The Scarlett Letter: Civil and Natural Law

"Act 1." Lorraine Hansberry's A Rasin in the Sun. New York: French., 1984. 32 . Print.

Hester is partially exposed—although she reveals her sin for everyone to see through the scarlet letter and she allows the dark and serious mannerisms of Puritanical soc... ... middle of paper ... ...t-ridden victims of Puritanism could not look forward to the kind of transformation that Hester underwent and, instead, they were doomed to a lifetime of misery. Thus, through the brilliant and vivid use of colors from light to shade, from the startling to the colorless, Hawthorne builds his characters, explains their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how they react and live in a Puritan world full of dark intrigue, concealment, and hypocrisy. As characters change and evolve, so do the colors in which they are draped, yielding ultimately the lesson that brightness and openness in character will always triumph over the dark sordidness of repression and concealment.

Sinner Disguised Victim The portrayal of Hester Prynne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has been highly criticized, and many debate upon the angelic or sinful light that Hester Prynne represents. The author and critic, D.H. Lawrence, focuses on Hester’s sin in his critical essay, where Lawrence targets her, not as the victim, but as an ultimate sinner as she should be viewed, based on traditional Puritan values. Lawrence achieves his purpose that Hester should be viewed in a sinful light through his bullet-like syntax, negative and hateful diction, and his critical and disapproving tone. D.H. Lawrence incorporates a bullet-like syntax in his critique to express his hateful thoughts of Hester Prynne in a succinct way.

An Essential fact to note is that The Scarlet Letter is a satire of the Puritan religion rather than a tragedy. Even though Dimmesdale acknowledges the fact that keeping his sin a secret devours his soul, he doesn’t reveal it until his death at the end of the novel. Dimmesdale’s reluctance to confess to adultery and stain his image represents his inability to overcome his sin. He is unable to elevate his mind above the norms of society unlike Hester. In the end of the novel the crowd perceiving Arthur Dimmesdale’s confession differently is a way Hawthorne relays the foolishness of Puritan society.

Moreover, Ernest Sandeen verifies that a sinner "feels shame before his fellowman and fear before his God" ("The Scarlet Letter as a Love Story" 360), meaning that Earthly Justice induces shame as Divine Justice creates fear. Therefore, since Hester's punishment reduced her to shame on the scaffold, Earthly Justice dispensed its punishment, asserting its authority, in this first scaffold scene. Also, Dimmesdale's reluctance in this scene to admit his guilt diminishes the hope for Divine Justice, which is fo... ... middle of paper ... ...werful yet merciful Divine Justice that unfailingly watched over them. Works Cited Abel, Darrel. "Hawthorne's Hester."

Lawrence’s pessimistic and hateful diction, he is able to express his negative outlook on Hester Prynne. Lawrence communicates such words to specify his hatred and anger towards how Hester is portrayed in an angelic and victimized way. He focuses in on how “Hester Prynne is the great nemesis of woman”, which indicates to the reader how unforgivable her sin was, according to the traditional Puritan values in that time period. Such hateful diction persuades the reader to believe in Lawrence’s views, and to take part in the idea that Hester is diabolical. Lawrence does not despise the novel’s plot, but rather the way that Hester is portrayed.

To make a decision, one weighs the benefits and the downfalls, and concludes by judging the factors of each alternative. One's choice of whether to conform to society's demands or submit to personal impulses is difficult, especially under strenuous circumstances. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a profound romance in which the characters must make such a decision. A reconciliation of the two forces is not seemingly feasible. Reliance of self consumes Hester Prynne, while denial of self engrosses her partner in the crime of adultery, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Hawthorne's statement through Chillingworth offers insight into Dimmesdale and Chillingworth along with a representation of Hawthorne's disapproval of the Puritan values. This disapproval is the driving force of the novel, and it underlies the relationship between Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the prevailing greater justice of God. The contrast of the Puritans' justice and God's makes the message of the story greater than a love story or a story of a sin. With this theme, The Scarlet Letter becomes a comparison of the flawed justice of humans and the divine justice of God.

Ovid constantly tugs at our emotions and draws forth alternating feelings of pity and disgust for the matters at hand. "Repetition with a difference" in these two narratives shows how fickle we can be in allotting and denying sympathy, making it seem less valuable. Both tales begin drawing forth a sense of disgust for the situation in general yet arousing pity for each girl's predicament. Ovid clearly labels the love Byblis and Myrrha pursue illegitimate when he summarizes the moral of Byblis' tale stating, "when girls love they should love lawfully" (Mandelbaum 307) and reveals that "to hate a father is / a crime, but love like [Myrrha's] is worse than hate" (338) before describing Myrrha's tale. By presenting the girls as criminals, Ovid leads us to despise them.

Literary critic D. H. Lawrence criticizes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character Hester Prynne from the novel The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne portrays Hester Prynne as a pure character while Lawrence provides a powerful and logical explanation as to why Hester does not deserve any admiration. In his essay, “On The Scarlet Letter,” D. H. Lawrence applies precise diction, biblical allusions, and dramatic verbal irony to emphasize Hester Prynne as a character who should be criticized and mocked for her sins. Lawrence uses the words “demon” and “witch” to express his antipathy towards Hester Prynne. Lawrence suspects Hester to be an atrocious influence to others as he states, “Oh, Hester, you are a demon.