In this novel you will find that the main characters are the prime examples of Love, Hate, Sin, and Purity. Although adultery is condemned and seen as sin, adultery isn't what Hawthorne focuses on. Through my analysis of the Scarlet Letter I noticed that there were three different types of love. The act of hatred plays a vile role throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses Pearl as a blatant symbol of purity, from her birth till the end of the novel. As you will see Love, Hate, Sin, and Purity does play a vital role in this story.
Hester Prynne's love for Roger Chillingworth shall be the first that I will speak on. From the beginning Hester is placed on the scaffold with daughter Pearl. She is surrounded by the townspeople, and is being punished for bearing a child not by her husband. As a punishment of shame Hester is forced to wear a letter "A" on her chest, for committing Adultery. While standing there she realizes that for the first time in her life, it is her life which condemns her to be alone for the first time. She then notices her husband Chillingworth standing in the crowd, and her reaction is fear. He then rags on her by saying "Speak woman, speak and give your child a father ." It seemed to me that Hester had no love for Chillingworth from the get go. Hawthorne shows that because Chillingworth was an old man, and Hester so young, that she could never love an old man.The fact that Chillingworth was old and not Hester's type, was the main reason that Hester feels she is betrayed. While speaking to Hester in the prison cell, he admits to Hester that he is wrong and that he betrayed her by "budding youth into a false and unnatural relation."(Cliff Notes p.15). Hawthorne also shows how Chillingworth's sin is far...
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...ls Dimmesdale of the pact that she has with Chillingworth for fear of Chillingworth killing Dimmesdale. Her love for Dimmesdale is so pure that she kept a secret from Pearl.
Since Pearl's birth Hester's love for her was in the purest form. She keeps her from knowing that she was conceived in sin. This is one reason why they have to live in isolation. Throughout the story Hester doesn't see the faults in Pearl's personalities as do the townspeople. Hester dresses her in the finest garments, not because she wants to show her off, but because she see's her as pure, innocent, and beautiful.
Throughout the novel the themes of Love, Hate, Sin and Purity, are easily visible in the actions of the characters. Hawthorne's basis wasn't about adultery as a sin, but rather on unconditional love (Hester), and concealed sin (Dimmesdale/ Chillingworth).
The characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...
Had Hester given a name and condemned her child’s father, she would not have to stand alone. The fact the “[she] will not speak” shows her love for Pearl’s father (68). Hester’s love for this man is her downfall; had she been willing to give him up in an act of selfishness, she wouldn’t have to suffer alone. In addition to this show of weakness, Hester has the opportunity to leave town after she is released from prison, giving her a chance to start a new life and live free from judgement and away from the weight of the eyes of the town. Instead of taking this gift, she “deemed herself connect in a union” with the father of her child, therefore she chooses to bear the town’s judgement for “a joint futurity of endless retribution,” (80). Hester Prynne was married to Roger Chillingworth for convenience, not for love. He had “betrayed [her] budding youth into a false
The theme of racism is well depicted in The Help , whereas the theme of sin is ever present in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne depicts sin through multiple characters, he shows the art of sin committed through revenge, guilt, adultery, and consequence-as in the people who commit sin or are associated to a sin committed by another , like pearl who is the consequence of her parents affair. Hester , pearl mother, stood for the perfect example of sin for all women
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.
As a living reminder of Hester’s extreme sin, Pearl is her constant companion. From the beginning Pearl has always been considered as an evil child. For Hester to take care of such a demanding child, put lots of stress onto her life. Hester at times was in a state of uncontrollable pressure. “Gazing at Pearl, Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with an agony which she would fain have hidden, but which made utterance for itself, betwixt speech and a groan, ‘O Father in heaven- if Thou art still my Father- what is this being which I have brought into the world!’” (Hawthorne, 77).
Hester and Chillingworth were married before the beginning of the novel. Chillingworth, previous to his marriage, was a completely introvert man. "I - a man of thought - the bookworm of great libraries - a man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge... I came out of the vast and dismal forest and entered this settlement of Christian men, the very first object to meet my eyes would be thyself, Hester Prynne...." (52-53)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was not a Puritan. But Hawthrone’s forefathers were Puritans, so he had an understanding of their belief system and their basis behind it. He stated that he hoped the sins of his forefathers had been forgiven. Hoping to expose those ideas which he understood, yet despised, Hawthorne purposely presented many important Puritan beliefs as import aspects to the Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses three main Puritan beliefs: providence, predestination, and the strict code of ethics that the settlers of New Englanders lived by.
Pearl is not only a symbol of Hester but also a symbol to Dimmsdale. Pearl will not let him into her life until he accepts his sin. She wants him as a father but will not let him until he will not hide his sin in public. Pearl knows that Dimmsdale will not be seen holding her hand in the public eye and this bothers her. She asks her mother, " wilt tho promise to hold my and thy mothers hand to-morrow?"(105)
The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester’s human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion that Hester once had.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne portrays a society filled with betrayel, secrecie, and sinners. The people of society do not show their true colors and hide their true intentions. Dimmsdale, Chillingsworth and Hester all have fallen to sin, however they all believe they are not the worse sinner and try to seek justice for themselves.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has introduced a character that has been judged harshly. Because, she has been misinformed of her husband’s death; therefore, she was greave and had sought comfort resulting in a baby from the lover whom gave her comfort. When her secret had been discovered she was isolated for committing a treacherous crime of adultery, as one of her punishments she was forced to wear an A on her chest. The novel presents a structure of a society, using symbolism and diction to give underline meaning to the themes, portraying religious tendencies ruled by the philosophy of good and evil.
Letter, Hester Prynne mentions that never loves Roger Chillingworth, (Hawthorne 63). As a consequence, in Hester Prynne’s eyes, her marriage is a false relationship. But afterwards, when her husband hides the reality of their relati...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.
One of the first characters introduced in this story is Hester Prynne, a beautiful young woman that is later disowned by her Puritan town due to her sin of adultery. Hester’s beauty is described as the weakness that leads to this particular sin. Hester married a man from Europe, Roger Prynne, but was told to go onto the colony without him. While waiting for her husband to return, she had an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, but this is not revealed until the end of the book when he confesses his sin to the townspeople.
A child whose sufferable of her mother’s treachery, the consciousness of her parent’s guilt, Pearl is an unique character developed by the elements from the story. Of the article by Dan Quin, “Pearl in Hawthorne’s Romance The Scarlet Letter”, Quin has analyzed the different representations of Pearl. Pearl is symbolized as the ‘real form’ of the scarlet letter, the link between her parents, and the moral guardian of their decisions.