How Does Hester Prynne Punish A Sinner

Who should punish a sinner? Should it be religion, society, or the individual? In Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter the main character Hester Prynne is tormented by judgments passed on her by these three entities. Religion punishes her with the Scarlet Letter, society ostracizes her as punishment, and individually she was able to move on in life but still returned to her haunting past where she died. Who actually ha the authority to decide whether a person is a sinner? Once he is condemned, who has the authority to deny forgiveness? Religion plays an immense role in Hawthorne's novel. Hester Prynne wore the letter to remind her of the sin she had committed against God. The sentence pronounced on Hester was not given directly by God, but those who gave it to her felt that they were acting on His behalf. Instead of taking Pearl away the people wanted her to wear the sign of adultery for the rest of her life, singling her out as a sinner forever. Hester's whole lifestyle was altered. She obeyed everyone and for seven years was cursed
Should it be religion, society, or the individual? All three punished Hester Prynne. Religion punished her with the scarlet letter, society ostracized her for what she had done, and individually, though she was able to move on in life, she still had to face her haunting pas. It proves that ultimately a person hurts himself more then anyone else can hurt him. Hester could have lived anywhere else; her life might have been different, but she was beaten down from all sides. Did anyone really have the authority to judge her in the way they did? In the Bible it is written, "The wages of sin is death," and that is true. However, perhaps the Puritans forgot how that verse ends: "but the gift of God is eternal life…" (Romans 6:23) Forgiveness is a major part of religion. Only God can judge. It seems that the townspeople were trying to play God in this story. Perhaps all Boston needed was a few Bible study