Scarlet Letter Morality Essay

Morality in The Scarlet Letter

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits what is deemed an immoral act in Puritan society. She perpetrates adultery and the people of the town condemn her for this. This is undoubtedly a sin, blackening a supposedly pure town; however, the Puritans lack of forgiveness attributes to staining the society even more so. The Puritans prove to be the most unethical since they punish Hester, try to take her child and attempt to shun her. A quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects on the depth of Hester, “A woman’s chastity consists, like an onion, of a series of coats.”

The community of Puritans are perceived as unscrupulous because of how they punish Hester. The punishments bestowed upon her are not always severe, but they are relentless. A Puritan woman in the book says, “If the hussy stood for

In the book, Hawthorne writes about how her daughter has been raised, “Hester Prynne, the daughter of a pious home, very soon after her talk with the child about her heavenly father, had begun to inform of these truths which the numb spirit[...]imbibes with such eager interest” (108) . The entirety of why the townspeople wish take take custody of Pearl is because they believe she will be sinful because of her mother. However, this quote completely disproves that by stating she has told Pearl of God and taught her of religion. For this reason, Pearl’s behavior can not be blamed on her mother. It could be argued that since Hester is a sinner, she couldn't possibly be fit to be a mother. The fact that cannot be changed is that Pearl is born of God's will. Though this involves sin, it is irrefutable and the Puritans seem to let their judgement be clouded with a strong bias. Hester does not seclude Pearl, she does all she can for the little girl. This proves that the Puritans are the more immoral of the