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To begin, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes pathos throughout his writing to imprint the importance of individual conscience into the reader 's mind. Hawthorne begins the book by having the reader pity the main character, Hester Prynne, as she is a young, husbandless, mother in a society that shames her for her unfortunate circumstances: “haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne, 53). The consistent misfortune of Prynne evokes emotion in the reader and stresses the weight of her decisions. Prynne manages her way through such a hostile society -“Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly on your bosom” (Hawthorne, 188)- in a way that is metaphorically applicable to the real world, allowing the reader to truly connect and understand the character for who they are.
Certain circumstances can drive even the most positive man to insanity. There is an example of this in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel T the Scarlet Letter--a book about lust, hate, and betrayal. Roger Chillingworth is a model of someone who is betrayed and almost forced into hatred and vengeance. Chillingworth has an unquenchable passion for books and his studies; so passionate that he leaves Hester for two years to study Indian medicine. While he is gone, his wife, Hester Prynne, commits adultery with the young pastor, Arthur Dimmesdale.
Where would we be without conquistadors? Somewhere in our native land? Would we even exist? Maybe. Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes are two of the greatest Spanish conquistadors of their time.
Once again, Hawthorne emphasizes Dimmesdale’s great suffering with the word “anguish,” which denotes severe mental and physical pain. Also, by narrating the falsehoods in Dimmesdale’s life, Hawthorne reveals the hypocrisy that plagues Dimmesdale’s soul. Through his eloquent usage of figurative language and word choice, Hawthorne illustrates the utter deterioration and disintegration of Dimmesdale’s
Avenging and vengeful is the man who is wronged! This statement could be applied to several characters throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sinful acts are inflicted upon many of the minute cast of characters, which impose a riveting journey for the reader to endure. Even more so are the reactions these prominent characters have toward their anguish and adversities as they heave themselves into the depths of solitariness, self-inflicted agony, and woe. Among these richly intriguing personalities is the town’s sinful stain, Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery; the demon-child, Pearl, who was a product to her mother’s adultery; the unholy clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale, the other adulterer; and the implacable Doctor, Roger Chillingworth.
This quote highlights Dimmesdale’s internal struggle and the mental anguish caused by his secret sin. Additionally, Fadiman and Major suggest that Hawthrones’s portrayal of Dimmesdale’s guilt results in a deep understanding of human psychology, stating, "We read it as the work of a moral psychologist who knows as much about our own hidden guilts" (Fadiman and Major 4). Dimmesdale’s life was extremely complicated and his health was in terrible condition towards the end of the book. But, he truly did love Hester and Pearl, but was dealing with so much that he didn’t know what to do with himself. Through Dimmesdale’s character, Hawthorne explores the harmful effects of built-up guilt on mental and physical health, serving as an example for readers.
Hawthorne exemplifies how it degrades Dimmesdale's psyche, describing the effects the varying methods have on him. In the times that the reverend stares at himself in the mirror, Hawthorne suggests that he does so for long periods of time, reflecting on himself and his misdeeds, resulting in hallucinations. Hawthorne also embeds strong diction such as “constant introspection” and “tortured” to assert the extent to which Dimmesdale is punishing himself. Despite how much he forces himself to endure, he’s unsatisfied. Hawthorne explicitly mentions this with one clause, “but could not purify”.
Public Guilt vs. Personal Guilt Twenty two percent of married men and fourteen percent of married women have committed adultery (Latest). Today there is virtually no punishment for adulterers, it is still wrong, but is is very common. That being said, the punishment for adultery in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was much worse. Hester and Dimmesdale committed the same sin, adultery, but they dealt with the guilt and were punished in different ways. Hester’s sin was known by the public, as she had to stand on the scaffold.
Hawthorn’s Shameless Advertisement of Letting of Shame Before the age of tv ads featuring shallow message, people were brainwashed with shamelessly written romantics era books that teach deep, important lessons even modern readers can appreciate. A perfect example of this is Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, in which Hawthorne uses a shameless advertising style. Hawthorne’s advertisement focuses on Arthur Dimmesdale, a much adored but guilt haunted priest, and Hester Prynne, an aging woman who faces constant ignominy due to the letter A that she wears as punishment for adultery with Dimmesdale. Both are haunted by shame:
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.
Guilt: Or Why it’s Good to Feel Bad” article explores the good and bad of this deep feeling. The people in the society from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story, The Scarlet Letter, support the ideas in the article. Hester Prynne had a child with Reverend Dimmesdale although she was married to a doctor in England named
I think guilt can destroy both the victim and the seeker. In the scarlet letter Chillingsworth was seeking revenge against Dimmesdale for committing adultery with his wife. Chillingsworth spent his time trying to torture Dimmesdale with guilt and in doing so he was destroying himself. Dimmesdale felt guiltier as time went on and Chillingsworth grew older with his efforts. I think what the story said holds a lot of truth.
The strength drains him, leaving him dead after living a life of sin, weakness, and self-hatred. His weaknesses transform his view of himself until he despises who he is. His feeble attitude is what brings him to lose his final strengths. Because of his inability to admit his sins, Dimmesdale, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, transforms from a holy minister to a self-loathing sinner,
Secret Sin and Guilt In ‘’The Scarlet Letter’’ written by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne committed a sin adultery with her minister Reverene Dimmesdale. While her husband was on journey with the Indians he learned lots of skill. While he was gone Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale had a baby name Pearl. Dimmesdale was dying inside from guilt for not letting the people know that he committed the sin that Hester Prynne committed.
In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)
