The Scarlet Letter: The Puritans

The Puritans in The Scarlet Letter seem to fit this description very exactly. They have a community that alienates Hester from the rest of them, and forces her to make it on her own without any compassion. They try to act like they are doing Hester good by treating her this way, but really they are condescending toward her for committing such a sin. By failing to demonstrate to Hester that not just the outside world is sinful, but they too are sinners, makes it appear that Hester is the only flawed citizen of their Puritan society. The Puritans in this book create a community so drastically different from the rest of the world, they make their part of the world seem absent of flaws. It is ironic that this community shows people it is unnatural

All readers know Hester feels bad for her mistake, as she expresses her understanding of the weight of her sin. She expresses to these men that she is constantly learning from her scarlet letter, and can teach Pearl through her mistakes (Hawthorne 109-111). However these authorities have no compassion or understanding towards Hester. They are firmly planted in their belief that Hester is undeserving of anything good because of her sin; they think they themselves are the ones who are deserving to have the power to take Pearl away from Hester. Once again, the reader will find that this self -righteous attitude contradicts what Proverbs 20:9 teaches. It says, “Who can say ‘I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?’” The Puritans have this exact attitude. They think it is possible to escape their human nature and the sin of this world and have a power over those who do sin, which goes against the teaching of the Bible. Romans 12:9 tells one to abhor what is evil, but to hold fast to what is good. This promotes the idea of hating the sin, but loving the sinner. The people of Salem, while not approving of the sin, should have accepted Hester and sought for her well-being. Instead, they get the sin confused with the person. They think that Hester is just as evil as the sin itself, when really she is an ordinary person like them who gives into her nature as a human being. Through the Puritans hypocritical exhibition of virtue, Hawthorne points out that although one may sin in a terrible way, it is wrong to appear superior to the wrong-doer; but rather, one should humble themselves by realizing they too are prone to sinfulness, and serve those who need guidance and