The Scarlet Letter Psychology of Sin

1225 Words3 Pages

The Psychology of Puritanism contained many stands of fundamental obligations. Although the puritans openly acknowledged natural human desires, they had a strongly held belief in moderation in all things. They did recognise the need for intimacy and this idea is proclaimed in Hawthorn's novel `The Scarlet Letter'. Puritans quite often explained the significance of a halite and intestinal mind. Some Puritans, like those in the novel, which depicts the lives of `Massachusetton' puritan, were rooted to the belief in compulsory uniformity.

Puritans had seemingly developed the notion that God was fulfilling his `contract' or `covenant' with people, so that they could secure salvation. By making reference to `The Scarlet Letter'. There are untying examples, which I will show illustrate the preoccupation of puritans with `Sin'.

The puritans, any willingness to take part in sex on the part of husband and wife, `Denies all realer in wedlock into Human necessity; and it sends it for supply into Bestiality,' Any engagement onside the marriage sexually, was looked upon badly as New England especially reported numerous episodes of adultery and fornication. Perhaps Dimmesdale on the novel, tired to avoid the obvious punishment of jail or even the humiliation of whipping, disentrancing, fies and a ported betrothal to Hester. Hester certainly bore the brunt of her sin, by wearing a scarlet `A' on her breast. She had clearly committed the sin, as the evidence was visible. He, however had no markings of adultery so in the eyes of society, he hadn't committed a sin. Perhaps this reiterates the arguments that, in case of sexual behaviour, they `thought' the sin, `committed' the sin and broke a moral high ground in puritan society.

Perhaps ...

... middle of paper ...

...ed a sin in the eyes of God. This in turn points out that Puritan society, although attempting to show itself as forthright and just, was comically depicted as a judgemental hypocrisy.

Therefore the characters in the novel `The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne offers the reader an insight into the puritan belief and psychology of sin was in their society. I believe that we are all sinners and the Puritanism is elitist in its sphere of influence. The idea that puritans are the `enlightened few' is contradicted by the bible itself; "Thou shalt not judge." This is further supporting my views that everyone sins, everyone contemplates, but that some of us unfortunately pretend that we or they don't do either. Do we also have to bear a `Scarlet A' in order to be labelled a sinner, or can we delve deeper and discover that we all, even puritans fall short of perfect.

Open Document