How Does Hester Prynne Use Power In The Scarlet Letter

Influence of Power in The Scarlet Letter

Power theory asserts that literature can be a reflection of a culture or society and can influence that culture or society. During the mid 1800’s, leaders in power used Puritan religious beliefs and values in order to control and rule over a society. Today’s leaders often use similar moral beliefs and societal values as means of towering over their inferiors. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that expresses the struggles of a young woman, named Hester Prynne, to maintain her dignity after committing the sin of conceiving a child from adultery with an unknown lover. By analyzing the novel, it is clear that during the 1800’s, the Puritan church was the primary ruling

The novel describes this sin saying, "A penalty, which in our days, would refer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be interested with almost as strong a dignity as the punishment of death itself" (Hawthorne, 33). Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter A, for the rest of her life, as an outward sign of the sin she has committed. "She would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of a woman's frailty and sinful passion," (Hawthorne, 52). Her punishment was decided as a public shaming on a scaffold to show off her scarlet letter and child from wedlock. This public sentence made Hester and her daughter Pearl, open to many condemnations and insults from all the people of the town. She was also forced to sit in the town square and endure more humiliations. Puritan’s believe that punishments should be administered and feel no remorse for their actions regarding punishing sinners. They allow the Old Testament to establish methods of punishments. They also believe that God’s rectification will prove far more awful than any punishment they themself

Reverend Dimmesdale was a highly regarded individual of the church, who served as a clergyman. However, Dimmesdale violated Puritanism by being Hester’s anonymous lover and father of Pearl. He forbode spiritual code and the law of God by participating in illegal sexual affairs with a married woman. Although, he must be punished for is offense, he continues to keep his sin a secret because he must preserve his godly appearance. While Hester is punished for her actions, Dimmesdale remains a seemingly “good” reverend. He denies any relations with Hester and abandons any affection he feels for her because of the fear he possesses. In this Puritan society, one must either be a honest confessor or a devoted believer. His guilt begins to catch up to him the further he gets from Hester and the truth. Being a clergyman, Dimmesdale knows that God does not like sin and he has been committing many in the process of protecting his name. He decides that he does not want to live to face the consequences of his sins and eventually, Dimmesdale confesses his sin and publically trashes his once spotless reputation. Dimmesdale says, ““The judgment of God is on me," answered the conscience-stricken priest. "It is too mighty for me to struggle with!"” (Hawthorne, 132). He seeks freedom from his pain and concludes that death may be the only way to save himself from all his wrongdoings. With the