her pride adds more strain to the already unstable relationship. Her husband, Proctor, only wants her to find complete forgiveness in her heart and to put the incident behind her. She tells him, "...it come not that I should forgive you, if you'll not forgive yourself."
Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all sinners, but they each handle their guilt in different ways. Hester tries to earn forgiveness by acts of service. Dimmesdale allows his guilt to build up to the point that it kills him. Chillingworth becomes obsessed with getting revenge. None of them receive the benefit of forgiveness. There is no true redemption, because there is no Savior in The Scarlet Letter. Without a merciful, loving, and gracious Savior, there can not be forgiveness of sin and reconciliation of broken relationships. This barren hopelessness leaves the characters desperate, alone, and in need of a Rescuer.
Hawthorne recognizes how structured the Puritan society andis discusses how one’s sins and actions can affect their standing in society. The main element of the novel, Hester’s scarlet letter, greatly attests to how sin alone can change your entire societal position. After receiving her letter, Hester “quote about living outside town” and is ostracized by the small community. Even the children begin to put Hester down, chanting awful things such as “let us fling mud at her”. TNothing about Hester has changed, she still works as a seamstress, the sole reason she moves to the bottom rung of the social ladder is due to her sins in a very religious society. On the opposite side of the spectrum lies Dimmesdale. As the local minister, Dimmesdale wields a lot of power in the town, but he is placed upon a pedestal as a prominent figure because the townspeople believe he is so pure. Even when Dimmesdale confesses that he has sinned, the townspeople only revere him more and believe that they are the ones who have sinned and are unholy. By the end of the book, Dimmesdale has inadvertently gathered enough support because people revere him that many doubted if heDimmesdale had sinned at all or “insert examples of how people think he died”. In a society dominated by religion, ministers, by their very nature, are
In every generation there are certain rules and etiquette that play a large role in dictating the appropriate behavior for the time. An individual may choose to live his or her life according to this code of conduct and do fairly well, or in contrast live a life full of trials and hardship as a result of their transgression. This is especially true for the early inhabitants of 17th century colonial America, a period rife with the religious zeal and harsh castigation carried out on behalf of the Puritans who settled the area. During this time, as is still the case today, offenders of this societal moral code were made examples of and forced to suffer so that they may serve as a warning to the rest of the population. This is the case in The Scarlet Letter where the protagonist Hester Prynne is ostracized from her conservative community after committing the then unforgivable sin of adultery. In his novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses both themes of guilt and redemption to create trials that test his character Hester Prynne and in the process transforms her from a pitiable sinner, to a symbol of strength.
Everyone has secret sins that we don’t want anyone else to find out about. Yet, when these secret sins are revealed, we discover that these sins were holding us back. Hester Pyrnne returns to her home in the last chapter of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and willingly puts the scarlet letter back on. This letter bears the pain and guilt of her secret sin, adultery, and the town that she lived in thought that the letter would make her deal with, and be redeemed from her sin. Through her trails, we can learn about ourselves, and how to deal with the secret sins inside each of us. Hester Prynne saw the Reverend Dimmesdale’s embrace of his sin on the pillory led to his salvation. Even though she preached that she was unable to be saved, she was drawn back to the place of her sin so as to let the scarlet letter do its job and save her. Secret sin is something that we want to hide, but only after we deal with it in the place that it occurred, can we move on.
Through Hester and the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne reveals how sin can be utilized to change a person for the better, in allowing for responsibility, forgiveness, and a renewed sense of pride. In a Puritan society that strongly condemns adultery one would expect Hester to leave society and never to return again, but that does not happen. Instead, Hester says, “Here…had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom.” Hes...
Making mistakes is a common occurrence in today's society, and almost seems like the norm. But back in the Puritan times, one mistake could cause a person to be publically shamed forever. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, public shaming is a major theme felt by the main character Hester Prynne. She was publicly shamed for committing adultery, forced to wear the letter “A” on her clothes, and shunned from society. This takes a tole on her and her daughter Pearl because Hester can’t be the mother for Pearl that she wants to be. Causing Hester to have to spend her time trying to redeem herself. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan values dismantle Hester’s attempts at redemption for Pearl, society, and herself.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Mr. Dimmesdale fears that his soul could not take the shame of such a disclosure, as he is an important moral figure in society. However, in not confessing his sin to the public, he suffers through the guilt of his sin, a pain which is exacerbated by the tortures of Roger Chillingworth. Though he consistently chooses guilt over shame, Mr. Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience than Hester, who endured the public shame of the scarlet letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s guilt is much more damaging to his soul than any shame that he might have endured.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most respected and admired novels of all time. Often criticized for lacking substance and using more elaborate camera work, freely adapted films usually do not follow the original plot line. Following this cliché, Roland Joffe’s version of The Scarlet Letter received an overwhelmingly negative reception. Unrealistic plots and actions are added to the films for added drama; for example, Hester is about to be killed up on the scaffold, when Algonquin members arrive and rescue her. After close analysis, it becomes evident of the amount of work that is put into each, but one must ask, why has the director adapted their own style of depicting the story? How has the story of Hester Prynne been modified? Regarding works, major differences and similarities between the characterization, visual imagery, symbolism, narration and plot, shows how free adaptation is the correct term used.
Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale.
The first way Hawthorne showed this theme was how the puritan society viewed others actions, specifically those of Hester and Pearl. One of the ways Hawthorne detailed the society’s hate of Hester’s actions of adultery was very early in the book during Hester’s public humiliation. “Haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon.” (Hawthorne, 38). Hawthorne uses great symbolism to detail how the people of Boston were so eager to not only see Hester being ridiculed for her actions but to rip her apart and make sure that she knew what she did was wrong in the most vengeful and callous ways. Another point Hawthorne uses to emphasize the people’s view of Hester’s actions is how the school children pelt young Pearl, the daughter spawned of sin, with mud. “‘Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!’” (Hawthorne, 70). This shows that even from a young age, the puritans were taught that a sinner should be ostracized and tormented. The final point Hawthorne uses to show others view on someone’s actions is the acceptance of Hester and the legend of the scarlet letter. “But, in the laps of...
Through Hester’s own personal struggles with isolation and how it affects her outlook on life and the compassion she learns from the experience. And in addition, with other’s experience as well, such as Dimmesdale’s guilt and self-punishment. Alternatively, Hawthorne shows assumptions and strict moral values from the townspeople’s changing perspective on Hester and her scarlet letter, from a figure of shame and isolation to a brave and motherly figure. Above all Hawthorne shows both the good and the bad of Puritan society and its often misguided assumptions of character and rigid moral
Many people expects everyone to be perfect, but perfect in their own way. Making a mistake in this century is carried in a personal matter unless it’s involves more people. Dealing with the consequences given for your punishment makes it hard for people especially in the puritan times. During the puritan times, public shame was a normal thing for the community to discover. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynn commits adultery and has to face the consequences with the townspeople, governor, and many more surprising characters. Hester Prynn is the perfect example Hawthorne uses to show how the puritan society treats her punishment. In “The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses imagery and personification to show how guilt can destroy someone.
Hawthorne begins the first chapter of the novel with Hester’s punishment. She had committed adultery, a crime that the Puritans often punished by death. She was sentenced to stand on the scaffold, a symbol of shame, for three hours in front of the whole town and to wear a scarlet letter “A” (meaning Adultery) for the rest of her life. She stayed loyal to her new partner and refused to expose his identity. Although she is not justified, Hester did not commit the greatest sin in the novel. Hers was a crime of passion and love, not premeditated or intended to hurt others. The sin in her actions was that her desire was of more importance to her than the Puritan moral code. This is proven when Hester says to Dimmesdale, “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other!” Hester fully acknowledged her guilt and displayed it with pride to the world. The elaborately decorated scarlet letter and the style in which she clothed her daughter, Pearl, was proof of this. Hester is, indeed, a sinner and her crime was very serious. The book is named after the punishment she received for committing this crime and it made life incredibly difficult for herself and her partner, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. In overcoming the hardships, she learned many important lessons that could be used to prevent future problems. “Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wilds ones, and they had made her strong…” Her comfort to the broken-hearted, charity to the poor, and unquestionable presence in times of hardship were direct results of her quest for repentance.
In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery, a disgraceful sin, and she is severely punished. Yet although her sin was not a good choice, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, attempts to justify her actions. His writing indicates that he does not accept of her behavior but that it was not completely her fault. Being a Puritan, Hester was forced into one way of life, the only acceptable way in the eyes of her community. This pressure to adhere to numerous strict rules was metaphorically compared to a difficult journey down a narrow, winding road in the forest with little light. The Puritanical way of life curbed deviant behavior and is a justification for Hester's sin because every so often, everyone strays from the path but it the reaction to the wrongdoings that should be defining and Hester remained strong and took the consequences.