Lydia Krestel Ms. Hamilton English 11 29 August 2023 Adultery and Co. The Scarlet Letter, written by 19th-century author Nathaniel Hawthorne, follows the trials and tribulations of Hester Prynne and the consequences of her adulterous crime. Hester, her lover Arthur Dimmesdale, and their child Pearl all face the effects of Puritan culture. Puritans believe one will go to heaven based on the good things they do, and when you sin, you cannot redeem yourself. Because of the community’s Puritan values, Hester and her family are viewed very poorly and are forced to hide their sins, which leads to immense psychological and physical damage to the characters. Hester Prynne, the main protagonist of the story, is publicly shamed for adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her breast to represent her crime. …show more content…
The narrator says, “...she perchance underwent agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon,” (Hawthorne 47). Public shaming was not an uncommon practice in Puritan society; it was used to separate the person from society and to highlight their wrongdoing. Humiliation is a very strong emotion, and it can cause people to do drastic things. In Hester’s case, it caused her to enter hysteria, especially while she was pregnant with Pearl. After she was born, Hester could see that the hysteria while she was pregnant had reached Pearl, leaving a “wild, desperate, defiant mood. and even some of the very cloud-shapes of gloom and despondency that had brooded in her heart,” (Hawthorne 74). ! CONTINUE HERE - NOW! Despite all the mental turmoil Hester faces, she is eventually freed. Seven years after Pearl was born, and after many days of heartache and distress, Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale meet in the