Solitude In Scarlet Letter

Scarlet Letter
What comes to mind when people think about the solitude, darkness, and recovery of sin? In the novel this question is very relevant, characters in the book face the solitude and darkness of sin itself. Along the way some of these characters recover their former selves, for example Hester Prynne finds her way back in society. “The letter was a symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her,--so much power to do, and power to sympathize,--that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne” (Hawthorne 146). This quote towards the end of the book shows Hester’s transformation from sinner to able.Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter proves that sin is just a wound that if
nurtured, can be healed and forgiven. This is evident through Chillingworth's downfall, Dimmesdale’s behavior, and Hester Prynne herself. Chillingworth is a perfect example of what not to do when sin casts over your world.
Chillingworth is believed by some to be an antagonist in the story. As seen from this quote “-the closest propinquity of the man whom he had most vilely wronged!-and who had grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge!...-there was a fiend at his elbow! A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!”(Hawthorne 155). It is shown through this text that Chillingworth may no longer be the man he once was. Years of plotting and planning to exact revenge on poor Dimmesdale has turned Chillingworth into something of a monster. Hester can no longer see the person she was once married to through his own mask of sin that he has created for himself. Blocking out the entire world around him just to seek revenge on another man does not seem healthy and the progression into darkness is shown numerous times as the book goes on. Reading from the quote it seems as though Chillingworth isn’t even a man at all. After all who could really torture another human being and not suffer himself.
The second piece of evidence that is brought up to support the thesis is the story of the sinner Arthur Dimmesdale.
Some may call him a fool while others empathize with poor Dimmesdale. It can be interpreted both ways, from the point of Dimmesdale’s idiotic decision one could argue that this whole storm of sin is nobody’s fault but his own. His stupidity was the catalyst of this gigantic wave of sin crashing down on all the people of Boston. Dimmesdale deserves what was put upon him, nobody can change how he handles it but he. The choice to deal with the sin by keeping it inside is on him, and that is how he chose to go on. In yet another unhealthy manner Dimmesdale chooses to dismiss the wound of sin rather than nurture it. Doing this ultimately led to his demise. Alternatively on the other end of the spectrum, it can be argued that Dimmesdale is just a poor man that made a mistake much like the rest of us do on a daily basis. We all make mistakes, Dimmesdale proves that perfectly with the he has created for himself and others. But like what was already stated, the way he handled sin was not wise and could be dealt with like the final
point.