The scarlet letter

1762 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Themes and morals in the scarlet letter

Torment Of Misfortune

The guilt, hypocrisy, and vengeance revealed in The Scarlet Letter.

In an age of sexual repression and conservatism, there is never room for public show of relationships. Emotions and affection are kept hidden from the public eye. With such limitations there is always an urge to break from what is considered proper. From this, lies and deceit are born to cover our mistakes. Hester Prynne stands helpless on a scaffold with her illegitimate daughter Pearl, wearing a blazoned scarlet “A”, making known she is an adulterer. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale stands silent within the on looking crowd as his lover and daughter are to be persecuted. In the far corner, stands Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband quietly embittered at his wife’s infidelities. A soiled and twisted love triangle connects these three individuals as Hester’s persecution draws near. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these individuals to exemplify guilt, hypocrisy and vengeance through secrecy and sin in The Scarlet Letter.

Hester Prynne pities the life of her daughter Pearl, labeled a child of sin and a product of adultery. Pearl is in essence a real representation of the scarlet letter that she bears. Hester’s own doing lays out the fate of her child. "…[Hester's] impassioned state had been the medium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and, however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery lustre, the black shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance. Above all, the warfare of Hester's spirit, at that epoch, was perpetuated in Pearl." Hester has the power to make things right and announce the identity of Pearl’s father Arthur Dimmesdale, however she holds back for fear of ruining her partners reputation and esteem. Hester holds commitment to both Pearl and Dimmesdale, she endures the sting of guilt through her silence.

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a supposed “man of god” takes silence along with Hester. He is guilty of his sins but more so guilty of being a walking hypocrisy in his congregation. To rectify his wrongs, he preaches of god and refraining from sin. However he continues to hide his relationship with Hester and denies his illegitimate daughter the privilege of his name. His commitments to the church are a conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and his need to confess. He yearns to confess but fears the negative outcomes. In his subconscious he wishes to tell all his sins, but results in his strong participation in church.

Show More
Related

  • Scarlet Letter

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.

    Read More

  • Pearl Indoctrination In Scarlet Letter

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, tells the story of a young adulteress named Hester Prynne and her bastard daughter, Pearl, as they endure their residence in a small town of the Massachusetts British settlement in the1600s. Pearl’s illegitimate birth is the result of the relationship between Hester Prynne and a minister of the Puritan church, Arthur Dimmesdale. Through public defamation and a perpetual embroidery of an “A” upon her dress, Hester is punished for her crime. Whereas, Arthur choses to suppress the secret over illuminating the truth and endures internal and self-inflicted punishment as consequence.

    Read More

  • The Minister Who Commits Adultery in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    “And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired” (158). Arthur Dimmesdale confesses his sin, but it makes such a big impact on him that he will always be reminded of it. The sin leaves a “breach,” or a hole, in him which cannot be fixed. Living in a Puritan community also makes it that much harder for Dimmesdale to keep his secret. Since the religion is completely strict and absolutely prohibits sins like adultery, he has no choice but to feel guilt and regret. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel of gothic romanticism. It was written in the 1800s, but takes place in the 17th century. Hester Prynne lives in Boston, Massachusetts and commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is punished by the town and has to wear a beautifully embroidered scarlet “A” on all of her clothes, which stands for “Adulterer.” The Reverend keeps his secret for many years while Hester’s husband, Roger Chillngworth, comes back to town and seeks revenge. Reverend Dimmesdale confesses his sin and ends up dying. The character Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the novel he is a healthy and intelligent minister, but towards the end, he becomes very guilty and emaciated.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Devices

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.

    Read More

  • The Death of the Electric Car

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has introduced a character that has been judged harshly. Because, she has been misinformed of her husband’s death; therefore, she was greave and had sought comfort resulting in a baby from the lover whom gave her comfort. When her secret had been discovered she was isolated for committing a treacherous crime of adultery, as one of her punishments she was forced to wear an A on her chest. The novel presents a structure of a society, using symbolism and diction to give underline meaning to the themes, portraying religious tendencies ruled by the philosophy of good and evil.

    Read More

  • "The Scarlet Letter" of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter is a classic novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne which entangles the lives of two characters Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale together through an unpardonable sin-adultery. With two different lifestyles, this act of adultery affects each of them differently. Hester is an average female citizen who is married to a Roger Chillingworth from Europe while Dimmesdale is a Puritan minister from England (61). Along the course of time after the act of adultery had happened, Hester could not hide the fact that she was bearing a child that was not of her husband, but from another man. She never reveals that this man is in fact Arthur Dimmesdale, and so only she receives the punishment of prison. Although it is Hester who receives the condemnation and punishment from the townspeople and officials, Dimmesdale is also punished by his conscience as he lives his life with the secret burden hanging between him and Hester.

    Read More

  • Death of the Electric Car

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 2006 documentary about Who Killed the Electric Car shows the determination of several California citizens whose willpower was to keep the electric car alive and running. The first existence of the electric car under General Motors (GM) dates back to 1996 when they launched the EV1 electric vehicle. And although several consumers took to this new form of transportation, a car that was powered by an electric motor in place of the basic gasoline engine, GM decided to take back its newest technology and removed all existing EV1’s from off of the streets. With several upset consumers who were concerned as to both what GM and the government were up to and how they could get their cars back. Overall, the fact behind why the electric car became such a superior commodity and then vanished was the question being asked. The electric vehicle was destroyed during 2004 and 2005 because a car of this statue was far ahead of its time and greater parts of consumers were not about “going green.” Today the electric car has begun to revive itself because of the existence of global warming, and the efficiency of the electric car is rising. In other words, the electric car has been brought back to life, and many automobile manufacturers are gaining interest.

    Read More

  • Sin in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times.

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale's Guilt and Internal Struggle in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Electric Cars

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    The future American commuter will undoubtedly have to transition from the use of fossil fuels to new alternatives due to the diminishing availability of the nation’s oil resources. How will America respond to this upcoming issue? It is difficult to predict which alternative fuel source America will ultimately choose, but with the premier of Nissan’s electric powered Leaf and other companies; such as Tesla Motors and Chevy, with their electric cars ready for market, the electric car may be winning the race to become the new standard for the gasoline alternative. Electric cars resolve long standing environmental issues, but it will need to maneuver around many roadblocks to become a marketable consideration for the general public. The cost of electric cars, currently on the market, makes them an impractical purchase for the average consumer. If cost is not the growing concern in today’s economy which prevents the consumer from considering this option; they may deny the technological advance due to battery storage capabilities and the inadequate infrastructure in place to refuel and provide for them.

    Read More

  • Formula E Essay

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    Our reliance on the internal combustion engine is still too great for us to just “turn over” to electric cars, this does not deny that Formula E is pushing the technology of electric

    Read More

  • The Importance of Pearl in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the most complex characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the story, she develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is shunned from society because of her mother's sin. She is a living representation of the scarlet letter, acting as a constant reminder of Hester's sin.

    Read More

  • Electric Cars Persuasive Speech

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    The substantial increase in the demand for EV’s came just in time as we are slowly but surely running out of oil. Some estimate that by the year 2040, 35 percent of all vehicles will be electric (Sullins, 2017). An article from the U.S. Department of Energy stated that “Electric vehicles hold a lot of potential for helping the U.S. create a more sustainable future. If the U.S. transitioned all the light-duty vehicles to hybrids or plug-in electric vehicles, we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 30-60 percent, while lowering the carbon pollution from the transportation sector by as much as 20 percent (energy.gov, 2014). It’s obvious that gas-powered vehicles have harmed our planet with their emissions. Although EV’s cannot reverse that damage that has been done, they can eliminate, or at least slow down, the inevitable demise that our planet is headed towards. Along with the beneficial environmental factors that correspond with electric cars, there are also beneficial financial factors. The average American spends about $2,000 on gas annually. In the future, charging stations will charge roughly $12.00 for a full charge, which is about 300 miles. This means that the average American will save about $1,400 per year on these specific car

    Read More

  • Electric cars and it social impact of technology

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Electric cars are currently impacting the economy by not really costing less then a normal car throughout a 5 year span. After you figure in the costs of charging the battery and re...

    Read More

More about The scarlet letter

Open Document