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Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the illustration of guilt as portrayed as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for a wrong doing. In the novel, it exemplifies different types of guilt, such as guilt being cause by physical activity, someone doing wrong to God or religion, and a situation of something having intentions on doing harm to someone. For example, Dimmesdale commits a sinful act of adultery with Hester, who later leaves Hester and Pearl to suffer alone while he remains known as a hero in his village. By Dimmesdale not confessing his guilt and internalizing it for a long period of time, he ultimately ends up impairing his life for not confessing and admitting his deadly sin. Guilt has three attributes as to how it can …show more content…

Essentially when Hester was proposed her ignominy, the narrator proclaims, “In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm[...]yet a haughty smile, and a glance[...]On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A” (50­51). Hester in a sense begins to realize and accept her token of punishment and come to the conclusion that this punishment she is receiving does not have to ruin her life; it can be a redemption. The diction portrayed in this quote, for example, in the Huynh 2quote, “[...] yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed” exemplifies the unjust punishment Hester is receiving, yet she still accepts it in a hasty expression that gives her the epitome of a person having no regrets. Another example that guilt and blame can be influential on a person is when Hester is announced of her ignominy and is allegedly forced to wear the scarlet letter, Hester states, “ Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her

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406 Words | 2 Pages

Dimmesdale’s Guilt In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, admitting guilt opens oneself to sin. When Hester admits to being guilty of adultery, it condemns her. However, by accepting her condemnation, she saves her soul. On the other hand, Dimmesdale does not confess to his part in the adultery. He keeps his guilt bottled up inside.

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678 Words | 3 Pages

Rhetorical Essay “I am obsessed in becoming a woman comfortable in their own skin”, is something that Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Janie Mae Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God would most likely agree on. Both of these women in their stories were constantly treated differently because they were not men. A major theme in both these novels would be that female oppression is practiced in the society and how the women in these novels overcame the differences that society has thrown at them however, these novels differ from the process that the women experienced to gain their independence. These novels are similar because both women experienced troublesome time while being under the influence of male dominance.

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commits a mortal sin by having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. As a man of the cloth in Puritan society, Dimmesdale is expected to be the embodiment of the town’s values. He becomes captive to a self-imposed guilt that manifests from affair and his fear that he won’t meet the town’s high expectations of him. In an attempt to mitigate this guilt, Dimmesdale acts “piously” and accepts Chillingworth’s torture, causing him to suffer privately, unlike Hester who repented in the eyes of the townspeople. When Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the townspeople, he is able to free himself from his guilt.

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1265 Words | 6 Pages

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines guilt as “the fact or state of having committed an offense, crime, violation, or wrong, especially against moral or penal law” (Merriam-Webster). In the novel Fifth Business by Robert Davies, he explores the topic of guilt. Published in 1970 (Goodreads), the book goes into detail of a man’s life story and how he finds the deeper meaning of life. One of the main messages of this novel is that a person’s life is dependent on how they make decisions and how they deal with the consequences of it. This message is shown in the novel through the character’s journey to search for the truth.

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

Hester's True Side In committing an act of adultery, Hester Prynne, the primary character in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, finds herself a victim of harsh judgement and ridicule by her Puritan community. She becomes isolated as a result of this scandalous behavior and becomes emotionally involved in a love triangle between her husband and her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is the town minister. As a result of her shameful history, the townspeople attempt to destroy and embarrass her by socially neglecting her and labeling her as an outcast and loner. Though the people of the community pursue several attempts to shame her, Hester Prynne's beauty, selflessness, and strength help her overcome this rejection from the townspeople and

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646 Words | 3 Pages

In the story The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character Dimmesdale demonstrates that hiding guilt and sin only leads to self- loathing and that it may be easier to exhibit guilt rather than conceal it. In the beginning of the story, Hawthorne describes a scene in which Hester stands on the scaffold in front and of a large crowd. “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A ” (Hawthorne 48). As Hester walked to the scaffold everyone focused the A displayed on her chest.

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744 Words | 3 Pages

Obsession is one of the most powerful motivators in life. It can be a positive influence, but oftentimes, obsession spirals out of control. One cigarette a day turns into a pack a day. Going to the tanning bed once a week turns into skin cancer in 10 years. Eating healthy foods to lose a couple of pounds develops into eating nothing at all.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

“Guilt is the source of sorrows, the avenging fiend that follows us behind with whips and stings.” - Nicholas Rowe. This message is shown in The Scarlet Letter, through Hawthorne’s character Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale was created by Nathaniel Hawthorne representing a weak character in many ways. One of the many weak decisions made by Hawthorne that stood out was the guilt he had built up, eating away at him causing an internal struggle if he should do right and confess or if he should let the one he loves suffer because of his actions.

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850 Words | 4 Pages

A Sin of Fatal Intent Proverbs 28:13 states, " He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." Deceitful actions, unholy intentions, hatred, guilt, revenge, and in a word, sin; these are all primary aspects of The Scarlet Letter, a classic novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Yet, the most unmistakable characteristic, which penetratingly echoes through the chapters of The Scarlet Letter and through the mind of the reader, is the calamity which comes with sin and has plagued humanity almost since the beginning of time. Sin is a fact of human nature, and The Scarlet Letter displayed sin not only in depth and in its worst state, but also its deadly effects.

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1754 Words | 8 Pages

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

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1904 Words | 8 Pages

In The Scarlet Letter, the alienation of Mistress Hibbins is particularly prominent, mainly manifesting in her alternative behavior and special identity under the dual influence of gender oppression and religious persecution. Mistress Hibbins is mentioned four times by others and appears personally four times. Hawthorne employs words and phrases like “bitter-tempered widow”, “ill-omened physiognomy”, “sour and discontented face”, “ugly-tempered”, and “the cankered wrath of an old witch”, significantly highlighting Mistress Hibbins’ deviation from the Puritan ideal of femininity and, thus, emphasizing her uniqueness and social rejection. Furthermore, in Puritan society, witches were seen as evil forces aligned with demons, and their existence posed a threat to social moral order and

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940 Words | 4 Pages

Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

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475 Words | 2 Pages

The guilt that festers inside of her transforms that “A” into a brand. Years after she commits her ‘sin,” the town silently enables her to remove the symbol from her bosom. They are now willing to see her as a multifaceted individual as opposed to just an “adulterer”. Hester, however, is not ready to forgive herself. She embraces the sin as a part of her character, her life, that she does not intend to release.

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1498 Words | 6 Pages

Finding a Path to be Good Again Guilt is an emotion of a sinner, but guilt is not an emotion of evil. In fact, guilt is only felt by a conscientious individual who is aware of doing wrong, and through this strange emotion, people learn what wrong is. Therefore, guilt can be an emotion of opportunity to fix wrong if responded in the right way. However guilt can also intimidate as it is a forceful emotion that haunts people when it is not dealt with.

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640 Words | 3 Pages

Hester's punishment was a judicial sentence; however, being forced to stand on the scaffold for three hours, and to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life. It was socially humiliating. Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery. Hester was forced to live with the consequences by wearing the scarlet letter "A". Hester is physically and emotionally reminded of her sin, while wearing the scarlet letter "A".

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