The Theme Of Guilt In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments

Nathaniel Hawthorne (originally spelled “Hathorne';) was born to Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne and Nathaniel Hathorne in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He was the second child and the only son of the Hathornes’ three children. When Nathaniel was four, his father came down with yellow fever and died in Surinam, Dutch Guiana. After his father’s death, Mrs. Hathorne moved her family into her parents’ house in Salem (Shepherd iv). At the age of nine, Nathaniel Hathorne suffered an injury to his legs that kept him from attending school for about two years. This injury was a blessing in disguise. During his recovery, Nathaniel read many books and developed an appreciation for the English classics. Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress and Spenser’s Faerie Queene seem to have been his favorite books because he had two cats named Beelzebub and Apollyon, characters from Bunyan (Martin 17). “Hawthorne later named his first child Una, after Spenser’s heroine'; (Martin 17).

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne relays the theme of guilt using symbolism that is portrayed in the scarlet letter itself and in the main character’s daughter. The story follows the protagonist, Hester Prynne, who commits adultery with the town minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, producing the child she raises on her own named Pearl. Guilt is a common theme for the duration of the novel which covers all aspects of the shame each character feels. These particular dimensions of shame come specifically from different objects in the novel and what they represent.

Also, Hawthorne juxtaposes motifs to reveal Hester’s point-of-view and understanding. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester forcefully wears the embroidered letter “A” with golden thread representing sin and adultery. Then, her daughter asks, “What does the letter mean, mother?” Her mother responds, “for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of its gold-thread” (163). In this quote, Hester is hiding the real logic of why she is wearing the scarlet letter, because she understands Pearl is still a child, she would not be able to understand the hypocrisy of the society. Furthermore, the community forced her to wear it as a source of a punishment. However, this juxtaposition of wearing the item for the sake of its beauty, is a different idea contrasting the genuine reason of why she is wearing the scarlet letter. Additionally, another symbolism that Hawthorne juxtaposes is the meaning of the allegorical object in the novel. This object is the scarlet letter, which its meaning changed from the beginning to the end of the book. At first, the author represents the idea of the wickedness of the letter it has on Hester, “[that] transfigured [Hester] . . . [and it] illuminated upon her bosom” (51). Not only, the scarlet letter has a peculiar “effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (51). Thus, the author interprets the meaning of the scarlet letter

“Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred” (Hawthorne). As this sentence is read in the The Scarlet Letter, the reader will realize that the main theme of the book is the sentence above. Throughout the book, secret sin damages the lives, soul, and the integrity of the main characters. However, it could have easily been evaded through open confession of their sins. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s purpose in writing this novel is an attempt to influence the reader to openly confess their sins and never be ashamed of who they are. According to Levine, “even though we convey ourselves as saints, we are really sinners (Levine 64). The Scarlet Letter is a classic work of

The scarlet letter is a symbol of guilt with the power to transform not only its wearer, but everyone involved in its inaugural scandal. Pearl and the letter share a certain relationship, and at times seem to mirror each other, as they exhibit similar tendencies. As children of indignity alike, they unconsciously serve as emotional grim reapers, and together, they unwillingly carry out the supernatural mandate of punishment rationed to them through sadistic and demoniac means. Because the two chosen are but unwilling situational puppets strewn by fate, it is impossible for self proclaimed vigilantes of the paranormal to come out unscathed. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s thusly named romantic novel of 1850, the scarlet letter, its identity, and

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a writer in the 1800s, an anti-transcendentalist, and the great-nephew of John Hathorne, a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne is obsessed with Puritanism and, due to being obsessed, bases all his writings on Puritan towns. All of his stories take place in New England in the 1600s, before the Salem Witch Trials; The Scarlet Letter is one of these stories. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the Wild Rosebush, Hester’s Cabin, and the sunlight and the forest to contribute to the overall theme of imperfection.

Let us gather here today as one- not as a group, but as a family.We all stand here today on a level scaffold. Many of you remember me as a nefarious citizen that stood on this here scaffold several years ago. Those who do not already know me, I am Hester Prynne- I have migrated from Amsterdam in hopes of coming to the New World, and in my past I have committed a terrible infraction. I am forever enduring the consequences for engaging in an act of adultery seven years ago. Although, 25% percent of those who have committed adultery go unnoticed and their only punishment is taking their guilt to the grave. There is a sinner among all of us. I am not here to justify the sin I have exerted, I am here to bring to a greater understanding that everyone here has sinned- whether or not you have dealt with the consequences that come along with sinning is dependent on if your community perceives it as a sin.

Though never forced to don a branding like the letter “A” in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, people in modern society are always remembered along with their act of wrongdoing. However, the subjects of the public judgement may not see their choices as immoral. People shame for a difference in beliefs and morals. For instance, Kim Kardashian, a popular reality TV star attained her own personal fame by making a sex tape with rapper Ray J, and, consequently, was shamed in the headlines. Despite the bashing, Kim did not see why her act was deemed shameful. Kim acts as a modern day Hester Prynne because she underwent the same humiliation from her society.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the topic of guilt is a reoccurring. Guilt is portrayed throughout the novel as causing immense amounts suffering. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbols throughout the novel examine how guilt is an everlasting punishment.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was the great nephew of the infamous judge of the Salem witch trials John Hathorn. Also an anti transcendentalist Nathaniel was obsessed with John Hathorne. Nathaniel wrote many great books such as The Blithedale Romance and The Scarlet letter. The Scarlet Letter is a story set in colonial 1600’s about a woman named Hester Prynne who has committed Adultery with a minister of the name Dimmesdale. With their only reminder of guilt a child Pearl. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, and Dimmesdale to contribute to the theme of Secret sin.

They considered pleasure a sin. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of a scarlet letter, Pearl, and Dimmesdale to contribute to the overall theme of guilt. To begin, Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter A to contribute to the theme of guilt. The letter A is the representation of Hester Prynne's sin. Hester was married before, although everybody had thought he died, she was still convicted for having sex with another

Hester Prynne, who cares for her child in the absence of the child’s father, chooses to dress her child similar to the symbol of the scarlet “A” on her chest. “…the child’s whole appearance, that is irresistibly and inevitably reminded the beholder of the token which Hester Prynne was doomed to wear upon her bosom. It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life” (101). Many of the community’s residence, look at this as Hester punishing her child, however she uses Pearl dressed in scarlet clothing to remind herself on what she will never do again. Hester knowingly tries to remind herself of her faults and intends on being the example for Pearl. Hawthorne’s point of sin is applied here as Pearl embodies sin and Hester can not only feel it inside but must live

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the early 1800s, was a novel that used symbolism to create a picture of a fictional story in the Puritan town of Boston in the 1600s. During this time period, Boston was a theocracy, meaning that its government was ruled by religion. The Puritan people lived their lives in total service to God and even went as far as living without any earthly pleasure in the hope that they would be rewarded in heaven. They thought that if they lived their lives without giving themselves to God, they would be sent to hell. N. Hawthorne had almost an obsession with Puritanism, and that was because his uncle, John Hathorne participated as a judge in the Salem Witch trials, and was the only one who never apologized

Hawthorne’s great-great grandfather was known for executing the public whippings and stoning of four female Quakers whose only crime was infringing on Puritan turf. John Hathorne was brought up with rather strict, devout Puritan beliefs, he also became a magistrate judge in Boston, Massachusetts. Hathorne and Jonathon Corwin, another rather devout Puritan judge, began what is now known as the Salem Witch Trials. Hathorne and his team accused one-hundred-eighty-five people of performing acts of witchcraft in Salem, leading to the execution of fourteen women and five men (Hawthorne Power point). John Hawthorne’s son was named Joseph Hathorne, this man was Hawthorne’s grandfather. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born and raised in a land surrounded by many who were of predominantly Puritan heritage. For years to come, Hawthorne’s family was defined by what his grandfather had done as one of the judges responsible for the Salem Witch Trials, which caused Nathaniel Hawthorne to change his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne to distance himself from this reputation. Hawthorne eventually began practicing transcendental beliefs, such as those practiced by character of “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester Prynne. Hawthorne utilized character attributes and situations in his writing to portray his feelings about the Puritan