The Lonely Truth

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The Lonely Truth
Social norms have existed in every society since the dawn of time and they are very prevalent in The Scarlet Letter Social norms in the novel are based upon very Puritanical values which causes the townspeople to live a very rigidly structured lifestyle. Naturally, this type of society causes many problems for those who choose to go against the values of society. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is shown to be one of those who goes against society when she is convicted of adultery. Because she is convicted of this, she is ostracized from society. Upon her being ostracized, she becomes more enlightened than most because she is given the ability to see society through a different lens in the comfort of privacy in her own cottage. It is in private settings such as these that produce some remarkable discoveries about society. Thus, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the need for privacy in uncovering the truth suggests man's natural discomfort in open society.
The enlightenment of those who have gone to the outskirts of society suggests that one's perspective on society shifts upon venturing into the outskirts. The remote location of Hester's cottage allows her to gain a unique insight into society. Hester, upon being ostracized from society because of her adultery conviction, moves into a remote cabin that is situated,"On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. ... while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants"(121). The cottage, located on the outskirts of town and "out of the sphere of that social activity"...

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...ality, in which location determines the behavior of the individual and the amount of truth that he/she has revealed about themselves.
All in all, in order for the revelation of the truth in the society depicted in The Scarlet Letter, there exists an expectation of privacy in order to shroud those who reveal the truth from society. The reason for this is so that the truth cannot be revealed in its entirety to the society which could cause enlightenment to all. The enlightenment of all people in society, especially in a religious society such as this one could lead to the destruction of the religious influence over society. Thus, because Hester and Dimmesdale are shown to have gone against the religious values of society and have thus become enlightened, the truths they hold must only be revealed in a private setting in order to avoid complete enlightenment of society.

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