The Puritan's View Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

855 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critical analysis of the scarlet letter

“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester, who is abandoned by her husband for two years, is having an affair with the pastor, Reverend Dimmesdale. Hester gives birth to a daughter while her husband is away which leads people to believe that she is having an affair. The Puritans’s view of sin is very strict, so they believe Hester deserves a terrible punishment.Hester keeps the father hidden from the knowledge of the townspeople, so she receives the brutal punishment by herself. Throughout the novel, Hester and Dimmesdale react and cope with their sin differently. This leads to different consequences and end results. In the novel, Hawthorne expresses the two characters’ …show more content…

The elders of the Puritan community find her to be guilty and force her to wear a scarlet letter on her bosom for the rest of her life. Some of the people of the town are angry because her punishment is so easy. However, Hester takes her punishment and embraces it. Hester knows, “But now, with this unattended walk from her prison-door, began the daily custom, and she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it” (Hawthorne). Hester embroiders her scarlet letter and dresses her daughter, Pearl, in scarlet. She also wears her scarlet letter way longer than the community says showing everyone that she has nothing to hide. Even though the strict Puritan values bring Hester to public shame, they also help Hester gain back the respect of her community. “To Puritans, a person by nature was inherently sinful and corrupt, and only by severe and …show more content…

He shows how Hester, who faces her problems head on, grows stronger and gains the respect of the townspeople, whereas Dimmesdale keeps his sin bottled up and is consumed by it. “Sometimes we keep the sin in our lives well protected, guarded, covered over with lies. Sometimes we are not free enough to our own sin, so we cannot be healed of it. An unacknowledged wound cannot be healed.” —Julian

Show More
Related

  • Free College Essays - Hester as Role Model in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most obvious subject of punishment that Hester had to cope with is wearing the scarlet letter. "By the point which drew all eyes and, as it were, transfigured the wearer. . . was the scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom" (51-52). Hester wrought the scarlet letter before she stood on the scaffold. When Pearl asks her why she wears the letter she replies that she wears it for its gold thread. Hester wears the letter for many years, even after the people in the community care anymore, so that she will be fully forgiven for her sin.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Minister's Black Veil"

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    The central theme in The Scarlet Letter is that manifested sin will ostracize one from society and un-confessed sin will lead to the destruction of the inner spirit. Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to bring out this idea. In the novel, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter A (the symbol of her sin) because she committed adultery with the clergyman, Dimmesdale. Because the public's knowledge of her sin, Hester is excluded physically, mentally, and socially from the normal society of the Puritan settlement. She lives on the outskirts of town in a small cottage where she makes her living as a seamstress. Though she is known to be a great sewer amongst the people, Hester is still not able to sew certain items, such as a new bride's veil. Hester also has no interaction with others; instead she is taunted, if not completely ignored, by all that pass her by. Despite the ill treatment of the society, Hester's soul is not corrupted. Instead, she flourishes and improves herself in spite of the burden of wearing the scarlet letter and she repeatedly defies the conventional Puritan thoughts and values by showing what appears to us as strength of character. Her good works, such as helping the less fortunate, strengthen her inner spirit, and eventually partially welcome her back to the society that once shunned her.

    Read More

  • The Minister Who Commits Adultery in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    “And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired” (158). Arthur Dimmesdale confesses his sin, but it makes such a big impact on him that he will always be reminded of it. The sin leaves a “breach,” or a hole, in him which cannot be fixed. Living in a Puritan community also makes it that much harder for Dimmesdale to keep his secret. Since the religion is completely strict and absolutely prohibits sins like adultery, he has no choice but to feel guilt and regret. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel of gothic romanticism. It was written in the 1800s, but takes place in the 17th century. Hester Prynne lives in Boston, Massachusetts and commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. She is punished by the town and has to wear a beautifully embroidered scarlet “A” on all of her clothes, which stands for “Adulterer.” The Reverend keeps his secret for many years while Hester’s husband, Roger Chillngworth, comes back to town and seeks revenge. Reverend Dimmesdale confesses his sin and ends up dying. The character Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the novel he is a healthy and intelligent minister, but towards the end, he becomes very guilty and emaciated.

    Read More

  • Why Is Hester Prynne A Heroic Figure

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Hester and Pearl are isolated for a while after their punishment (85), the Puritan society’s view of her changes in chapter 13. In chapter 13, Hester is shown to have become a servant of the community, and, rather than scorning her, the community praises her as holy (134). Even the symbol that embodies her punishment, the scarlet letter A, transforms into a symbol of her holiness, being interpreted by the people as meaning “Able” (134). In chapter 24, the story’s conclusion, Hester mentors young women, furthering the idea that she brings redemption from her sin by using her lessons to help others

    Read More

  • Changes of Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “…she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127).She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne And Arthur Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    The letter ‘A’ that she wore on her bosom plastered Hester’s scandal all over the community. Pearl, the daughter of the sinner’s, was being parented by Hester, which constantly reminded her of the sin everyday. The community looked down upon Hester and Pearl, but instead of letting it get to them, Hester accepted the consequences therefore she tried to move on. Although the family dealt with a lot of criticism from fellow Puritans, they did not let those thoughts get into their heads. Hester was a popular seamstress in her time, even though she was unable to make wedding veils because of the sin she committed. “Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or suchlike heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!” (Hawthorne 49). The sin made Hester determined because she came to self-realization and broke free.

    Read More

  • Hawthornes Use of Pearl as Symbolism in The Scarlett Letter

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the novel commences, the Puritan officials had deem that Hester is to wear a scarlet "A" on her bosom for the rest of her natural life as a form of punishment for her sin. The Puritan community shuns her for the "A," meaning adultery. The other punishment that Hester received is Pearl. Pearl serves as the prominent symbol of the immoral love affair between Hester Pyrnne and the Reverend Dimmesdale. This realization dawns upon Hester when "her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token." (Pg. 50) A moment later, she "wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another." (Pg. 50) In this sense, her daughter and the ingrained scarlet "A," are forever a constant mental and physi...

    Read More

  • Sin of Adultery in Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Hester and Dimmesdale had an affair, they never knew how much it would affect the rest of their lives, thus their one sin defined their very existence. Hester proves to be a very strong and able person through all the triumphs she faces. She remains a great mother even when Pearl reminds her of what she has done. Dimmesdale continues to see Hester and Pearl, but only when no one else will find out. Dimmesdale can not handle the guilt he keeps inside for seven years and it brings him to his death. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit the sin of adultery, but the sin empowers Hester and kills Dimmesdale.

    Read More

  • The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne, an adulteress, is imprisoned by the laws of Puritan society and instead of running away, struggles to accept her badge of shame as a very real part of who she is. When she is first commanded to wear a scarlet letter A, she sees it as a curse. For the first few years she tries to ignore the ignominy under a mask of indifference. “Hester Prynne, meanwhile, kept her place upon the pedestal of shame, with glazed eyes, and an air or weary indifference,” Hawthorne writes. (page 48) Even so, she cannot hide from what her sin has produced. Every day her daughter Pearl reminds her of her sin. The only way to freedom is to avoid being defined by the society in which she finds herself. It is a gradual process but slowly, due to her compassion for the poor and sick, people start to view Hester's badge as meaning “Able” rather than “Adulteress”. Eventually her badge becomes a blessing as other women come to her for advice and counseling in that,

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter 10

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • "The Scarlet Letter" of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...scourse” (77). Dimmesdale as well, was greatly affected by the environment and by what was going on around him. Dimmesdale was accepted by society, but because he was greatly praised for being a “miracle of holiness” (125) he became greatly burdened and guilty. He was in a dilemma of wanting to tell all the townspeople about what he had done, yet he could not due to the fear that was inside of him. This pushed him to punishments in which he inflicted upon himself and always thinking about the incident pushed him to his limits mentally-seeing visions of his dead parents and Hester as they point a condemning finger at him along with judgmental looks in their eyes (127).

    Read More

  • How Does Hester Prynne Change Her Identity

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Hester wears the Scarlet Letter the people around her label her as well as her changing for her society around her in order to fit in. Hester Prynne has committed the sin of adultery, which in her society she needs to wear a Scarlet Letter as a punishment. Hester was put in front of her community and is exploited to what she is. “I charge… speak out the name of thy fellow sinner… though he were to step down from a high place.” (Hawthorne 77) Because she is a sinner, and people want her to confess her sin she goes against them and refuses to speak. When she does not speak, many people in the society thinks that she should be

    Read More

  • Sin of Adultery in The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    The greatest sin committed by any character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was that of Arthur Dimmesdale. Although Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth wronged each other, the person that did evil against both of them was Dimmesdale. Not only did Dimmesdale have relations with Hester Prynne though he knew that she was still married, but he never came forward as the companion in her sin.

    Read More

  • Sin in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne was a young woman living in a Puritan community in the "New World." Her husband, Roger Chillingworth was said to be lost at sea, and Hester assumed his death. Upon this basis, young Hester committed a crime of adultery with her fellow Minister Arthur Dimmesdale. The result of this extra marital affair was the birth of young Pearl, an "elf-like" child. When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. This letter "A" for adultery had to be worn on Hester's bosom at all times.

    Read More

  • Guilt And Shame Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about The Puritan's View Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Open Document