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Suffering In The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter is a book about Puritan Society, adultery, and punishment. The attainment of wisdom through suffering is the main theme developed by Nathaniel Hawthorn In his book The Scarlet Letter. However, in The Scarlet Letter, it seems that the attainment of wisdom through suffering only works if one fully accepts the root of their suffering - their sin. The theme is developed using the characters in the book, mostly through Hester Prynne who accepts her sin, but also through the failure of Minister Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, who do not accept their sin.
It’s debatable whether Roger Chillingworth is suffering in The Scarlet Letter or is solely seeking revenge on Dimmesdale. However, it can be proposed that Chillingworth, in …show more content…

In the beginning, Hester is given a scarlet letter, separated from the Puritan community, and isolated with her daughter, Pearl, due to her sin of adultery. Hester suffers due to her isolation, the Scarlet Letter, public ridicule, and her own guilt. This isolation allows her to attain wisdom because she is no longer a part of the Puritan social structure and has to support herself and her daughter somehow. With time, Hester learns to depend on herself, assess her morals, and develops her own inner strength, leading to many of the townspeople seeing her scarlet letter “A” to mean “Able” in chapter 13. We see her wisdom shine through fully in her confrontation with Chillingworth in four chapters - chapters 14, 15, 19, and 24; In Chapter 14, Hester tells Chillingworth she is going to tell the truth about their relationship (husband and wife) and realizes that he has been afflicted by evil; In Chapter 15, she reflects and comes to the revelation that their marriage was loveless and filled with resentment; In chapter 19, She reacts to Pearl’s behavior in a motherly way, seeing it as childish fear of change as opposed to Dimmesdale who is afraid and wants Hester to do whatever it takes to pacify her; And in chapter 24, Hester returns to the colony and offers comfort, hope, and assistance to the

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