CREATIVE TITLE As time passes, what society deems acceptable changes and what the word “scandal” encompasses can vary based on the generation of people you ask. While the Lewinsky scandal in may have stunned the world in 1988, it is only recently that South Korea legalized adultery; in a time span as short as two decades, what was once a scandalous crime worth impeaching a president went to being tolerated. Nonetheless, scandals have been depicted in literary works throughout the ages, one of the most famous examples being the affair of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Though this narrative dates to the 1800’s, similarities can be drawn between Hester and the scandals of central figures in today’s world. Martha Stewart, for instance, was …show more content…
Both women fall to the lowest ranks of society as a result of their scandals. Hester, who tries to help out the poor during her period of ignominy, had “the poor…whom she sought out to be the objects of her bounty, often [revile] the hand that [she] stretched forth to succor them” (Hawthorne 75). Hester occupies the lowest rank in society at this point in the story, even with the poor looking down upon her, despite her attempts to help them. Martha Stewart also claims the scandal she had put her in a “deep hole” that “was not a pleasant hole;” she further curses at those who pitied her and told her at this point in her life, “Oh, whatever happens to you, it will make you stronger.” (Rothman) Similar to Hester, Martha occupies a rank in society where she is low in society and has the public looking down upon them during the lowest points in their lives. However, with time the tarnished images of these two begin to repair themselves. In time, the Puritan community Hester was living will remark of her, “Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge…It is our Hester–the town’s own Hester–who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted!” (Hawthorne 146). With time, same acts of Hester, which were begrudgingly accepted earlier in the novel, become appreciated by her townspeople as time passes. When Stewart emerged from jail, after leaving …show more content…
In both scenarios, there are men who are equally guilty as these two, but the women bear more public attention. With Hester’s crime being adultery, the man she was with, Dimmesdale, is equally guilty as her; however, society only punishes Hester for her crime. Even after Dimmesdale comes forth and confesses his sin and dies, some said he had “made the manner of his death a parable, in order to impress on his admirers…we are sinners all alike” (Hawthorne 236). Despite his admitting himself as guilty as Hester, Dimmesdale is still revered in the community, while Hester has to carry all the public shame for a crime they both committed. Martha Stewart was not alone in her insider trading scandal either, with much less publicized cases going on around the same time as hers; Mark Swartz and Dennis Kozlowski, for example, “were convicted of cheating Tyco out of $600 million” and “misconduct at Worldcom and Enron cost investors billions and lost thousands of employees their jobs” (Baykal, McAlister, and Sawayda 5). In both these cases, there are people more deserving for shaming instead of these two ladies, but both their societies chose to chastise them. The severity of these two scandals is not as great compared to other crimes being committed, but are more publicized. After Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin of adultery came Chillingworth’s sin
They both committed adultery, which then became the root of all of the issues within their respective stories. How this was known to be wrong was the commandment given by Jesus Christ in the Bible, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This makes their sins completely equal to each other. The punishment inflicted upon them was different however. Hester was forced to wear a scarlet letter A and bear her shame and John was executed. Hester suffers from the intense shame and ridicule as it is stated, “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.” It is remarkable to know that both characters felt a physical weight of their guilt. And it’s rather profound when John confesses his sin. He said. “I have known her, sir. I have known her.” All the while he was trembling and weeping, showing how much he truly feels his sin. Whether or not it is true, is it society’s place to judge individuals based on rumor and or hearsay and carry out
Hester has committed adultery, a major sin in Puritan society. This sin immediately archetypes her as a temptress in the community, and the women in the marketplace call her a “brazen hussy”, which is synonymous to an immoral woman ( ). This archetype suggests that Hester lured and provoked Dimmesdale into adultery, and that, as a married woman, she is the one at fault, and must be punished accordingly. The public hates and shames Hester when she is convicted, but Dimmesdale is praised when he attempts to
Everywhere you look, there she is. Martha Stewart has invaded every avenue of domesticity. Her "radiant presence... seems to be infinite, like that of the Almighty, or of Starbucks" (Lippert & Ferguson: 26*) The outposts of her "omnimedia empire" are quite fortified (Africannet page). Reigning over a vast technical spectrum, her multi-million, multi-media kingdom includes a magazine with a circulation of 1.2 million, a syndicated column, and a TV show with audience of 5.3 million, but she does not have an official web site (Lippert & Ferguson: 26). There are numerous webpages that fans and foes have dedicated to her.
Hester is being considered as the devil (Bellis 1), which is a sign that the town’s people are slanderous and judgmental. Their judgment has caused her to be isolated. “… A woman who had once been innocent…” is now considered as “…the reality of sin” (Hawthorne 39). They look at her as a threat diminishing their community’s chance for purification because “there was the taint of deepest sin…” (Hawthorne 24). My apprehension of Pearl is that she is the fruit of evil, because she is seen as “immortal” (Hawthorne 11). Because, she has caused a ruckus, her immoral acts have disturbed the nature of their society. They think this is morally correct because, “Political and generational ambivalence has its psychological counterpart…” (Bellis 2), which give them the right to make her an evil outcast.
In 17th century Massachusetts, adultery was viewed as a sinful act that was reprimanded differently in real life and in The Scarlet Letter. In a Puritan Society, Adultery was viewed as an act disobeying God. It was an act punishable by public whipping, extensive fines, jail time, and in certain cases, the husband could file for divorce, which would result in financial and custody losses for the woman (Clark 1). However, in The Scarlet Letter, Hester suffered a much different punishment. She endured 9 months of jail time, but instead of being fined or whipped, she was coerced into public humiliation. She was branded by the letter “A”, meaning adultery, which was adorned to the breast of her clothing. This letter caused the public to ostracize her, which made her reflect on the sin she committed and the consequences she had to face at all times. The “A” brought about a lot of public scorn, which is demonstrated when it is said, “Meagre, indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders at the scaffold. On the other hand, a penalty which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking in...
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
Three gossips present at Hester’s public shaming moan at Hester’s “merciful” punishment, one even going as far as declaring “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (Hawthorne 36). As time passes, however, and Hester dutifully lives out her penance, the people start to see the piety of her everyday actions. After seven years, they go from crying for her death to exclaiming “None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty…None so self-devoted as Hester, when pestilence stalked through the town.” (Hawthorne 110). They also declared her “a self-ordained Sister of Mercy…Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able.” (111). When the people of Hester’s town managed to stop gawking at Hester, they easily saw her true nature and changed their ideas to
Both committed adultery but have suffered in different ways. Hester’s punishment composed of public shaming on the scaffold for all to behold, but afterwards she did not suffer from guilt because she confessed her sin, unlike Dimmesdale, who did not confess, but rather let his sin become the “black secret of his soul” (170), as he hid his vile secret and became described as the “worst of sinners” (170). He leads everyone to believe of his holiness as a minister and conceals the, “Remorseful hypocrite that he was [is]” (171). Hester, a sinner too, however, does not lie about how she lives and therefore, does not suffer a great torment in her soul. While she stays healthy, people begin to see Hester’s Scarlet Letter turn into a different meaning, of able or angel, and they view her in a new light, of how she really lives. Dimmesdale however, becomes sickly and weak after “suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul” (167). He hides behind a false mask as he is described as possessing, “Brilliant particles of a halo in the air about his head” (300), and perceived as the most honorable man in New England. People do not see him as truly himself, but rather who he hides
Throughout the novel, the harsh Puritan townspeople begin to realize the abilities of Hester despite her past. Hester works selflessly and devotes herself to the wellbeing of others. “Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child.
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.
In the puritan society one is judged by what someone has done in the past or their role in society. Both Hester and Dimmesdale are judged by whom the puritan people think they are. For Hester, the first thing they do when they see her emerge from the doors of the jail is judge her by her looks. For instance the author explained her as, "...tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which ,beside being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion was ladylike, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity" (Hawthorne 46). The women who judge her are viewed as gossipers and judging from jealousy and just out to hurt her. Hester never acts this way towards anyone and she is still viewed as a terrible sinner who should possible die because of a sin. Dimmesdale is viewed as a wise man, a great speaker, and someone to look up to. This is because he is the minister of the community which is highly respected in the puritan society. People viewed him with so much respect that when Dimmesdale admitted his crime, no one could believe it or even believed what they had seen. There were multiple thoughts of what had happened. By way of illustration, “...and the wonderful
As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “…she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127).She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.
The purpose of this case report is to identify the legal and ethical issues in the Martha Stewart case study. I will discuss these issues, compare Ms. Stewart’s actions against the ethical theories, draw conclusions to the lessons learned, and make recommendations to limit future outcomes.
In a town full of Puritan believers, three sinners arose: Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth (Prynne). The three all defied the Puritan God, and lived to face their consequences. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sins were closely tied, but Chillingworth 's was of a vastly different nature. Hester 's sin was adultery, as she had cheated on her husband Chillingworth. Likewise, Dimmesdale 's sin was sexual immorality. He knowingly had relations with Hester, a married woman. Generally, their sins are more tame in nature, as it was a consensual relationship, and did no harm. Dimmesdale also sinned against his God. He hid and lied by omission while publicly preaching about the dangers of lying. His sin of hypocrisy did no harm to others, but created distrust in his
The Reverend Dimmesdale was another character that demonstrated the effects of sin. He committed the same offense that Hester committed, adultery. The difference between Dimmesdale and Hester was that Dimmesdale was not publicly punished for his crime while Hester was. Because of this, Dimmesdale felt extremely guilty. This feeling of guilt was so atrocious that it mentally and physically withered Dimmesdale, as he felt a very strong need to repent and cleanse his soul.