In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne links the mind and body together in order to demonstrate the hierarchical relationship the two have by implanting an abstract form of sin into the mind and revealing its tangible effects on the body. As guilt slowly torments Hawthorne and Hester’s spiritual mind and soul, the mental deterioration trickles down into their physical well-being. The two characters exemplify the two polarities of overcoming shame and guilt; Hawthorne represents those who cannot cope while Hester characterizes the able and strong-willed. By crafting these opposite personalities, Hawthorne implies that the mind resides on a higher tier than the body and conditions that affect the mind will subsequently affect the body. However, he suggests that …show more content…
While Hester has a prominent “letter of infamy wrought into… [the] garment”, Dimmesdale “bears…it on his heart” (Hawthorne 19). As Dimmesdale hides his guilt and shame to the point of mental depreciation, Hester wears her sin on her breast and weaves her guilt into her identity. The minister’s buried shame within his soul acts as “black weeds…sprung up out of a buried heart” and begins to destroy his physical body (Hawthorne 53). He tortures himself through starving, whippings, and prolonged vigils. Ultimately, Dimmesdale’s mental and spiritual health’s degradation consequently allowed for “its appropriate manifestation in… [the] bodily frame”, proving the body to have a direct link to the mind. (Hawthorne 57). Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter proves to be a “tale of human frailty and sorrow” by demonstrating that mistakes define human nature and portraying the idea that those mistakes also act as blessings (Hawthorne 2). He argues that sins are inevitable, natural forces that cannot be suppressed, but must be expressed in order to learn from them. The human frailty is represented by sin,