Hypocrisy In Scarlet Letter

There are things in life that, rather than sharing every detail about to anyone, are better off being kept secret. However, while it may be the best option in these cases, there are things that need to be shared or else things may become worse and life could become a miserable struggle to maintain a lie. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the woods and the town are settings that create a stark contrast that acts as a magnifying glass, focusing on using Romantic ideals to highlight both the hypocrisy of the Puritans and how their lies hurt them by comparing how in town, almost everyone hides their sins behind a mask and many are very unhappy, to how Hester and Dimmesdale allow the truth to come out and be happy in the forest, away

This is also ironic because it is later seen that many of the same people who mistrust her are also guilty of sins and possibly could have been in the same position had they not hidden theirs. Later, the letter begins giving Hester a “sympathetic throb” when she comes near some people, especially ministers and magistrates, as if they have done things just as wretched as Hester has, if not worse. (Hawthorne 39). Hester’s letter is telling her that even the town’s leaders are hypocrites, just as guilty of sin as herself and everyone else in town despite their act of being so high above all them. This instance conforms to the Romantic idea of civilization being corrupt and impure extremely well. As the story progresses, Dimmesdale feels more and more guilt but because the town in a way idolizes him and he is a coward; he cannot confess to anything to them in this state so the feeling takes a large toll on his health as he deteriorates away. His sickness, and eventual death, is entirely caused by their society’s strict ideas of being clean, untainted, and the concealment of his sin. His downfall highlights how important it is that he should have come forth and revealed the

An instance where the town and woods clearly contrast can be seen when the woods accept Pearl and “ became the playmate of the lonely infant” and she adorns herself with flowers, giving herself the appearance of “a nymph-child, or an infant dryad” during her visit there with Hester (Hawthorne 160). Pearl is not really a dreadful, inhuman monster without reason that the town treats her as, but that she acts the way she does because of the treatment she receives from the rest of the town. While she is away from the Puritans who, looking down on her, repressed and torment her, she is content and at peace. Also, when Hester confides in Dimmesdale about Chillingworth’s true identity and his past with her and while Dimmesdale is initially angry, he forgives her and finally takes actions to not let Chillingworth torture him so much. Hester never felt safe telling Dimmesdale anything in the years that Chillingworth is in town but because the forest acts as their sanctuary and offers them some security, she is finally ready to confess everything. It is not until Dimmesdale learns the truth that his life can improve and his suffering may lessen, even a little, which enforces the idea coming to the reader of truth being necessary to live a happy or fulfilling life. It is there, also in the woods, that Hester and Dimmesdale try