Societal Expectations In The Scarlet Letter

Buddha once said, “We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think.” One may see his or her self in a different sense rather than in a way the public would. People may feel as if no one knows who they truly are, and that society influences them to be that way. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the struggle between societal expectations and someone being who they are. This issue is a universal problem, and is exemplified through the public perception of Pearl, Hester going against society, and Dimmesdale’s sin. In The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople of the Puritan society perceive Pearl as malevolent. They believe she is a child of the Devil, with witch like tendencies. In Chapter 8, when Pearl and Hester

The man who was involved with her sin, was never known by the townspeople. In chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople are all gathered at the scaffold, watching Hester, and listening to find out who the father of Hester’s child is. This information was never revealed at the time, but it is brought up in later chapters that this man is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a man who is very respected and thought of highly in the Puritan settlement. This dramatic irony is carried on throughout the entire novel, which causes Dimmesdale to struggle with his known identity, and the sin that is bottled up inside his mind. The first sign of Dimmesdale's deterioration is revealed in Chapter 9. He is described as having evident poor health, and a frail image. His cheeks are flushed, and his voice has become softer. This is the first chapter where Chillingworth, an english scholar in the Puritan town, begins to antagonize Dimmesdale, in hopes of getting the information that he wants out of him. Chillingworth continues this antagonizing throughout the rest of the novel, which causes much stress on Dimmesdale. Not only does Dimmesdale have to deal with Chillingworth constantly plotting revenge and troubling him, he also has to worry about society finding out about his sin before he can confess it