How Does James Present False History In The Scarlet Letter

Pearl James, a doctoral applicant at Yale University, claims in her article, “The Scarlet Letter,” that Hawthorne presents false history in his novel, The Scarlet Letter, creating a parallel situation with Hawthorne’s life and Hester’s. James applies organization and evidence to her article to support her position and with these components, she constructs an effective and well supported stance. James creates a valid position when she writes that the author incorporates history that is pretense, constructing a parallel of shame between Hawthorne and the protagonist of his novel. She adopts organization and incorporates evidence throughout her article to support her main position. James begins by addressing Hawthorne's background, examining
Hawthorne attempts to mitigate the guilt of his ancestors as he accepts “shame upon [himself] for their sakes” (qtd. in Hawthorne 27). This history he presents regarding his Puritan ancestors is misleading because in reality his ancestors did commit their sins themselves. James presents the evidence that Hawthorne is “creating” this past and in the midst of it “imagines” the guilt he has to account for like Hester . She then writes specifically that one ancestor “ruled for executions” (17). There are flaws in the history Hawthorne creates because his account of his ancestor’s sin is not all accurate. James presents these points, emphasizing that this guilt that exists in Hawthornes lineage is not truly his and no matter how much Hawthorne tries to take responsibility for the mistakes that his lineage makes,with all actuality they are the ones who are accountable for their
Hester even admits that she “acted a false part by the only man to whom the power was left [to her]” (Hawthorne 138). She blames the sin that her husband commits on Dimmesdale on herself because she is already guilty to the entire community, inducing her to accept the guilt that, in this case, Chillingworth possesses. Chillingworth is the “diabolical villain” who commits the sin of bitter revenge upon Dimmesdale, which Hester takes no part in, but still Hester readily admits and accepts her husband’s faults as her own to relieve the heat that Hester supposes is existent in Chillingworth's conscience (James 17). In addition to his conscience, guilt also prevails in Dimmesdale’s soul. He commits the crime of adultery and only admits to his sin towards the end of the novel. Before he accepts his flaws, he “ transfers his own responsibility to...Hester” (James 18). This makes Dimmsdale drag around a sack of shallow character mixed in with heavy guilt, causing him to have a despondent attitude. Hester feels she is “responsible to this unhappy man” for the injury she causes him (Hawthorne 153). Dimmesdale commits the same crime as Hester and his despondency is a result of his guilt, which he denies. To take the pressure off of Dimmesdale, like Hawthorne does with his guilty ancestors, Hester takes