The Dangers Of Private Guilt In The Scarlet Letter

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Recommended: Discuss the relationship between the scarlet letter and Hester’s identity

Mistakes happen every day in the world we live in. People make mistakes due to poor decisions and bad judgement. Some who commit these faults are punish publicly, while some may get away without anyone knowing. Yet, the one who gets away can experience the same amount of pain as the one who is publicly punish. So how come does this happen to the one who gets away? Well, this happens because of one’s private guilt, which he or she cannot escape from. The longer one holds onto the guilt, the more painful it can be to the person. It can be described as a ticking bomb within a person. Private guilt is as bad as public guilt because it is torture to oneself, can bring emotional destruction to the people involved in the affair, and can have a major …show more content…

In the book, Scarlet Letter, not only were Dimmesdale and Hester emotionally broken, but Hester’s husband as well. In chapter 3 “The Recognition”, Hester’s husband who called himself Roger Chillingworth, finally made it to the puritan town of Boston, after supposedly pronounced lost at sea while traveling to America. When he arrived to town, he was in shock to realized that his wife already had a baby with someone else and was publicly punished for adultery. This was the beginning of what made Roger Chillingworth the real evil character in the story, because it emotionally changed him into someone who was fill with anger and revenge. Throughout the story, Roger Chillingworth wanted to seek out revenge to whoever Hester’s child father and lover was. As for Dimmesdale, he was emotionally broken because he felt guilty, and there nothing he could do about it, besides live with it or else be punished harshly. Then comes Hester, she had to live with the scarlet letter “A” on her chest for life, which constantly reminded people of her adultery crime. She was emotionally broken because no one wanted to be near her due to the crime she committed. Thus, made her felt isolated and friendless. According to chapter 5, “Hester at Her Needle”, she chose to help the community by doing charity work in order for her to not feel ashamed of herself, but by doing …show more content…

Even though people do make mistakes, some mistakes are considered as a crime, which people are punished for. Then, there are some who committed a crime and somehow managed to get away with it without anyone knowing. Thus, leading into feeling guilty for what they have done like Dimmesdale in the book, The Scarlet Letter, who committed the crime of adultery with Hester. This personal guilt is as bad as public punishment because it is torture to oneself, can bring emotional destruction to the people involved in the affair, and can have a major impact on one’s health. With a private guilt that Dimmesdale has, it is like torture to himself because every day he knows he has committed an unlawful act that he should be punished for. Yet, he cannot confess because he is one of the town’s ministers, which makes him someone that people look up to. In the story, not only were Dimmesdale and Hester emotionally broken, but Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, as well. It emotionally changes Roger as person, because he turns into a real evil person who is fill with hate and revenge, after he realize that his wife, Hester, had an affair and a baby with someone else. With this private guilt that Dimmesdale has within him, it starts to take a toll on his health, because his guilt builds up to a point where he psychologically and physically tortures himself. His personal guilt act as if is a leech sucking the life out

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