Scarlet Letter
Through out the Scarlet Letter I believe that Hester and Dimmesdale do redeem themselves. I am led to think this for Three major reasons. The first being that the sin is between man and God. In my beliefs they do not have to repent to the people for they have not sinned against them. My second reason for my opinion is that both Hester and especially Dimmesdale feel bad in their hearts for what they have done. The third and final reason is that for every crime I feel that there should be an equal or greater punishment for the crime. Both of the two pay more than what is fair for the crime they committed.
Sin is between man and God. Being Lutheran this is a belief of mine that I live by. I believe this for when you sin it is God’s heart you are breaking, there for you must repent to him not the people. Hester does this all through out the book. She takes the scarlet letter as a personal ignominious burden. Hester carries the shame of the A in her heart. Much deeper than just on the outside or in public. By this she shows that she is sorrowed in her heart, which in my opinion means she is repenting to God.
It is very easy to see Dimmesdale’s shame and repentance in every action he carries out through out the book. Dimmesdale talks of how hard it is to preach to a congregation and save souls when his is polluted. In every action he does he feels bad for the crime he has committed and it shows with his health. For not being able to obtain peace of mind he looses sleep and proper nourishment and eventually his health for a very long period of time. When one can not obtain peace of mind in my opinion it is because ninety-nine percent of the time something is on their conscious. A conscious was God given meaning that there for Dimmesdale is constantly feeling bad begging for forgiveness from God.
God is very forgiving and it is written that Jesus died on the cross to cleanse us of our sins. My interpretation of this means to me that Dimmesdale repenting with his whole heart will be forgiven. If one is inline with God I feel that they are redeemed.
There are cases in the bible where it says if one is to sin against the people or the church then he must confess in front of those he
During the 17th and early 18th century, slavery in the United States grew from being a small addition to the labor force to a huge institution that would persist for more than a century. Much of the development of slavery occurred in the Middle and Southern colonies, especially Virginia. Without the events that occurred and the policies established in Virginia during this time period, slavery would never have become what it did today. The decrease in indentured labor coming from England led to an increase in slave labor in the colonies, and the introductions of the concepts of hereditary slavery and chattel slavery transformed slavery into the binding institution it became in the 18th century.
Once he confessed his sin to the community, his guilt was gone too. Even after Dimmesdale repented, God still did not like the sin. But, once he repented, he was separated from that sin. God shows mercy on those who repent, and He showed mercy on Dimmesdale.
The first theme expressed in The Scarlet Letter is that even well meaning deceptions and secrets can lead to destruction. Dimmesdale is a prime example of this; he meant well by concealing his secret relationship with Hester, however, keeping it bound up was deteriorating his health. Over the course of the book this fact is made to stand out by Dimmesdale’s changing appearance. Over the course of the novel Dimmesdale becomes more pale, and emaciated. Hester prevents herself from suffer the same fate. She is open about her sin but stays loyal to her lover by not telling who is the father of Pearl. Hester matures in the book; becomes a stronger character.
As for Reverend Dimmesdale, he is completely enveloped by his guilt from the sin that he has committed and is unable to come forward to confess it. Instead, he tortures himself each and every day. Hawthorne writes, ?His [Dimmesdale?s] inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome than with the better light of the church ? In Mr. Dimmesdale's secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge.? Later, he says that he tries to confess by saying that he has sinned but the Puritan community misinterprets it as a sign of him being a saint and that if he has sinned then what are they.
Hester’s sin is the sin which gives the book its title and around which the action of the book resolves. Adultery, which was prohibited by the Seventh Amendment, was usually punished by death. A woman in the crowd stated, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forhead…She may cover it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever (pg. 53)!” Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows truth by his occupation.
As a believing Puritan, Dimmesdale saw himself as “predestined'; for damnation. Hawthorne explained how the poor man “kept silent by the very constitution of [his] nature.'; Dimmesdale wanted to be with Hester, but he was weak. Hawthorne spoke about Dimmesdale’s bloody scourge in his closet, and how he beat himself with it. Hawthorne seemed to suggest that Dimmesdale’s “real existence on [earth] was the anguish of his inmost soul.'; Chillingsworth was a leech of evil, and Dimmesdale was his host. Chillingsworth continuously tried to get a confession from Dimmesdale: “No-not to [you]-an earthly physician.'; Chillingsworth sin was by far the greatest, as Dimmesdale stated: “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart.'; This being the “unpardonable sin.';
Hester's sin is that her passion and love were of more importance to her than the Puritan moral code, but she learns the error of her ways and slowly regains the adoration of the community. For instance, 'What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other! Hast thou forgotten it?';(Ch.17: 179). Hester fully acknowledges her guilt and displays it with pride to the world. This was obvious by the way she displays the scarlet letter with elaborate designs showing that she is proud. Furthermore, she does not want to live a life of lies anymore when she states 'forgive me! In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity save when thy good--the life--they fame--were put in question! Then I consented a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten the other side!';(Ch.17: 177). Hester learns from her sin, and grows strong, a direct result from her punishment. The scarlet letter 'A' was as if a blessing to Hester changing her into an honest person with good virtues. Fittingly, she chooses to stay in Boston with Pearl although Hawthorne admits, ';…that this woman should still call that place her home, where, and where only, she must needs be the type of shame';(Ch.5: 73). She is trying to stay and face her consequences instead of running in the other direction. Most people would leave a town where they are looked upon as trash the scum of society. Finally, the colonists come to think of the scarlet letter as '…the cross on a nun's bosom';(Ch.
The story develops when Hester Prynne commits the sin of adultery. Even though Hester's mistake was driven by innocent passion for Dimmesdale, the puritans took this seriously. By wearing the scarlet letter A on her chest, the village people look at her as an outcast. The puritans don't look at the sin as an act of love but instead as the work of the devil. However, Hawthorne makes it so that Hester's sin seems less serious than that of Chillingworth. Hester's sin seems more innocent because it was driven by her affection for Dimmesdale rather than of the intelligence. Her sin can also be considered less serious because Hester is willing to accept her sin and deal with the consequences publicly.
As Dimmesdale continues to hide and cover up the sin that he committed from the community, it becomes physically obvious that Dimmesdale is experiencing the frailty and sorrow that come from being a human when Hawthorne describes him "suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale [has] achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He [wins] it, indeed, in great part, by his sorrows"(Hawthorne 93). This quote clearly shows that Dimmesdale is racked with sorrow and frailty to an extent that it is physically changing his appearance. The description of the "black trouble of the soul" is another physical characteristic describing Dimmesdale showing the sorrow and frailty that Dimmesdale endures throughout the novel because the color black is a symbol that is related to death and destruction and therefore sorrow and the frailty of life. The author even specifically mentions what is causing the physical change in Dimmesdale in the last sentence. The sorrows that are mentioned are the foundation of the sorrows that fill Dimmesdale's life and continue to cause pain and sorrow to himself. The detraining physical appearance of Dimmesdale shows the sorrow that Dimmesdale experiences has the power to change h...
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlett Letter, has become one of the most discussed novels of all time. A great deal of` controversy streams from the obvious gender-related issues throughout the story. Considering the setting of seventeenth-century Boston, the plot takes place in a conservative Puritan society. Because of this, Hester Prynne, the protagonist, spends the seven years, over the course of which the book takes place, dealing with the repercussions of what is believed to be a “crime” against God and her community. The situation she is put in is one very few people could truly endure. Yet, she is able to beat all odds and surpass peoples’ expectations of an “ordinary Puritan women.” The complexity of the story goes into the depths of gender equality and the unconventional position this woman has in society. Hawthorne is able to depict conflicting gender roles in The Scarlett Letter by illustrating the expected persona of a Puritan woman and directly contrasting that norm with his very complicated and well-developed character, Hester Prynne.
Jesus began, "repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," or is it, do penance: "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17 K.J.V.). The two words repent and penance have somewhat the same connotation in the understanding of having sorrow for ones’ sins, nevertheless the two words are at the heart of Christianity and Christendom. The Catholic Church exerts the Latin term “paenitentiam agite” to justify its position on sacramental penance. The Latin term can be variously translated into English by the word repent or do penance, though similar, but somehow un-unified as earthly is with spiritual. This concept of repentance and abhorrence of one's sins before God is a heart issue. To do penance for one's sins before God is a heart issue. The dividing factor between the two words is who can know an individual’s heart in relationship to the scripture; As Paul wrote, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation…but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10 K.J.V.). The same factor affects the relationship between Christianity and Christendom, who can discern the motives of human hearts in relationship to history. Christianity is a universal appeal to man's heart, heart of Christendom is a universal appeal for an earthly kingdom. The union of these two or schism as one wishes to perceive, is in the concept of a visible church and an invisible church.
It is important to discuss the individuals doing the act of forgiving and receiving forgiveness; especially since they can be the same person. Often we assume that people are motivated by their obligations to others, rather than their obligations to themselves. Throughout history, the Puritan society is very concerned with human obligation to other beings and to their God. Through generations of different interpretations of a holy book, they had developed a system of laws that determined right from wrong; a standard which humans had been doing since the beginning of religion. Upon committing a sin, the society determined the punishment and the forgiveness came from the God. They lived their lives in extreme devotion to a faith; to a belief that detracted from the human obligation that we all have to
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Mr. Dimmesdale fears that his soul could not take the shame of such a disclosure, as he is an important moral figure in society. However, in not confessing his sin to the public, he suffers through the guilt of his sin, a pain which is exacerbated by the tortures of Roger Chillingworth. Though he consistently chooses guilt over shame, Mr. Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience than Hester, who endured the public shame of the scarlet letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s guilt is much more damaging to his soul than any shame that he might have endured.
That man who Hester loves so deeply, Mr. Dimmesdale also undergoes major changes due the sin he bears. In the beginning of the book we see this man’s weakness and unwillingness to confess sin even as he begs Hester the person he committed his sin with to come forth with her other parties name (p56). As The Scarlet Letter progresses we see Dimmesdale become weaker physically and his religious speeches become even stronger so that his congregation begins to revere him. For a large part of the novel Dimmesdale has been on a downward spiral in terms of mental and physical health thanks to a so-called friend who was issued to take care of Mr. Dimmesdale, then because of a talk with Hester he is revitalized and given the power to do something, which he could not for seven long years. At the end of the novel Dimmesdale is finally able to recognize his family in public and confess his sin before all releasing the sin he held so long hidden in his heart (p218, 219).
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. None of them receive the benefit of forgiveness. There is no true redemption, because there is no Savior in The Scarlet Letter. Without a merciful, loving, and gracious Savior, there can not be forgiveness of sin and reconciliation of broken relationships. This barren hopelessness leaves the characters desperate, alone, and in need of a Rescuer.