Sin, Punishment, And Revenge In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Repentance or Not The Scarlet Letter is a classic tale that features sin, punishment, and revenge at the forefront of its plot. The book is written by Nathanial Hathrone and it calls attention to the lives and punishment of Hester, Pearl, and Reverend Dimmesdale. Hathrone´s purposeful use of the characters Roger Chillingworth, the townspeople, and Pearl lead to the overall theme that when someone sins, they are seen by others not as a person but as an embodiment of evil in the world.

To begin, Hawthrone uses the townspeople to support the overarching theme as they shame and denigrate Hester. One of the townswomen states, ¨This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die¨ (Hawthorne 38). The women were extremely envious of Hester's

Pearl is compared to the scarlet letter when Hawthrone writes, ¨It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life¨ (70). The author means that Pearl is a living symbol of the scarlet letter and people will constantly think of Hester's sin when they see Pearl. Even knowledgeable adults refuse to see her as a typical child; for example, ¨A strange child! remarked Roger Chillingworth. It is easy to see the mother's part in her¨ (80). Pearl cannot be a free, cheerful girl without being judged and compared in the public eye to her mother. Even though portrayed as a crazy, ¨elf-like child¨ by some, Pearl is a typical child with feelings and emotions just as the other children have. As Pearl is playing with rocks in the forest, ¨One little gray bird, with a white breast, Pearl was almost sure, had been hit by a pebble, and fluttered away with a broken wing. But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself¨ (121). Pearl feels guilty for hitting the bird and she stops throwing rocks. The bird is said to be as ¨wild as Pearl herself¨ which also shows that Pearl is thought to have a wild demeanor. However, Hawthorne draws the reader’s attention to how quite special Pearl is--she feels remorse and

Chillingworth is seeking revenge on Dimmesdale after finding out that he is Hester´s liaison. Now that Dimmesdale is aware that Chillingworth knows his secret, he begins to worry if he will keep it quiet. He states, ¨Hester, cried he, here is a new horror! Roger Chillingworth knows your purpose to reveal his true character. Will he continue, then, to keep our secret? What will now be the course of his revenge?¨ (133). The minister also starts to fret about what Chillingworth´s next move will be in his quest for revenge. Chillingworth has been mentally abusing Dimmesdale and trying to make him concerned about what is to come. Hester begs Chillingworth to stop tormenting Dimmesdale when she exclaims, ¨Hast thou not tortured him enough? said Hester, noticing the old man´s look. Has he not paid thee all? No!-No! - He has but increased the debt! answered the physician..¨ (118). Chillingworth wants to see Dimmesdale suffer through the consequences of his actions. He even goes as far as to say that Dimmesdale owes his life to him when he states, "That he now breathes, and creeps about on earth, is owing all to me!¨ (117). Furthermore, Roger Chillingworth is used to support the overarching theme as he desires revenge on