ipl-logo

Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

580 Words3 Pages

Guilt is a serious emotion that has the power to effect a person greatly. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the true meaning of guilt by focusing on the grave consequences that follow a culpable deed. Hester and Dimmesdale have committed the sin of adultery and must live with the guilt that accompanies this. Through Dimmesdale’s death, Hester’s ridicule, and the narrator’s depiction of human nature, guilt is clearly interpreted. Hawthorne defines guilt as physical, social, and emotional suffering caused by an irreversible sinful action.
The aspects of physical suffering as a result of guilt is an essential part of Hawthorne’s plot. Due to his sin, Dimmesdale experiences a grim fate. When upon the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, he “tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed! But it were irreverent to describe that revelation...Then, down he sank upon the scaffold!” (250). Once Dimmesdale unveils his own scarlet letter, he finally experiences the final straw of his personal suffering. Because his guilt is so magnificent, he is condemned. Hawthorne …show more content…

A memorable scene is Hester’s public ridicule on the scaffold shortly after her sin is revealed. The crowd mocks her, shouting things such as, “They should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead” (49). This scorn is a mirror of the guilt that has manifested within Hester, causing her to “Clasp the infant closely to her bosom: not so much by impulse...as that she may conceal a certain token” (50). The guilt Hester experiences is so great that she uses Pearl in an attempt to conceal her sin. The ridicule Hester endures socially reflects the self-reproach she feels within. Guilt is outlined in this event through the mockery that is a result of her sinful offense. This conveys Hawthorn’s view on the social suffering that contributes to the delineation of

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between The Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil

    642 Words  | 3 Pages

    Guilt: God’s Gift that Keeps on Giving The Puritan religion’s view on sin consists of the belief that all puritans should live a sanctified life. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, The Scarlet Letter, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Reverend Dimmesdale (The Scarlet Letter), and Minister Hooper (“The Minister’s Black Veil”) are both leaders in the Puritan church. Amongst their superior roles, they both committed sin against God’s will. Consequently, for their inappropriate acts, Dimmesdale and Hooper both live the rest of their lives striving for redemption.

    Read More

  • How Did Arthur Dimmesdale Believe In The Scarlet Letter

    935 Words  | 4 Pages

    One spontaneous but significant mistake made by Arther Dimmesdale caused him to live the rest of his life crawling with guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, had an affair with a married woman, and that crime ruined the lives of almost everyone in the novel. The Scarlet Letter remains a classic to this day because it emphasizes harsh penance which highlights the difference between the treatment of sinners today and those during the 17th century. The way Puritans view sin and guilt cause Dimmesdale’s life to come to an unfortunate end.

    Read More

  • Isolation In 'Scarlet Letter And The Minister's Black Veil'

    1246 Words  | 5 Pages

    By including this quote, Hawthorne lets the audience know how Dimmesdale is perceived as a morally sound and judicious clergyman in the eyes of others, such as fellow clergymen. This introduction glorifies Dimmesdale as a leader and a man who has the gift of eloquence and

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

    800 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the illustration of guilt as portrayed as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for a wrong doing. In the novel, it exemplifies different types of guilt, such as guilt being cause by physical activity, someone doing wrong to God or religion, and a situation of something having intentions on doing harm to someone. For example, Dimmesdale commits a sinful act of adultery with Hester, who later leaves Hester and Pearl to suffer alone while he remains known as a hero in his village. By Dimmesdale not confessing his guilt and internalizing it for a long period of time, he ultimately ends up impairing his life for not confessing and admitting his deadly sin. Guilt has three attributes as to how it can

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

    1423 Words  | 6 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the theme of how guilt can destroy a person, body, and soul with the character of Arthur Dimmesdale. He does so by using the symbolism of the mark on Dimmesdale’s chest as well as incorporating

    Read More

  • How Does Dimmesdale Change Throughout The Scarlet Letter

    588 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the “Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Dimsdale to show how hiding a sin can destroy a person's life . Dimmesdale's character developed dramatically through the 7 year time period. His character traits such as religion pruty, respect ,changes ,and tragic hero transforms throughout the story . Primarily, Dimmesdale’s religion is a main component in his life .He is a minister which automatically grants him to heaven. The fear he has with god keeps him a well grounded person.

    Read More

  • How Did Arthur Dimmesdale Face The Sin Of Adultery

    965 Words  | 4 Pages

    This illustrates that by not confessing your sin, you are only hurting yourself. Confessing up front and moving on and prevent lifetime of pain, bad health and a early death. His death comes suddenly, but his life could have been prolonged if he wouldn’t have hurt himself throughout the novel. Dimmesdale’s pain and choice to admit his sin illuminates the meaning of the novel even more than if he would have never confessed his

    Read More

  • The Arduousness Of Lies In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    521 Words  | 3 Pages

    Making Connections – The Arduousness of Lies Lies are often told spontaneously as the result of troubling events occurring to someone or something and are often used to manipulate segments of these events in order to attempt to alleviate the trouble or punishment given to the causer of the event. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character Dimmesdale committed a sin and has withheld this secret for the rest of the town, while he watched the other perpetrator of the sin be punished, ridiculed, and isolated by the town of Boston. The pressure and guilt of lies is often too great of a force to withstand, judging by a past life experience, Dimmesdale reviled his secret to alleviate this dreadful feeling of pressure and guilt. At the age

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

    642 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American author. He is commonly known as an anti-transcendentalist author meaning he believes human nature is naturally evil and society balances it out. Hawthorne has a common setting around Puritanism. He became fascinated with the theme from the Salem Witch Trials, of which his great-uncle, John Hathorne, judged and shamelessly had many people killed. The Scarlet Letter, by Hawthorne, is based in a Puritan town in the 1600’s.

    Read More

  • Ethos Pathos Logos In The Crucible

    857 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the time in which justice and order was enforced by governing figures, man has struggled with the conflict of balancing freedom and protection. Often times, those who seek answers to the disorderly find solace within religious beliefs; they find protection and answers to questions of security, where an omnipotent being took reign and watched over one’s life. However, when applied to governing forces, these laws based off religious beliefs regulating certain actions and desires restrict freedom. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller argue that conscience should supersede religion. Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter uses pathos to enforce this claim; whereas Arthur Miller argues the same claim using logos in his book The Crucible.

    Read More

  • How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter

    1458 Words  | 6 Pages

    However, he also uses these allusions to create a new side to his narrative as evident when he describes Hester’s resilience, and to create a new element in the plot as evident in his description of Dimmesdale’s penance and need for redemption. Therefore, Hawthorne demonstrates an effective use of allusions to craft a religious and detailed narrative for The Scarlet Letter by reviewing on parallels between the Bible and the novel’s main characters. There’s more to The Scarlet Letter than these allusions though, and there are many questions to answer about this book. These questions may never be answered fully, but by reading the novel itself, we might find the right places to start searching for answers and formulate our own opinions on the matter. What’s important from this novel is the realistic warning about what might happens when an individual place themselves too highly among others, a message Hawthorne writes to warn against the fervor of transcendentalism of his time.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter Penance Vs. Penitence

    604 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part by his sorrows. (Hawthorne 128) The guilt of his sin has eaten him alive, so much that his visage and demeanor are almost cadaverous. Dimmesdale does not confess his sin until the end of the novel because he does not want to disappoint his congregation.

    Read More

  • Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes

    1158 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commits a mortal sin by having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. As a man of the cloth in Puritan society, Dimmesdale is expected to be the embodiment of the town’s values. He becomes captive to a self-imposed guilt that manifests from affair and his fear that he won’t meet the town’s high expectations of him. In an attempt to mitigate this guilt, Dimmesdale acts “piously” and accepts Chillingworth’s torture, causing him to suffer privately, unlike Hester who repented in the eyes of the townspeople. When Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the townspeople, he is able to free himself from his guilt.

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter

    992 Words  | 4 Pages

    Reverend Dimmesdale’s physical condition diminishes the longer he keeps his sin a secret. He feels so guilty, he tortures himself by fasting and whipping in addition to feeling like a hypocrite when his gives sermons. Reverend Dimmesdale expresses, “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!” (Hawthorne 107).

    Read More

  • Theme Of Punishment In The Scarlet Letter

    809 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hawthorne uses juxtaposed characters to discuss themes of crime and punishment as well as the consequences of one wanting to pick his own punishment. Hester is forced to work through her crime of adultery. Instead of allowing herself to feel her shame publicly, she stands tall and bears the torment of the townspeople. Instead of bending to the will of the people to expose Pearl’s father, Hester remains silent, and in doing so, gives Dimmesdale the opportunity to choose how to handle his mistakes.

    Read More

More about Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

Open Document