This is a tale of love and guilt. Everyone wants to love, and when it is found, it is not always where it should be. Sometimes its too late. And theres not a thing that can be done to change past choices. Live with the consequences. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Naturally when someone has an affair, their spouse will want revenge. When the spouse finally arrives after tying thing up back home to find a child that isn't theirs, their mind will fill with anger and sadness at the same time and cause them to act irrationally. Everyone sins. Hester is no exception. Some may say Hester's sin was justifiable, some may say not. Either was, no one is free of sin. In this Puritan society mans law is God's law. They can’t speak to God, but they still hand out punishments for him. Roger Chillingworth’s wife that he sent ahead of him to the new world, cheated on him and had a child …show more content…
But who decided these laws, and the proper punishments for them? Is it true that whoever takes this role attempting to play God? They decided to make Hester bare the mark on her chest. But that’s not the only punishment she had to endure. What she did was an act of defiance against God, as the people of this society believe. Who is this woman who dare defy the Lord himself, right? So people would talk about her and say nasty things. And why not? She was an abomination. Forcing her to live where there was no one to be around. And jeer at her when they saw her. That was her unofficial punishment. Everyone wanted her to get what she deserved, so they all helped. They may have overlooked the truth, and did not take her part into consideration. She was someplace new, starting a new life, and she thought her husband was dead. Then she falls in love with someone else. They have a child. And as the people saw it, her husband never even showed up. But they were quick to judge. Their opinion was bias because of their strong belief in their
The exception indicated the ever relentless vigour with which society frowned upon her sin.” (Hawthorn, pg 48.) Even years after she committed adultery, her reputation was still so foul that the townsfolk would not allow her to make things deemed “pure.” They thought it was inappropriate. Still later, seven years after Hester was forced to stand upon the scaffold, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale announced that he was the one Hester committed adultery with, and then fell down, dead.
Sin and Revenge in Massachusetts The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, taking place in colonial Massachusetts, depicts the life of Hester Prynne. A women shunned by her society for committing adultery and a mother to her newborn child, she must bear a large red “A” upon her dress as her punishment. However, her punishment does not satisfy the colony -- the majority believes she deserves a worse punishment. In contrast, an inopportune traveler hears of Hester’s transgression on the day of her public trial and decides that she does not deserve punishment.
As he takes his last breaths in Hester's arms, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale exclaims, “God knows; and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions. Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost for ever”. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is tormented endlessly by remorse and the repression of his sin. Because of this, in his final moments, he is driven to reveal to the townspeople that he is the father of Pearl, finally relieving the guilt he burdened himself with for seven years.
An antagonist is someone that’s supposed to make it harder on the protagonist to get what they want. In the book that person would obviously be Roger Chillingworth. He tries to make Hesters lovers life hard and in turn messes with her. But in the whole of the book Roger has personally messed with Hester once. The only person to constantly antagonize Hester is Pearl.
Revenge is the action of infliction, hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, revenge is a key feature between the characters of the book. Chillingworth seeks revenge against Hester Prynne and her partner, who is revealed to be Reverend Dimmesdale, due to her unfaithfulness towards her former lover. Revenge affects Chillingworth’s relationship with the two lovers as well as his internal and external self. Thus, his obsession with revenge is seen by many, and will later consume him and lead to his death.
Hester had committed adultery which was a sin in Puritan
(p.167) So in the end she is not submissive to Chillingworth, just like she is not submissive to the Puritan authorities in the long run because she adheres to a higher law. " The scarlet letter had not done its office." (p.166) It was supposed to reduce Hester and put her in her proper place, but instead it has made her a revolutionary. The inequality she experiences causes Hester to speculate on the existing balance of power and impel her to find alternatives to traditional patriarchal society.
This quote also works for guilt alongside hypocrisy “Be not silent because thou wouldst protect him. It would be better for him to step down from any high place he might hold, and stand beside thee on thy pedestal of shame. ”(p.21) He is trying to tell Hester to announce that he is responsible for this as much as he is. He wants to be down there with her but because of his status he cannot make that decision.
In The Scarlet Letter, during that time period, the Puritans believed in a strict governance of religion in their society. Hester was scrutinized for her actions as, “the heads of the church and state stand together on the balcony, watching Hester on the scaffold” (53). Because of the relationship the government and the church had with one another, the church’s views influenced what was considered a crime and what punishments should be administered. Hester disregards their notions because by committing adultery, Hester is focusing on herself and not placing an emphasis on the church. Hester is
Whenever you performed a sin, the Puritans would severely chastise you. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is publicly shamed for committing adultery. As that kind of punishment is studied and compared to today, it's rather immoderate. If The Scarlet Letter were to be read by the Puritans, they would bear an understanding of the punishment and might have perhaps done the same.
Hester knew everything would come down to this. She was born and raised just like most Puritans, she knows what is against her religion. She knows very well what she would get herself into committing certain sins. She has gone against people of her kind. “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; is there not law for it?
Hester didn't deserve to be publicly humiliated. Hester already has a lot to deal with. Hester didn't like being shamed. In conclusion, Hester's punishment was unjust because Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery.
Considering the townspeople’s reactions toward Hester’s sin of adultery, it can be concluded that in the Puritan era, religion was of utmost importance, and the Puritans met sins with extremely harsh punishments. Because the majority of the Puritan town viewed Hester as a disgrace, she became “Lonely . . . and without a friend on earth” (56). This made it effortless for the inhabitants of the town to continue to insult and degrade Hester because they did not care to learn her true personality. While a few civilians had sympathy for Hester, the town mostly regarded her as shameful and
People can be seen “sinning” all throughout the novel, however people always seem to be able to simply look the other way as it has become a regular event. However, Hester’s sin has been opened to the public which in the
Hester was initially married to a man whom she never loved and was thought to be dead after being lost at sea for five years. After waiting for the arrival of her husband which never came, Hester had an affair with another man and together they produced a child. When Hester had an affair with a man who was not her husband she had committed an act of adultery and had to be punished in the eyes of God and of her community. It was decided that Hester would have to serve time in jail and