In The Scarlet Letter Hypocrisy is evident everywhere. The characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the very society that the characters lived in, were steeped in hypocrisy. Hawthorne was not subtle in his portrayal of the terrible sin of hypocrisy; he made sure it was easy to see the sin at work , at the same time however, parallels can be drawn between the characters of The Scarlet Letter and of today’s society.
The first character, Hester Prynne, is guilty of adultery and of hypocrisy. She supposedly loves Dimmesdale, yet she says nothing while for seven years Dimmesdale is slowly tortured. The love she felt that was so strong that it made her break sacred vows must have disappeared. Dimmesdale is continually
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If his supposed commitment to the community had stopped him from admitting his sin, he would have not been tortured. His love of the community is very similar to Hester Prynne’s love of Pearl. Dimmesdale only loves his community enough to preach in it, but he is preacher harboring a great sin, and so he cannot truly guide his community spiritually. Dimmesdale and Hester’s love are alike in their limitations, while Dimmesdale does speak up for Hester keeping her Pearl “Truth in what Hester says, and in the feeling which inspires her! God gave her the child, and gave her, too, an instinctive knowledge of its nature and requirements, ---both seemingly so peculiar, ---which no other moral being can posses. And, moreover, is there not a quality of awful sacredness in the relation between this mother and this child” (Dimmesdale 78). but he cannot love her enough to be her husband. The scene at the scaffolding at night is a truly disgusting scene of hypocrisy. Arthur seizes the opportunity to go up on the scaffolding and feel better about his sin, but when he sees a fellow man of the cloth walking by, he cowers. Then when Hester and Pearl stand with him Pearl asks “Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?”(Pearl 105). The minister is given another chance to redeem himself, but he cowers yet again! Dimmesdale is selfish, he tries to atone in private, by whipping himself and fasting. This …show more content…
Supposedly, they were firm believers in the Bible, but the Bible advocates forgiveness and toleration. The whole society’s basis was on religious enlightenment. Yet, the very first building to be manifested is to be a prison, a place of punishment. The plain hypocrisy is visible from the very first day Boston was founded. Another example of religious hypocrisy happened early in the book. Hawthorne described some gossiping housewives that were talking about Hester's punishment. Each one of the housewives was advocating harsher punishment for Hester. “The magistrates are God-fearing gentleman, but merciful overmuch, ---that is the truth,” added a third autumnal matron. “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. Madam Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me.”(Housewife 36). Religion is often the source of much hypocrisy. A great example of God being perverted into something else, were the Crusades. Christian soldiers were told to go and, supposedly, kill in the name of God, so they went off into the holy lands and killed the infidel. Fanaticism to a deity is not a good thing. The terrorists of 9/11 killed so many people did so in the name of God as well. Their creed actually does not call for anything like that. Perversion of God by those who hold power is a sin. It is impossible to truly believe in a religion, and feel justified in killing or persecuting
The town is all out to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne some of the women are suggesting other punishments and the women are telling us about Hester and Dimmesdale. People say," said another, "that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation." (Page 49) Reverend Dimmesdale is seen as a godly man. A man who does not commit sin and in his own mind at this point he feels fine and does not have any guilt. Dimmesdale at this point in the novel is seen as godly and throughout the novel is seen as godly even at the end after the last scaffold scene. Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her , so the man can be relieved of his guilt, some what ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. "What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him--who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself--the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not showing any signs of guilt at this point, he is still fairly the same and has not began to inflict punishment on himself or so it appears. Dimmesdale in the first scaffold scene seems fairly normal and has not begun to transform himself but by the next time we see him at the scaffold he is taken a turn for the worst.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to expose the varying ways in which different people deal with lingering guilt from sins they have perpetrated. The contrasting characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale ideally exemplified the differences in thought and behavior people have for guilt. Although they were both guilty of committing the same crime, these two individuals differed in that one punished themselves with physical and mental torture and the other chose to continue on with their life, devoting it to those less fortunate than they.
Beginning with the very first words of The Scarlet Letter the reader is thrust into a bleak and unforgiving setting. “A thong of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,” that are said to be “intermixed with women,” come off as overpowering and all-encompassing; Hawthorne quickly and clearly establishes who will be holding the power in this story: the males (Hawthorne 45). And he goes even further with his use of imagery, painting an even more vivid picture in the reader’s mind. One imagines a sea of drab grays and browns, further reinforcing the unwelcoming feeling this atmosphere seems to inheren...
Not only in this story of the Scarlet Letter, but throughout the early churches, we often see religious leaders in this predicament of coming forward or not coming forward with the truth of their role within certain situations. Hester, on the other hand, is portrayed as strong but also abandoned, because she is standing alone for the sins she could not have committed alone. Dimmesdale also struggles with confessing to Pearl the truth and keeping it from her. At first he is regarded as being selfish for not confessing right away and as a result, when he does confess, it is not well received from Pearl at all. This is not only because she is flustered from finding out, but Pearl knows that Dimmesdale abandoned them at first as he weighed the options.
The theme of hypocrisy is evident throughout The Scarlet Letter, as seen in Hawthorne’s characterization of society, Roger Chillingworth, and most prominently, Arthur Dimmesdale.
The Scarlet Letter is full of many psychological and moral aspects, and most of them relate very well to things that are going on right now in the world. They all go hand in hand meaning that the aspects that were explained in The Scarlet Letter, can also be explained in the same way as they can be explained now. Although times were very different in the times where The Scarlet Letter took place, they are all relevant for what people have to say about certain things in today's world. The moral aspects of the Scarlet Letter are almost the same as moral aspects of today.
The Scarlet Letter is a novel about a Puritan woman who has committed adultery and must pay for her sin by wearing a scarlet “A'; on her bosom. The woman, Hester Prynne, must struggle through everyday life with the guilt of her sin. The novel is also about the suffering that is endured by not admitting to one’s wrongs. Reverend Mister Dimmesdale learns that secrecy only makes the guilt increase. Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to display how guilt is the everlasting payment for sinful actions. The theme of guilt as reparation for sin in The Scarlet Letter is revealed through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of northeastern, colonial settings, various conflicts, and characters that must live with guilt for the sins they have committed.
Early in the novel, Dimmesdale exclaims, goes on how “What can thy silence do for him, except to tempt him---yea, compel him, as it were---to add hypocrisy to sin?” in regardsing to his own sin (63). He knows what will happen to him if he endures his sin in private, but he is too weak at this point in the book to admit it. Dimmesdale knows how the parishioners will interpret these confessions: he is not blind to their looks of adoration. Dimmesdale enjoys being viewed as a saint, even though he knows he is a truly a sinner. The years of torture the minister receives are brought about by his own doing. If his supposed commitment to the community had stopped him from admitting his sin, he would have not been tortured. When Hester and Pearl stand with him during one of his nightly vigils on the scaffold, Pearl asks “Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?”(139), to which Dimmesdale replies that he will not on account of his fear of being publicly exposed. Now Not only does the reader not onlynow understands that Dimmesdale is’s a coward, but he’s also a hypocritehipocrite as he refuses to admit to his sin when he knows that’s the only way he can fully get rid of
Nathaniel Hawthorne exploits the life of Puritanism in his guilty pleasure The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne lends the reader into an insight of life and human nature. The Scarlet Letter reveals the ordeal and evils of Hester Prynne, a woman living in colonial Boston whom was found guilty of adultery. Hester’s punishment was to then wear a visible sign of her sin’ the scarlet letter “A.” As the novel progresses the reader is introduced to Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister Hester had an affair with; and Roger Chillingworth, the estranged husband of Hester whom is out for revenge. The Scarlet Letter examines the relations of the main characters and the consequence of these characters to Hester’s sin. Hester’s sin of adultery interacts with themes of alienation from society, revenge, creativity, and consequences of breaking the moral code. The underlying sin Hawthorn explores throughout The Scarlet Letter is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is easily defines as a falsehood between one's professed beliefs and feelings and one's actual beliefs and feelings, or an application of a criticism to others that one does not apply to oneself. Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the Puritan society were steep in their sin of hypocrisy. Hawthorne reveals through the pages of The Scarlet Letter that hypocrisy is indeed a sin by punishing the offenders.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a puritan community living in 17th century Boston, and how they deal with the aftermath of an act of adultery committed by Hester Prynne with an unnamed man. Hawthorne’s story deals with the themes of guilt and shame, and the effect that these forces have on the novel’s characters. Of the characters that are introduced in the novel, Hester Prynne represents and suffers from guilt; while Dimmesdale represents and suffers from shame.
thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any"
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.
Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.
The Scarlet Letter is a fictional novel that begins with an introductory passage titled ‘The Custom-House’. This passage gives a historical background of the novel and conveys the narrator’s purpose for writing about the legend of Hester Prynne even though the narrator envisions his ancestors criticizing him and calling him a “degenerate” because his career was not “glorifying God”, which is very typical of the strict, moralistic Puritans. Also, although Hawthorne is a Romantic writer, he incorporates properties of Realism into his novel by not idealizing the characters and by representing them in a more authentic manner. He does this by using very formal dialogue common to the harsh Puritan society of the seventeenth century and reflecting their ideals through this dialogue. The Puritans held somewhat similar views as the Transcendentalists in that they believed in the unity of God and the world and saw signs and symbols in human events, such as when the citizens related the meteo...