Private Vs. Public Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester’s scarlet letter is a piece of clothing, the “SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorn 51). Her interpretation of the extremity of her sins is one of self composure and calm. She views her sins solely as a "violation in the natural order" of the environment and therefore cannot even perceive her sin as being evil except through outside influence. Dimmesdale on the other hand, has a scarlet letter carved in his chest. This is revealed when Dimmesdale was giving his revelation, in which “he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed!” (Hawthorn 232). Dimmesdale 's personal interpretation as to the extremity of his own sins is a "violation of God 's law," which is the law that he is totally dedicated to and supported by. Dimmesdale 's interpretation of his sin is much more severe than Hester 's, it is a violation and direct contradiction of his own self consciousness and physical existence. Therefore the appearance of his A, even though it is never directly described in the novel, must be powerful, broken, and brutally dishonest (...a ghastly rapture; Hawthorne pg.95). Since the Scarlet Letter on Hester is visible to the public, she was criticized and looked down on. “This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die” (Hawthorn 49) is said by a female in the marketplace talking about Hester. She becomes a stronger person through living this hard life.

Hester has to go through all the rumors and talking that the townspeople say about her since she does have to stand on the scaffold where she's publicly shamed for committing such sin that is unjustifiable. Nathaniel Hawthorne has major and unrevealed symbolisms

Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, revolves around sin and punishment.  The main characters of the novel sharply contrast each other in the way they react to the sin that has been committed

Reverend Dimmesdale was a renowned, prideful man stricken with sin and extreme guilt.  From the time Hester and Dimmesdale made love, he was grievous of his sin but he also felt a great love towards her.  Dimmesdale's stubborn pride troubled him greatly, and although he tried many times, he could not confess his sin to his religious followers.  Dimmesdale felt guilt so strongly that he scourged himself on his breast and patterned an “A” into his own flesh, yet he could not confess his sin until his grief grew so great it caused him to perish.  Reverend Dimmesdale's sin was greater than Hester's because he let his pride conflict with his repentance, and let his life be ruined by his anguish.

While wallowing in his own self grief and guilt in secrecy, Dimmesdale continuously weakens himself. The effect which hypocrisy of sin and guilt has on Dimmesdale is uncovered throughout thorough description of the self harm and mental abuse he puts himself through. Hawthorne describes the effect on Dimmesdale stating, “Poor, miserable man! what right had infirmity like his to burden itself with crime? Crime is for the iron-nerved...This feeble and most sensitive of spirits could do neither..” (129-130). In the Puritan society, sin is comparable to a crime which seems to tear Dimmesdale’s already weak soul to shreds. Hawthorne clearly reveals that Dimmesdale is not the type of man who can handle the intensity of crime/sin. He is so afraid of the community’s judgement and rejection, that he cannot even begin to process how difficult managing the sin in secrecy is going to be for him. Dimmesdale’s “feeble and most sensitive” spirit, is completely contrary to Hester’s spirit of great resiliency. While Hester stands upon the scaffold bearing the harsh shame of the Puritan society, she shows her true character and the lack of frailty in her soul. Hester stands proud and tall, holding her daughter Pearl tight to her bosom and remains accountable for her adultery while standing in front of

In Source A, Hester deals with being public shame by standing on a scaffold in front of the town, being mocked and called names. She committed adultery with Dimmesdale when her husband was away, the town did not know who Hester did it with and make her the

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the author uses three scaffold scenes to mark the development of Hester Prynne. The image of Hester atop the scaffolding is a metaphor for her forced solitude; for her banishment from society; and for the futility of her punishment. In the first scene, Hawthorne uses the scaffold to explain how Hester can not believe that the “A'; and the baby are real. In the second scaffold scene, Hawthorne tries to convey to the reader that Hester has fully repented for her sin, however this is not true. In the final scaffold scene, Hester does not yet fully repent for her sin because her love for Dimmesdale is still strong. Through Hester, Hawthorne is trying to communicate to the

In The Scarlet Letter, the three scaffold scenes are very important in advancing the action of the story and developing the characters. The scaffold is located in the middle of town and is where Hester is being punished for her sin. Dimmesdale hid his sin from the town, however his guilt led him to confess on the scaffold as Hester did. Through it all, the scaffold shapes both Hester and Dimmesdale as individuals. The scaffold makes both Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin public, leading them to more obstacle which brings the story along.

Mr. Dimmesdale is an almost perfect example of the contrast between public and private truth in The Scarlet Letter. The young clergyman is often seen as saint by the public. Many of his sermons throughout the book bring dozens to Christ in the small town. The people of the town even began to say,“The saint on earth! Alas, if he discern such sinfulness in his own white soul, what horrid spectacle would he behold in thine or mine!”(Hawthorne 246). In private though, Mr. Dimmesdale is actually being eaten alive by the guilt that his sin with Hester gave him. Mr. Dimmesdale’s adulterous act caused

Through out the course of history, those who were considered sinners were often out casted from the society. This is much the case with Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. After a public trial, Hester is considered a sinner due to her birthing of a so called “devil child”. Hester is convicted to the life long bearing of a scarlet letter on her chest. The Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears symbolizes the change in perception of sin through out the novel. Due to the revelations of the governor Winthrop and the reverend Dimmesdale, the way sin is perceived changes from one of shame to the idea that every one is a sinner in their own right.

In the first scaffold scene Hester Prynne is depicted standing alone while clutching her baby. She has been sentenced to the scaffold for three hours to face public condemnation. In the Puritan society, where this novel is set, public shame is a source of entertainment. On this occasion the townspeople are present to watch the judgment of Hester.

By revealing this small, hidden regret, he exposes Hester’s tortured state of mind. Unable to reach salvation in the town she desired to live in, she regretfully decided to leave and abandon her sorrows. The burden society placed on her with the scarlet letter was too demanding for her to handle any longer. Similarly, Arthur Dimmesdale was distressed from his ignominy. Afraid of societal repercussions, Dimmesdale had been “overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast” (102). Society’s extensive honor toward him exacerbated his pain, thus causing society to trap Dimmesdale; this prevented him from revealing his dark secret and reaching salvation. Additionally, he began to picture his surroundings as an obstacle designed to hinder his path to redemption. His shortcoming to reach salvation agonized Dimmesdale to the point where he was incapable of recalling “[any] text of Scripture, nor aught else, except a brief, pithy, and, as it then appeared to him, unanswerable argument against the immorality of

Since the beginning of time we have shown our imperfections as human beings. As detailed by the Bible in the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge committing the original sin. This infraction against God resulted in Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and set the foundation for the judgment of mankind. The word sin derives from Old English synn and is defined as something shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong. In this essay I will be comparing exposed sin to hidden sin as related to The Scarlet Letter, and the effects it has on people.

Hester is publicly ridiculed by young children who taunt her and adults who continued to stare because of the letter “A’’ that significantly appears on her clothing. Leaving her and her daughter to live in a cottage on the outskirts of the village where a clump of scrubby trees try to conceal the cottage, but fail to do so. “The penalty thereof is death. But in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom. (Chapter 3)”

In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we notice that action only happens in a few places, among which are the forest, the market place, the governor’s residence, and Dimmesdale’s house. Although all these locations are significant to the story, the most important symbol among them is certainly the scaffold in the market place, where the story begins and ends. The scaffold’s meaning changes throughout the story and has different values for different characters. It represents humiliation, then insight, and finally redemption for Hester and Dimmesdale, but for Chillingworth, it symbolizes birth of sin, growth of sin, and ultimately consummation by sin.