Shame In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Hawthorn’s Shameless Advertisement of Letting of Shame
Before the age of tv ads featuring shallow message, people were brainwashed with shamelessly written romantics era books that teach deep, important lessons even modern readers can appreciate. A perfect example of this is Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, in which Hawthorne uses a shameless advertising style. Hawthorne’s advertisement focuses on Arthur Dimmesdale, a much adored but guilt haunted priest, and Hester Prynne, an aging woman who faces constant ignominy due to the letter A that she wears as punishment for adultery with Dimmesdale. Both are haunted by shame: For Hester, her shame is both internal and public, but Dimmesdale faces only intense, internal shame. Hawthorne shamelessly advertises

Hawthorn transforms Hester from a common ugly puritan to gorgeous super model equivalent: Once Hester “Undid the clasps that fastened the scarlet letter, and … threw to a distance” (84), she undergoes a transformation common in shampoo ads featuring attractive men and women; “The stigma gone... [her hair] fell upon her shoulders, dark and rich, which at once a shadow. imparting the charm of softness to her features… Her sex, her youth, and the whole richness of her beauty, came back from what men call the irrevocable past.” (304). Whoosh, goes the sound of Hester doing a slow motion hair flip! Since the scarlet letter is a symbol showing her guilt, throwing away the letter is symbolic of Hester abandoning her guilt and shame. The cause of Hester’s new beauty is “the stigma [being] gone” (304). Hawthorne claims that his patented, professional salon and celebrity tested method of letting go of shame is the best way to make your hair look absolutely gorgeous. He uses provocative and exaggerating descriptions such as “the whole richness of her beauty.” This is an obvious exaggeration, as a woman in her cannot