Sin And The Chance Of Redemption In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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.

Furthermore, The Scarlet Letter and 1984 both show the reader how an individual can use their personal, sometimes unfortunate, situation to their advantage thereby making both novels, that are set in different historical time periods, very similar.

Hawthorne declares, “‘But still, methinks, it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester has, than to cover it all up in his heart” (Hawthorne 131). In other words, Hester is fortunate in Dimmesdale’s eyes because she confesses her sins to the public; Dimmesdale bears his sin upon his heart. One’s indignity provokes more of a chance to change because a hidden guilt can weigh in on them. Woodyatt writes, “Taking responsibility can then lead to self-forgiveness and resolving our feelings of shame” (Woodyatt). In other words, Hester Prynne forgives herself for all of her sin; similarly, the common learns to forgive her too. Without forgiveness, a person drowns in guilt and shame, leaving no opportunity for reconciliation.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry./Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6). Throughout The Scarlet Letter the main characters are both sinners, but over time they vindicate the reputation that they had once made with helping others and coming clean for the cleanse of their souls.

Sin is defined as “an offense against religious or moral law”. The idea of sin and being ostracized for your sins was extremely relevant during the Puritan period when religion was the greatest component of daily life. The Puritans believed that they had entered a covenant with God and therefore any sin, such as crime and adultery were considered a breach of their covenant with God. This view led to the church punishing people who committed sin in order for God not to punish the church as a whole. The consequences and effects of sin is shown through the character development in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.

“’Thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone. It irks me, never the less, that the partner of her iniquity should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side’” (Hawthorne 59). There are two sinners that have committed the same sin but one is known to society and the other hides it. In The Scarlet Letter Hester and Dimmesdale have committed adultery but only Hester is publically punished for her sin, while Dimmesdale punishes himself. Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter the moral consequences of sin are conveyed as public shame and internal torture. Hawthorne also illustrates that one can be redeemed through open confession.

Proverbs 28:13 states, " He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." Deceitful actions, unholy intentions, hatred, guilt, revenge, and in a word, sin; these are all primary aspects of The Scarlet Letter, a classic novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Yet, the most unmistakable characteristic, which penetratingly echoes through the chapters of The Scarlet Letter and through the mind of the reader, is the calamity which comes with sin and has plagued humanity almost since the beginning of time. Sin is a fact of human nature, and The Scarlet Letter displayed sin not only in depth and in its worst state, but also its deadly effects. In this essay the sins and their consequences of the three main characters, Hester, Dimmsdale, and Chillingsworth will be explored.

The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex novel that has underlying themes of sin and the responsibility for sin. The novel takes place in a Puritanical society, but two people, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, fornicate with each other, even though Hester is married to someone else. Only Hester is punished, so Dimmesdale keeps his guilt inside, not revealing it to anyone. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, then proceeds to ruin Hester’s partner in crime, corrupting his soul and being the ultimate cause for his death. Hester, on the other hand, leads a relatively happy life after she had repented for her sin. Hester and Dimmesdale each are equivalent in the sin that they commit, but their lives and fates are different because Hester had to repent for her crimes while Dimmesdale bottled up his guilt inside.

Sin is an inevitable element of the human condition. Response to transgressions affect how others perceive themselves and how their peers view them. Moral consequences of sin vary from person to person. Some may feel shame or sorrow because of sin, others feel compelled to sin again after sinning one time. Many seek redemption through giving back and providing charity.

Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer.

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.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, revolves around an indefinite concept condemned from the biblical dawn of mankind (Adam, Eve, and their grave misconduct in the Garden of Eden): sin. The deadly seven exist within all of us; pride dances with greed, lust provokes envy, gluttony begets sloth, and wrath

As humans, we live in the that are brimming with sins and evil desire. As the creator of all the creatures, God, sent his only son to save the people from the control of devil. The only thing we have to do is to acknowledge our mistake. Bible teach us that we should tell the truth to God and your neighbors, and God will forgive you. But people are worse, they not only hide the sin and their evil behaviors but also try to deny it. We are born sinners, we can not be save only based on how we act but depend on do we acknowledge our sins. In the novel Scarlet letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne compare and contract the hidden sin and the revealed sin but use the end of Dimmesdale and Hester to claim the consequence of hide sins.

The importance of a scaffold is not very important in everyone’s daily life, but for the members of The Scarlet Letter it is. The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In The Scarlet Letter the scaffold has an importance in Hester and Dimmesdale’s life. The scaffold plays an important part by Hester Prynne standing on the scaffold to receive her punishment, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold in the middle of the night where he thinks he is confessing but is by himself, and then Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold where he confesses and takes his final breath.

In the story of the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents us a religion repressive society. In this society, It's inhabitant lives under strict moral code, transgressors were isolated and punished. Hawthorn questions if religious society should be ruled by grace, our main characters were statements that sinner can be forgiven.