Theme Of Religion In The Scarlet Letter

A theme that can be seen in both ‘A Scarlet Letter’ and ‘The Narrative of Frederick Douglas’ is the abuse of religion and its use as a form of power over others. Both texts present characters that fall victim to the misuse of religion as a form of control and are forced to live with the consequences of this. In both texts religion is used as a form of control, for Hester the villagers use it to punish her and isolate her from society and for Frederick it provides his slave masters with an excuse for his mistreatment.

Imagery can be seen as a technique in both of the texts to show the misuse of religion. In the beginning when Hester is about to face her punishment, she notices a lone rose bush describing it to ‘symbolise some sweet moral blossom…or

Douglas is enslaved in a Christian country, one which as a result prevents his education. This is put in place to remove the identity of the slaves, they become property rather than people and as a result lack knowledge of their past. Slaves are grouped with the animals in terms of identity, ‘slaves know as little of their age as horses know of theirs,’ keeping them ignorant of their identity and enabling the slave holders to maintain control. This shows how religion has dehumanising effects on the slaves who are unaware of their original name and often their family, everything that makes them human is taken away from them. Through this narrative, we see that the more religious the slave holders are the more brutal their treatment of the slaves is. The slaves fear the religious slave holders the most, Frederick argued ‘the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,’ with people justifying their cruel punishments by arguing that they’re carrying out the work of God. Seeing themselves as stewards of God’s creation they believe that their brutal punishments are justified and as a result they continue and intensify. Religion can be viewed as humanising as it creates a community, however, the slaves are excluded from this Showing they were viewed as less than human. Exclusion from the community is also experienced by Hester as a result of religion. Hester greatly

Hester faces unfair judgement, her act of sin wasn’t committed alone and although she faces a life of judgement Dimmesdale who is equally as sinful lives judgement free. Dimmesdale’s reverend status places him above Hester and his relation to the church presents the view that he is pure and sin free. The town’s people worship Dimmesdale and believe him to be the perfect example of a Christian, proving the unequal treatment of people that religion breeds. The town’s people are blinded by Dimmesdale’s connection to the church, when speaking about him in relation to Hester’s sin it is argued he ‘takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation,’ showing that his status makes him free from association or judgement. This also highlights the unequal aspects of religion in terms of gender, as a woman Hester is placed with the full responsibility of the sin and having a child. With living with the sin, Hester also becomes aware of the unequal judgement she faces and acts as a moral judge. From the point of view of an outsider she becomes aware that many people around her have sinned, ‘criticizing all with hardly more reverence than an Indian would feel for the clerical band,’ showing the power of religion and how not everyone pays for their sins. Frederick also witnesses the inequality of