Theme Of Self Isolation In The Scarlet Letter

Alienation and Self-Isolation in The Scarlet Letter

In a community, people understand and know each other. In most cases, individuals grow up together and share the same ideals and customs. When a new person shows up, people tend to flock and try to form a persona of the person. Many people expect him or her to fit into the community quickly, and follow their laws and customs without complaint. Unfortunately, not everyone can act as a perfect person, and mistakes or problems can occur, which leads to the isolation and the alienation of the person from the rest of the community or the other way around. Through the use of a historical lens in the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores how the isolation of people and alienation

Throughout history, the Puritan community creates many different punishments offenders need to accept to live in the community. According to Michael J. Colacurcio, in 1695, the Salem colony enacts a law which requires women who commit adultery to sew a “capital A” on their clothing to point them out as adulterers (331). The Puritan colonies in the New World create a physical isolation of people who commit both heinous and moral crimes against the colony. Their strict belief structures cause them to punish all crimes almost equally, and leads to the isolation of the colonies by others who do not wish to associate with their actions. While the Puritan colonies make up a lot of America’s colonial history in New England, many people did not approve of their behavior and severe teachings. An example of this stems from Hawthorne, who sees the Puritan communities as hypocritical and also too harsh. Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter as a symbol for Hester, of her change and maturity, instead of her guilt and crimes: “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able”(Hawthorne 10). The scarlet letter does not only represent an adulterer, but someone who overcomes the situation and moves on. Hawthorne’s rejection of the Puritan mindset through Hester shows how the Puritans do not accept many different things which leads to their own personal alienation. As they isolate outsiders and new ideas, the community further alienates