The Scarlet Letter A Psichological And Social Analysis

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1.3 The influence of sin upon the human condition

In Puritan society, adultery is considered the ultimate sin, the most harsh form of punishment. Hester is harshly punished by the Puritans without any fallowing regret, as they represent the supreme power of society. These puritans believe that only God has no fault at all and all the humans are sinful. Puritans believe their belief and trust missionary, because of their religious rule that gives them an authoritarian spirit .It is important to mention that in “The Scarlet Letter”, the three main characters liberate sin in different ways, Hester decides to take punishment and gets free from the sin, using it to rebuild herself, Dimmesdale conceals his sin and has severe inner suffering, but, finally, he is released by confessing the sin, Chillingworth uses manipulation to make the others suffer , the only way he knew to show his delusion, and last he gets rotten from the sin.

Detailed analysis of Hester Prynne’s sin and punishment

“The Scarlet Letter” focuses on the heroine—Hester Prynne, the most important main character of the novel. Hester, who betrays his husband—Chillingworth and it happens to get in love with another man, Dimmesdale. Later she gives birth to , which unfortunately represents the evidence of having committed the sin of adultery. Hester Prynne is punished for adultery which is the representation of evil of human nature in Puritans’ eyes. For Puritans, it is not allowed to have an affair with another man, it breaks all the rules of family and the conception of marriage. Adultery threatens the bonds of marriage, and it also threatens social order. There is only one way of surviving left, to accept the punishment in the Puritan society, wearing a Scarlet Letter “A” on her breast as long as she lives . The Scarlet Letter eventually A” reminds Hester, “you are an openly published sinner” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 2010:158). Hester’s punishment is to endure the wickedness and detest of public while she was standing on the scaffold for three hours, she commits a very serious guilt that is strictly forbidden by the Puritan rules. It is a kind of moral sin, something that doesn t match to our way of being. Generally speaking, this type of sin is worse than other crimes, or robbery in Puritan’s religion. Under such circumstance, a public sentence is really cruel for her who has to face all kinds of condemnations from public, and wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for her whole life in the town. She has to endure the insults of vicious people, she tries her best to support herself to face thousands of evil eyes, as a powerful woman. People insult her with terrible words, however, Hester tries to think at what she gained from all this story, her little jewel was the price to pay for. To the Puritans, Hester has been forced to wear a scarlet Letter “A”, to notify all around about her adultery. It was a great humiliation for her to sit in the public square, while onlookers spit or laugh at her. Puritans have no remorse about applying punishment. They surely believe in Old Testament methods and think it is a proper way to act in these circumstances. They also believe that God's correction will be far worse to the individual than any earthly penalty. However, Hester never appears more ladylike, “The door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging in to sunshine. The grim and grisly presence of the town beadle, with a sword by his side and his stuff of office in his hand” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1992: 98). In the story, Hester generally keeps silent, and accepts the insult of all around her due to her strength and courage she proved.

Arthur Dimmesdale's sin and punishment

Arthur Dimmesdale is a holy clergyman who has high social status and he is a performer of love who attributes love to sin, a member of the puritan community who generally accepts laws. However, as the representative of Puritanism at that time, he violates the discipline of Puritanism. Dimmesdale’s sin comes from his being Hester’s partner in their love affair , fact that is totally forbidden by scriptural law. Hester and Dimmesdale doen t got married so that their relationship is categorized as adultery. In the Puritan period, adultery is a great sin which must be seriously punished. “Puritans did, however, scorn what they viewed as the libertine excesses of many of their peers, condemning not the drink but the drunkard, not the expression of sexual love between husband and wife but extramarital sex” (Eliade, 1987: 106). However, Dimmesdale keeps hiding his sin from society and still acts as a good reverend, while Hester—his partner in adultery gets humiliated punishment. Dimmesdale's tragedy is caused by his own way of thinking, a wrong one, he denies his relationship with Hester Prynne and abandons the love. His indifference hurts Hester but I think it makes her stronger, too. In the Puritan society in the 17th century, a person must be either a faithful believer, or honest confessor, there is no other way of expressing their religion. Dimmesdale denies his relationship with Hester Prynne, but it gets him more pain than he ever thought. Dimmesdale and Hester commit the same sin, but they choose to act different, they both suffer from the same torment "A"., but in such various way. Because his own activities violate his doctrine, he suffers even more than Hester Prynne. He has two wishes: Public true self and holy priest profession; but when he knows love and dignity no longer coexist, Dimmesdale's inner world is full of conflicts between honesty and hypocrisy, love and religious doctrine, evil and kindness. He wants to confess the sin, but he is afraid of the way people may react, because he is weaker and more dependent on Puritan creed. For seven years, Dimmesdale hide his secret. But finally, he submits to God and confesses his sin in public, and accept his guilt but he will destroy all his aspirations. Dimmesdale has experienced great pain from the body to the soul, he believes that death is the best way to save himself.

Roger Chillingworth is Hester s husband, a small, thin, and slightly deformed, with one shoulder higher than the other. He has a wrinkled face and appears stricken in years. Roger Chillingworth’s sin is against nature, it simply doesn t fit to his profession. Selfishness makes him marry Hester, because Hester is a young and beautiful girl from an ordinary family. He knows Hester does not love him, and he is not intended to be a good husband, he does t show any affection to her. After marriage he does not care about his wife’s life, only studying, which push Hester to an unforgivable affair. Suddenly, when he finds Hester betray him, he is determined to track down the adulterer. He exhausts his energy and intelligence for crazy revenge for seven years. Gradually, he loses his humanity and turn himself into a devil, violating other's mind. Meanwhile, his conscience is also eroded in a helpless situation, the most important thing for him is the great revenge. After the death of his rival Dimmesdale, it seems that all his strength and energy disappear, he is totally lifeless. The punishment is most visible in his outward appearance and body. “Misshapen from his birth hour, how could I delude myself with the idea that the intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girl’s fantasy!” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1992:158). His is so scared when he sees that he has become hopelessly engaged in sin but seems unable to do anything to stop it. Instead of struggling with hope he simply allows it to remain in sin and he chooses to be aware of his guilt and accept his cruel revenge.