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Sin And The Chance Of Redemption In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Effect of Sin and the Chance of Redemption Sin is a powerful action that has an everlasting consequence of guilt. Once done, the person wants to forget about his felonious actions; however, hopefully a person’s conscience is a constant, nagging reminder. In order to be free of the constant pain, redemption is pursued for even the person who sinned in public or private. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves that the truth of sin eventually need to be confronted in order for a person to stop suffering. After the sin was committed, the development of guilt made Hester and Dimmesdale very miserable because they could not stop thinking about what they have done. Both of the characters kept going back to that moment, feeling remorse …show more content…

She realized that everyone will eventually find out about the sin, so she became courageous and took responsibility for her action. After she had completed her punishment in prison, she moved to a cottage. Hester was guilty for what she had done, but she started to help the poor, even though they rejected her. The guilt deprived her from all the “joys [of life] [because] she rejected it as sin” (Hawthorne 130) Hester ceased enjoying anything that a normal person would think as amusing because it was wrong for her since she became the outcast of the town. Hester changed her attire to a plain, darkshade, with no designs, which corresponded to her emotions. There was nothing she could accomplish to reduce the pain of the guilt since the truth was known by everyone in her hometown. As time went on, Hester regained some purport in her town. The townspeople demanded Hester for her skills and soon she did not need to wear the scarlet letter anymore, but she thought she deserved it. Whether the sin was committed in secrecy or not, both Hester and Dimmesdale went through similar consequences. Redemption was the only answer that will stop one’s suffering and gain peace with their internal

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Dimmesdale suffers differently from Hester, because while she “bore it all” to the townspeople (181), his fears forced him to hide his sin, living a life full of “nothing but despair” (177). Hester, though made a social pariah of the town, has a more honest and healthy way of dealing with her sin. Because Hester is forced to face her wrongdoings under the watchful eye of her Puritan neighbors, she did not have the same guilt of secrecy that Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale, by hiding his sin, allows himself to become a captive to his guilt. The way that Dimmesdale dealt with his guilt was unhealthy for him, both mentally and physically.

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Hester can wear her scarlet letter in public, and has adjusted enough to continue living a normal life. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, lives in secret with his scarlet letter affecting him more every day. He envies how Hester has managed to embrace her scarlet letter, while his guilt is only increasing. At one point, Dimmesdale feels so much envy that he says, “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!

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It is not to say that she finds peace with her sin, but that Hester acknowledges it more as something to learn from. Hester helped the poor and the sick quite often that it became admired by the people. She was giving so much “that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification” (Hawthorne 157). Hester came to “have a part to perform in the world” , which gave her an empowerment while still letting her adhere to her penitence (Hawthorne 81). To be clear, this does not mean she finds complete happiness but she does find willpower.

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Although these two are guilty of the same sin, Dimmesdale continues to be praised because he has not yet confessed; however, Hester, who has confessed her sin, is still looked down upon to some degree by the community. In conclusions, various forms or irony can be found in the novel, “The Scarlet

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Shame in the Face of the Public Consequences of crimes are often unfit or unjust, but public humiliation serves as a fit consequence to any situation. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Lydia Woodyatt’s “The Power of Public Shaming, for Good and for Ill,” and Herbert Wray’s “The Two Faces of Shame,” the authors convey the effectiveness of public humiliation. Public shaming is effective by impacting a person’s character through guilt and embarrassment. Public shaming became a way of reshaping human character.

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Hester still loved Dimmesdale and felt deeply for him. She even looked to him for support when she dealt with the high ranking officials in the colony, like wife would look to a husband. When the government offices were debating whether or not Hester should keep pearl, she looked to Dimmesdale for support and asked him to speak for her. From reading the novel the reader can conclude that Dimmesdale felt some degree of love for Hester just not as deeply as true love. Dimmesdale did not not openly admit his sin with Hester, and when someone loved a person they do not want to see that person in pain and usually share in their

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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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Although this is a very serious sin, Hester’s reputation is redeemable. One of the ways she can achieve redemption is by serving the punishment of being stared at by “. . . a thousand relenting eyes. . .” (Hawthorne 54) on the scaffold in the town square. By serving the socially accepted punishment, Hester is able to start redeeming her reputation in the eyes of society.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, revolves around an indefinite concept condemned from the biblical dawn of mankind (Adam, Eve, and their grave misconduct in the Garden of Eden): sin. The deadly seven exist within all of us; pride dances with greed, lust provokes envy, gluttony begets sloth, and wrath skulks in the recesses of our being. But, as explored through Hester Prynne’s infamous existence, there is a vital spirit and a certain passion that engenders sin. The basic plotline stands thus; a young, married woman engages in a passionate affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, bears an illegitimate daughter while imprisoned, and is constantly ostracized by her community for her terrible sin. However, Hester refuses to reveal the

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The Consequences of Sin Sin is defined as “an offense against religious or moral law”. The idea of sin and being ostracized for your sins was extremely relevant during the Puritan period when religion was the greatest component of daily life. The Puritans believed that they had entered a covenant with God and therefore any sin, such as crime and adultery were considered a breach of their covenant with God. This view led to the church punishing people who committed sin in order for God not to punish the church as a whole. The consequences and effects of sin is shown through the character development in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.

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Dimmsdale betrays Hester and does not confess to his own sin; he is afraid to take responsibility for his role in the affair. The alleged virtuous women of the town publicly stigmatize and shame Hester. The town council leaves Hester no other choice than to live secluded from society and deprived of social interaction. The public, at first, refuses to grant a job to such a dishonorable woman. However, the townspeople’s actions go further than simply punishing Hester for her sin.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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Hester stood in front of a crowd to receive her punishment and when she got her punishment the goodwives did not think fondly of her. “When the young woman-the mother of this child- stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress” (Hawthorne 60). When Hester received her punishment she was very self conscience about her scarlet letter. She felt that she had to

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431 Words | 2 Pages

In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the comparison between Hester’s scarlet letter and Dimmesdale’s hand over his heart presents the theme that people will experience a permanent and more powerful pain when they attempt to hide their sin intentionally rather than choosing to confess and expose it to the public. The scarlet letter once to be a reflection of sin, but what it stands for can always be changed because it is removable, and it is not a permanent imprint on Hester’s body. Even though both Hester and Dimmesdale are sinners, Hester experiences less torture because the townspeople witness her confession through her action of helping the poor, and they interpret the scarlet letter A as “able” instead of “adultery” because

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602 Words | 3 Pages

Thankfully, it wasn't all too late to do. When Dimmesdale finally be "true" to himself, he drifts the three away from their fate. Dimmesdale released himself from self-torture. Chillingworth released himself from endless vengeance and isolation from humanity. Some might say, Hester never came to forgiveness, because she returns to New England and wears the red A on her bosom once again.

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