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Crime And Punishment In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Hosea Ballou was an American theologian who was an influential leader of the Universalist Church for more than 50 years. Hosea started this influential journey in 1791 and continued until his death in 1852. In one of his sermons Ballou once said, “There is no immunity from the consequences of sin; punishment is swift and is sure to one and all.” Hawthorne conveys the idea that sin will be punished in some manner, but beyond the punishment, the effects of sin are influenced by our initial response to it. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores how the decision to confess, hide, or seek revenge determines the strength of impact on the sinner’s character. Hester Prynne’s open acknowledgement of her sin allowed her to transfigure …show more content…

I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine!” (Hawthorne 69). Chilllingworth allows his motivation for revenge to control him and he becomes the version of himself that he hates the most. This comes before he actually starts to seek out Dimmesdale and secretly starts making his life miserable. “Chillingworth, the Satan in this Garden of Eden—Hawthorne labels him literally as such and associates him both with snakes and savage Indians, is motivated only by revenge” (Fryer). Chillingworth is explained in this manner because all Chillingworth is wanting to do is seek out Dimmesdale. He is strongly motivated by the anger he is feeling of his wife betraying him. He feels this because Hester actually loves Dimmesdale and that makes Chillingworth jealous. “His restraint will eventually prove ironic, of course, for later he will deliberately if insidiously torment the hapless Arthur Dimmesdale, and by the end of the novel, he will seem an almost satanic figure in his malicious pursuit of revenge” (Evans). By the end of The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth has become the exact symbol of doing the devil’s bidding. He seeks to right a wrong by committing an even greater wrong. He has become so evil being consumed by the …show more content…

“The A-Politics of Ambiguity (on The Scarlet Letter).” The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne, Updated Edition, Facts On File, 2007. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.
Bloom, Harold. “Bloom on Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter.” Hester Prynne, Original Edition, Facts On File, 2021. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.
Bloom, Harold. “The Scarlet Letter.” The Scarlet Letter, New Edition, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 13 Jan. 2023.
Elbert, Monika M. “Hester's A.” The Scarlet Letter, New Edition, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.
Evans, Robert C. “The Complexities of 'Old Roger' Chillingworth: Sin and Redemption in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.” Bloom's Literary Themes: Sin and Redemption, Facts On File, 2020. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 13 Jan. 2023.
Evans, Robert C. “The Scarlet Letter.” The American Novel, Facts On File, 2021. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 13 Jan. 2023.
Fryer, Judith. “Hester Prynne: The Dark Lady as ‘Deviant.’” Hester Prynne, Original Edition, Facts On File, 2021. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com Accessed 8 Dec.

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