Everyone is sinful or guilty in a way, weather it is lying or doing Adultery. “Guilt is through the spirit and Pain is the body.” It is mistakes that are caused by people. Because you will have to be guilty first, in order to suffer the pain that was caused by their sin. Mr. Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he had to suffer his own sin, because he committed adultery with Hester and had a child called Pearl. Hester has to suffer from her own sin, because of adultery and she has to fight the society with no one helping and no one by her side.
Hester Prynne has committed adultery. In the Puritan society, she has deliberately gone against the church values and beliefs that say to stay pure and holy. She has committed one of the most sinful acts of lust by having an illegitimate child and exposing an affair while her husband hasn 't returned. So everyone can only assume that she committed adultery, and so she must wear a scarlet letter "A" on her breast as a symbol of shame and sin for the rest of her life. "In The Scarlet Letter, the author attempts to show the way the society casts out individuals simply because their ideas and deeds differ from the common values.
Chillingworth becomes so evil and cruel in his treatment of Arthur that it would have been better for the Reverend to die. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all sinners, but they each handle their guilt in different ways. Hester tries to earn forgiveness by acts of service. Dimmesdale allows his guilt to build up to the point that it kills him. Chillingworth becomes obsessed with getting revenge.
If this forgiveness would have been incorporated into the society of the novel, The Scarlet Letter, sins would not have played such a major role in society and in each character’s life. In this intriguing novel about an adulterer, Hester Prynne, the characters begin to almost be defined by their sins. In The Scarlet Letter, written by the nineteenth century author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, lots of characters are often portrayed and interpreted by their sins and their regretted mistakes. The main character, Hester Pyrnne, is interpreted by her profound sin: adultery. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, is displayed in a bad light because he is a fraud and lies to society.
He relates this imperfection to sin; “it was the fatal flaw of humanity… the symbol of his wife’s liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death” (Hawthorne, 633). Aylmer believes that if he can remove this imperfection, Georgiana will be a perfect, sinless human being. He thus begins experiments to eliminate the mark from his wife’s cheek. In light of the compliments of past suitors, Georgiana believes the birthmark is charming. However, she grows to hate it because her husband’s obvious revulsion for it, until she prefers death to its existence.
In Chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Roger Chillingworth, one of the main characters, seeks revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale, the town's minister who commits adultery with Hester Prynne, Chillingworth's wife. Chillingworth prys into Dimmesdale's heart, feverishly trying to get deeper and deeper into his soul. His intentions are to eliminate Dimmesdale, which would be the ultimate revenge. Chillingworth's secret rancor towards Dimmesdale makes his sin all the more evil. However, adultery is seen in the Bible to be the worst sin one can commit.
Much of The Scarlet Letter talks about her treatment at the hands of the townspeople, because her transgressions are out in the open, and they can punish her. On the other end of the spectrum is the Reverend Dimmesdale, who fairly goes mad from guilt. Every person considers him a godly, amazing man, while he has actually sinned as much as Hester. His concealed sin eats away at him, and he constantly wishes that he would be brave enough to confess. Some of Dimmesdale’s torments are the cause of Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s former husband.
Even if I imagine scheme of vengeance, what could I do better for my object than to let thee live?” (Hawthorne p. 50) Chillingworth is saying that because of Hester’s sin, she is shunned by everyone and that the shame will remain with her and haunt her for the rest of her life. Everyday of her life is full of suffering and Chillingworth wants her to live so she can suffer in the worst way possible and that is to let her live. In addition, Chillingworth says, “I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly ad unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!” (p. 52) His drive of revenge is so powerful that the soul of Hester’s lover, will be his forever. In the same ... ... middle of paper ... ...ymbolize “The Black Man.” Chillingworth isn’t the only one that has an evil spirit.
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).
Abigail’s whole purpose for the witch trials was to have Elizabeth convicted and killed so she coul... ... middle of paper ... ...e confession is a true religious and personal stand. This protest not only redeems John Proctor, but also leads him and six other condemned prisoners to the gallows, to die with dignity. John Proctor, like every creature, is imperfect and struggles internally with the guilt of an affair, the love of his wife, and his reputation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Even though Proctor was a Christian and loved his wife, he committed an adulterous act, but felt genuinely guilty thus illustrating Miller’s resistance to creating a wholly good or wholly evil character. He was a man who made a mistake, a mistake that influenced Salem’s witch trials and resulted in numerous murders and imprisonments.