Private Guilt Theme In The Scarlet Letter
Themes of the Scarlet letter
The puritans were strict, rigid people who worshipped the bible; in their society sin was not taken lightly. It was something necessary for punishment. But along with sin comes guilt, and whichever way it presents itself is without a doubt obliterating. Throughout the 1850s novel of The Scarlet Letter the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, encouraged the theme of sin as well as Public guilt vs. Private guilt.
One of Hawthorne’s foremost purposes of the Scarlet Letter was to illustrate the difference between publicly shaming an individual and allowing another to suffer privately. He achieves this by involving Hester and Dimmesdale in the same offense; adultery and focusing on the emotional destruction guilt has on both characters in addition to how the two cope with their shame as the story progresses. In the beginning Hester’s guilty conscious and the torment of the society led Hester to believe her own joy was a sign of sin itself, but instead of allowing the torture of her guilt and the public humiliation consume her, Hester Prynne held her head up high and contributed to her community. “…Such helpfulness was found in her- so much power to do and …show more content…
Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet letter revolves around the theme of sin. He does this emphasizing the sin committed by the three main characters; Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Although pearl was never guilty of such a thing, she was still condemned by society. “Pearl was born outcast of infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin had no right among the christened infants.” (Hawthorne45). Hence, her birth was symbol/reminder of the sin Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale committed; Adultery. Moreover Chillingworth’s sin thrived off his determination to seek revenge on Dimmesdales soul. In a deeper setting, throughout the novel Hawthorne explains how an unconfessed sin can eat away and blacken the
The puritans were strict, rigid people who worshipped the bible; in their society sin was not taken lightly. It was something necessary for punishment. But along with sin comes guilt, and whichever way it presents itself is without a doubt obliterating. Throughout the 1850s novel of The Scarlet Letter the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, encouraged the theme of sin as well as Public guilt vs. Private guilt.
One of Hawthorne’s foremost purposes of the Scarlet Letter was to illustrate the difference between publicly shaming an individual and allowing another to suffer privately. He achieves this by involving Hester and Dimmesdale in the same offense; adultery and focusing on the emotional destruction guilt has on both characters in addition to how the two cope with their shame as the story progresses. In the beginning Hester’s guilty conscious and the torment of the society led Hester to believe her own joy was a sign of sin itself, but instead of allowing the torture of her guilt and the public humiliation consume her, Hester Prynne held her head up high and contributed to her community. “…Such helpfulness was found in her- so much power to do and …show more content…
Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet letter revolves around the theme of sin. He does this emphasizing the sin committed by the three main characters; Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Although pearl was never guilty of such a thing, she was still condemned by society. “Pearl was born outcast of infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin had no right among the christened infants.” (Hawthorne45). Hence, her birth was symbol/reminder of the sin Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale committed; Adultery. Moreover Chillingworth’s sin thrived off his determination to seek revenge on Dimmesdales soul. In a deeper setting, throughout the novel Hawthorne explains how an unconfessed sin can eat away and blacken the