Guilt And Shame Essay

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. In order to understand the different experiences of Hester and Dimmesdale in reference to their acts of adultery, one must first define guilt and shame. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines guilt as: “the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty” (Merriam-Webster). This definition makes clear that guilt refers to actions themselves, rather than emotions relating to those acts. In a court of law a person may be declared guilty by a third party, which implies that guilt is something that exists outside of the self. In contrast, shame is defined by The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as follows: “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety” (Merriam-Webster). This definition implies that the concept of shame refers to the

Both of them committed the same act, but it is how they deal with the consequences that creates the key difference between the two. Hester is open and embraces her sin, while Dimmesdale unfortunately keeps his a secret and suffers the pain that accompanies shame. Hawthorne thus clearly shows that suffering from wrongdoing is a direct result of how one rationalizes and accepts the consequences of their actions, and the experiences of Hester and Dimmesdale respectively exemplify the nature of guilt and