Hypocrisy In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

“Hypocrisy is not a way of getting back to the moral high ground. Pretending you’re moral, saying you’re moral is not the same as acting morally” (Dershowitz). In the 17th century, America was dominated by the Puritan religion. It brought the idea of perfection and high morality. The truth is, however, staying at high moral standing is impossible, as humans are determined to make mistakes at least once in their lives, although it is safe to say humans break the set in stone “moral code” numerous times in their lives. Many exploit this idea, using their position in society to get away with things other unacceptable. This idea is shown “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, as a community who lives in sin isolate one and publicly shame

An example of this is the public shame one would face for committing a crime that would taint the moral standing of the community. For instance, Hester’s crime was committing adultery and was publicly shamed and isolated because of this. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, was not due to the one-sided view of the community, even when he admitted his crimes. These actions by the community are hypocritical, as even though they both committed the same crime, he got away with it because of his stance in the community, which is unfair to Hester due to the abuse she had to take. Another issue with the Puritan Society is the fact that they put religion above all else, despite the actions of someone, good or bad. In the Puritan religion, adultery is one of the worst sins one could commit, so the punishment was as bad as the sin itself. Hester, despite committing an “Ultra Mega Sin,” stayed cool and tried to help out her community by feeding those in need and sewing cloth together to make intricate designs unmatched by anyone in town. However, the townsfolk only saw her sin and used that to base their judgments on her. The two mentioned ideas show the One-sided, unchanging view of the society. For instance, Dimmesdale is viewed as a saint despite his sins he admitted to, and Hester is considered a Devil’s advocate for sleeping with someone despite being married. While these are all due to a Puritan society, it is also ironic, which also connects with the idea of