Sequelae Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter

One action, a split second decision can undo all good deeds in a person 's life. This often occurs in novels such as The Crucible by Arthur Miller or The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne where characters make a life altering decision that causes them pain in the end. These character traits are used so often it becomes something of a stereotype, similar to the characters’ personalities in these iconic novels. The authors use cliches to express the idea that kind hearted people can become sinners despite their goodness.

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the hypocrisy of the Puritans in the 1600’s. He expresses the hardships of Hester Prynne and her adulterous lover, Authur Dimmesdale, who is also the town’s preacher. Because Reverend Dimmesdale is a very noble preacher, he has to persist with the guilt of his sin and continue to preach how one should live a holy and pure lifestyle. Therefore, he feels miserable for his wrongdoing and punishes himself. Even though Dimmesdale inflicts an abundant amount of penance for his sin on himself, it takes the whole course of the novel to experience his penitence for his sin.

guilt reflected by the letter’s nearness can only be achieved by the will of God, in contrast with Hester’s letter which only reaches her chest.

We are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to hide our faults, they always seem to come back, one way or another. Written in the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us Hester Prynne and how one sin can change her life completely. Hester Prynne changes a great deal throughout The Scarlet Letter. Through the view of the Puritans, Hester is an intense sinner; she has gone against the Puritan way of life committing the highest act of sin, adultery. For committing such a sinful act, Hester must wear the scarlet letter while also having to bear stares from those that gossip about her. Nonetheless, it will be hard; Hester is steadfast to make her daughter Pearl, have a life, just like any other ordinary child.

People that are isolated and alone are often changed by the crushing weight of their seclusion. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s sphere of isolation plays a pivotal role in giving Hester influence in Puritan society which Hawthorne creates by employing feminist ideals in the novel.

C.S. Lewis, British author and poet, insightfully stated, “We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin...But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin.” The self-condemnation caused by sins will always remain despite the evolution of time. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, describes characters Hester and Dimmesdale and their struggle with the guilt of hidden sins as well as the shame of revealed sins. Throughout the book, the author illustrates the conflict of revealed verses hidden sins through two primary characters.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone demonstrates the consequences of sin and the effect it brings upon the individual and in the community in Boston 1840s. Throughout the Scarlet Letter, readers are constantly reminded of hypocrisy through characters such as Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.

Society does not penalize him because the social order does not know of the sin that he has committed. He is a greater offender than Hester because, to the offense of adultery, he adds the sin of concealment or hypocrisy. His double standard saves him from social censure or any other form of societal action. Had society come to know his crime, it would have sentenced him to death. Dimmesdale is the victim of his conscience only, “He had striven to put a cheat upon himself by making the avowal of a guilty conscience”(136). Dimmesdale's conscience not only allows him no peace, but is a source of constant torment to him. He is constantly haunted by a sense of his own guilt. Concealing his mistake for as long serves only to intensify his misery. He undergoes various kinds of penance, including vigils, fasts, and flagellation. Soon after his forest interview with Hester, he hardens himself and determines to make a public confession of his sin. Dimmesdale is redeemed by owning up to his own mistakes, “Even thus much of truth would save me”(183). He carries out his resolves to unburden his heart, and in a few minutes, meets his end on the scaffold. This incident is the climax of his spiritual development. He confesses his guilt and gives away his life, but he has established his right to a place in heaven by virtue of his act of genuine confession. As Hawthorne points out, a man like Dimmesdale should not commit a crime

According to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the author argues that sin and suffering exists even in a utopian society.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the book The Scarlet Letter that took place in the puritan age in the 1800´s, he´s a anti-transcentist who believes deep down humans are messed up and mostly dark and sin, sickness, and evil beings. Hester Prynne, the mother of Pearl and the protagonists of this story, and is forced to wear the scarlet letter ¨A¨ on the dresses for the rest of her life because she committed adultery with Minister Dimmesdale. Hester went through pain, and humility feeling guilty for committing such a sin. Minister Dimmesdale the other sinner who had sex with Hester and kept it to himself keeping the secret from the town, led him to a deadly guilt residing in him and father of Pearl called the ¨Demon child and the…...¨, In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale, and Hester to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.

Sin seems to occur as naturally as breathing due to the human society’s willingness to do it without a conscious effort. Sin is perceived differently by different people. Some little things may be considered sin to some people, while to others it may not be considered sin. The Scarlet Letter contains many different uses of sin and how it affects the people around it. Society is not perfect, so sins will occur no matter what. Depending on the situation the sin could have a major effect or have an infinitesimal effect. Hawthorne exemplified many uses of sin in The Scarlet Letter which made the theme obvious. He showed how sin from one character could cause other character to obtain an even bigger conflict of their own. Society can get influenced

We are all sinners. Although one may try hard not to sin, all humans eventually succumb at some time or another to sin. While people may not able to avoid the fate which awaits them, the power of free will allows people to decide how they will respond to sin. While some may respond with guilt and regret, others may react with a sense of redemption and a renewed sense of responsibility.

Nineteenth century America saw the rise of the Cult of Domesticity, the middle class ideal of “true womanhood” characterized by emphasis on purity, piety, domesticity, and submissiveness. In setting a standard for female behavior, society also set a standard for masculine or “manly” behavior. The imposed definition of true womanhood and its subsequent rejection by feminist leaders aroused in Hawthorne an unease about his own gender and place in society. He saw a system which characterized his means of livelihood as “unmasculine” and aroused in him unease over some of his more “feminine” behaviors. Through a feminist lens, Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter attempts to convey that the imposition of strict gender roles on an individual

Sin is a powerful action that has an everlasting consequence of guilt. Once done, the person wants to forget about his felonious actions; however, hopefully a person’s conscience is a constant, nagging reminder. In order to be free of the constant pain, redemption is pursued for even the person who sinned in public or private. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves that the truth of sin eventually need to be confronted in order for a person to stop suffering.

In 1850, author Nathaniel Hawthorne published one of the most beautifully detailed and awe-inspiring books of the 18th century, The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne’s book was not only a major success due to its extreme detail and daring plot, but also because it openly criticized Puritans and their religious actions. Through the use of many characters, concepts, and ideas, Hawthorne was able to use his book to expound upon the dark and hypocritical truth that controlled most Puritan followers. As the story goes on, readers receive an exclusive insight as to how common it was for “devout” Puritans to disobey their religious morals and the extreme physical and mental effects that they dealt with as a consequence. Although this book was not based upon