Abstract This paper analyzes the "Scarlett Letter" and the sins of its characters. The paper specifically claims that Dimmesdale believed he was damned, not because of the adultery he committed, but because he and Hester lost reverence for each other's souls.
From the Paper "While he is under Dr. Chillingworth's care, being further tormented by him as well, they discuss sin and confession. Dimmesdale at this point, wants to believe that he is doing some good in the community by not confessing. He tells Chillingworth that some men don?t confess their sins because they have "a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men; because, thenceforward, no good can be achieved by them" (1457). Ironically, by trying to hide his true feelings from himself, he further reveals his sins to his enemy".
Abstract This paper is an exploration of the impact of speech and silence in the novel, "The Scarlet Letter." It pays special attention to the centrality of Dimmesdales' confession. The paper discusses the issues of sin and confession in the novel, with a unique approach to the meaning of sin to Hester and Dimmesdale. According to this author, Dimmesdale, and not Hester is the key to this story, since his silence and refusal to confess control the story, its outcome and as such, the development of the other characters.
From the Paper "Dimmesdale finds inspiration and power in the act of sin; he is most potent when he is most perverse. It is a passionate sexual transgression that produces Pearl; it is his failure to confess his adultery and the resultant hypocrisy that gives force to his sermons and gains him respect in the eyes of the community; his decision to leave with Hester and his sexual excitement "lent him unaccustomed physical energy" (2347); his incitement to do "some strange, wild, wicked thing" (2348) allows him to write "with earnest haste and ecstacy" a sermon "with such an impulsive flow of thought and emotion, that he fancied himself inspired" (2352)."
Abstract This paper describes the struggles that Dimmesdale goes through to keep his reputation as a loyal and honest minister in the Puritan community. The paper gives examples of the things that Dimmesdale is exposed to, using actual quotes from the novel.
From the Paper "The character, Dimmesdale is first introduced while Hester Prynne is publicly being criticized on a scaffold in front of the entire Puritan community. The role Dimmesdale plays in this scene is the "remorseful hypocrite" (Brodhead, 157). Melissa McFarland Pennell of the Student Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne on pages 67-87 explains that, Dimmesdale presents himself to his congregation one way while he reveals another in private; this concealment reflects hypocrisy in Dimmesdale's character. His congregation sees him as saintly and as the perfect husband for some village maiden. Dimmesdale goes to great pain to keep this image, even though showing signs of inner struggle. He knows the truth and longs to expose it, naming himself "a pollution and a lie." Michael J. Colacurcio who wrote, "Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter" in the book, Modern Critical Interpretations, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter page 21 says, "He is an enforcing agent of public discipline who has himself sinned against a clear and serious public law whose absolute validity he (unlike Hester) never questions for a moment; and who refuses to confess and submit the to discipline he has sworn by a covenant to uphold and enforce""
A look at the reasons why the confinements of the forest provide the main characters in "The Scarlet Letter", Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale, with freedom.
745 words (approx. 3 pages), 0 sources, 2001, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper explores the reasons that Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale can only be free within the confines of the forest to communicate their love, their sin, and their future plans. The paper contends that without the forest the plot development would have gone in an entirely different direction.
From the Paper "In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, society evolves around very rigid and harsh Puritan beliefs. In such a society, people are not free to express themselves as well as they are able to today. This restriction causes a negative effect because it is necessary for humans to be able to express their deep thoughts and desires. Therefore people had to find ways and places to express themselves outside of the knowledge of the public. Satisfaction and truth was found in the confinements of the forest just outside the Puritan city of Boston."
This paper provides an analysis of the portrayals of love and hate in "The Scarlet Letter". Relationships are explored and examined using the various interactions between three main characters: Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.
1,255 words (approx. 5 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 42.95
Abstract This paper analyzes relationships in Nathanial Hawthorne's classic tale of passion, sin and redemption, The Scarlet Letter. The author looks at the fine line between love and hate between Hester Prynne and the Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester and Roger Chillingworth, and between Hester and her fellow townspeople.
From the Paper "In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, love and hate are two issues that appear indistinguishable at times. In this story, Hester Prynne wears a scarlet letter for the adultery she committed with Reverend Dimmesdale while she was married to Roger Chillingworth. The details of this emerge as the story progresses, and the story culminates in Dimmesdale passionately declaring his sin, and later dies after his premeditated confession, while Chillingworth dies soon after. As the above quote says, love and hate ?each leaves the passionate lover, or the no less passionate hater, forlorn and desolate by the withdrawal of his subject.? This literally means that the passion and feelings do not differ whether they are intended in love or hate. To love or hate a person with a passion indubitably results in the same feelings, and when the subject of these feelings disappears, the passion felt remains the same."
Abstract This paper explores the motives behind the actions of the three main characters in the story, "The Scarlet Letter." Dimmesdale, Chillingworth and Hester's characters are delved into in order to give the reader a better understanding why the story unfolds as it does. Each of these characters has a hidden agenda, and in many cases this is influenced by certain character traits that they have managed to keep hidden from the public's view. Using several examples from the story, the author illustrates how despite great hardship, Hester maintains her personal dignity and honesty, while the male character's are constantly at war with their public and personal personas.
From the Paper \\\"Fortunately for Chillingworth, Arthur's conscience is progressively winning the battle against his front of respectability. But unfortunately for Chillingworth, Arthur may not give in the way he predicts or hopes. In fact, the moment of truth comes when Chillingworth is engrossed with some other business and he appears at the scaffold area just in time to hear the dying clergyman's pronouncement of sin. Chillingworth receives total justice through this intense suffering in both Arthur and Hester, but nothing farther in the inner world. Arthur falls, not into his vengeful hands, but into the Creator's alone to whom Arthur sinned. Death enables Arthur to escape Chillingworth's revenge: ?Hadst thou sought the whole earth over ... There was no one place so secret ? no high place nor lowly place where thou couldst have escaped me ? save on this very scaffold!? (Ch 23)\\\"
Abstract This paper analyzes the four main characters of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" and provides a historical view of what was expected from members of a Puritan society. It looks at how, although Hester Prynne, Pearl, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale all turn from their societal obligations in the novel, each character depends on another's ability to fulfill their role for salvation.
From the Paper "As a mother Hester Prynne is a strong example in the contemporary world, but in the time setting of the novel she is unfit to mother the child. Several times she had almost lost the wild Pearl to a household that would raise the child to be a subservient, noble and God-fearing woman. Hull writes, "To convince Bellingham to let Hester keep Pearl, Dimmesdale reverts to the same claim that the child has been 'sent' with an intended meaning, though the meaning he interprets is different from Hester's. Pearl 'was meant for a blessing; for the one blessing of her life! It was meant, doubtless, as the mother herself hath told us, for a retribution too; a torture' (114)" (5). "
Abstract In "The Scarlet Letter", Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the noteworthy theme as to the dangers concerning man's judgment, whilst utilizing the novel as liberation of personal grievances against Puritan doctrine. This paper shows how Hawthorne not only confirms such duplicity as iniquitous, yet further proves human denunciation as comparatively irrelevant amongst final judgment. It examines how through the inimitable characters of Hester Prynne, The Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, inclusive understanding of hypocrisy with emphasis on condemnation and the desire for vengeance is reached.
From the Paper "The Scarlet Letter, while regarded as brilliant literature, modestly originated as an expression of Nathaniel Hawthorne's internal defiance concerning Puritan ideology. This resentment is prominent throughout the novel and is assumed to derivate from the author's personal indignity in relation to the corruption of his great-grandfather, Judge Hathorne. Ironically, Hawthorne exhibits the very entity of attempted criticism as he himself debases the Puritans via their merciless denunciation of Hester Prynne. Imperative to grasp at present, still, is this infinite succession of denigration, thus validating the absence of any mortal authority in the eternal judgment over another's character. However, despite the paradoxical nature of condemnation, The Scarlet Letter personifies the hypocrisy of mortal judgment whilst accentuating the consequences of such."
Abstract The concept of sin depends on the time period and circumstances it occurs in. However, the most severe sin is always that which society commits against individuals. This paper examines how in his novel "The Scarlet Letter", Nathanial Hawthorne contemplates sin from different angles to point out the necessity for change in both perception and prosecution of evil in society. The paper looks at how, through the development of the protagonists, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, Hawthorne criticizes the rigid adherence to rules that the Puritans impose when dealing with actions considered sinful.
From the Paper "The concept of sin depends on the time period and circumstances it occurs in. However, the most severe sin is always that which society commits against individuals. In his novel The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne contemplates sin from different angles to point out the necessity for change in both perception and prosecution of evil in the society. Both are results of society's desire to protect its existence and dogmas which however well intended are not designed to also protect the needs of the individual. Through development of the protagonists, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, Hawthorne criticizes the rigid adherence to rules which the Puritans impose in dealing with actions considered sinful. Their pre-established views of good and evil affiliate passion with sin, which he opposes by emphasizing that not passion, but in fact prejudice and its results in condemning passion are the more inhumane attributes and roots of evil because human nature."
An analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's depiction of Puritan society in his work, "The Scarlet Letter", and how Puritan values have influenced American society.
Abstract This paper examines how, ranging from intolerance, persecution, and patriarchy to sympathy, compassion, and rebellion against dominant hierarchies, "The Scarlet Letter" embodies not only the characteristics typical of Puritan society, but also serves as a criticism for those characteristics in its account of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. The paper looks at how Hawthorne's account of these three societal outcasts in "The Scarlet Letter" demonstrates that there were those who sought to change the dominant Puritan ideals, and that the qualities they exemplified were not non-existent. The paper also discusses how, despite the fact that these opposing qualities of Puritanism clashed and co-existed for many years and in many more instances than simply the fictional town where Hester and Pearl lived, dominant patriarchy, narrow moralism, and the suppression of dissent have affected contemporary American society significantly more than have their opposites.
From the Paper "Another example of Puritan patriarchy in "The Scarlet Letter" resides in the governor and the positions of power within the town. The governor's breast plate of armor that Hester and Pearl find within the palace illustrates how the positions of power within the town are dominated my masculine ideas such as strict punishment and patriarchic rules (Easton 114-5). This is exeplified in today's society through the domination of men in areas such as politics, corporate leadership, and physically demanding jobs and activities. Likewise in contemporary society, we have seen the rise of women in these areas and they continue to make more of a voice for themselves. Both the dominant and recessive traits of Puritanism are shown in the role of women. The status quo position of women as being subjugated to males runs parallel to the dominant patriarchy that existed in Puritan society. "
Abstract This paper explains that the lasting greatness of "The Scarlet Letter" relates to the remarkable way Hawthorne manages to evoke emotional sympathy for the heroine even when he is condemning her actions. The author analyzes the sins committed by the novel's two major characters and the novel's treatment of each of them: The minister Arthur Dimmesdale and the mother of Dimmesdale's child, Hester Prynne. The paper stresses that the greatest pain, which Hester Prynne suffers as a result of her previous sin and guilt, is neither her own ostracism from the community nor the cruel scorn of its judgmental and unforgiving members but rather the repeated reminders she must face of how her innocent daughter Pearl is hurt because of the past sins of her mother and father.
From the Paper "From the opening of "The Scarlet Letter", when Hester Prynne stands alone on a scaffold, condemned for the sin of adultery, with the unidentified father of her child, by the Salem community, until the end when she stands with Arthur and Pearl on that same scaffold, Hester is a remarkably strong character. Unlike Arthur Dimmesdale, her partner in sin, who appears strong initially but is progressively weakened by his overwhelming feelings of guilt and sinfulness throughout the story, Hester grows stronger, despite her own sin and guilt, as the story progresses."
From the Paper "The Romantic Movement in American literature greatly expanded the love story genre. In Hawthorne's novel The
Scarlet Letter he writes of adultery in a Puritan village. The story deals with the relationship between
Hester Prynne, a young bride awaiting her husband, and Arthur Dimmesdale, an inspired Puritan minister who
is beloved by the populace. Do Hester and Dimmesdale truly love each other? Hester does indeed love
Dimmesdale, but the love is not returned by the preacher.
It is obvious from the beginning that Hester loves Dimmesdale. When she is being grilled for the identity of the father of her child in front of the entire village, she cares for him enough to refuse to reveal his identity. When
offered the chance to remove the scarlet letter "A" if she will but speak his name and repent, she stands up to
the crowd and refuses to give in to its pressure."
From the Paper "Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter is a book about a woman, Hester, who moves to Boston from England during the Puritan times. She has a husband, and tells the colonists of Boston he will be arriving to be with her soon. After years go by and he doesn't arrive, Hester finds another man whom she becomes close to. She becomes pregnant and the town finds out she has committed adultery. She is forced to wear a letter "A," meaning "adulteress," on her bosom for the rest of her life. The book focuses mainly on the sin that was committed; it affected the whole community..."
Abstract Elaborates on the question of sin in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". The author reveals that what is viewed as sinful throughout the book has underlying connotations and meanings. The author discusses this with reference to the two main characters of the book.
From the Paper "Hawthorne seems to intimate throughout the Scarlet Letter that what Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale shared wasn?t quite as sinful as is supposed. Many passages in the book tend to substantiate this premise. In short, I wish to reiterate some of these passages and rationalize using them in support of this paper's overall theme."
Tags: adultery, hawthorne, prynne, dimmesdale, hester, chillingworth, love
Abstract This paper investigates how Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his book "The Scarlet Letter" presents the reader with a number of contrasting images to reinforce the themes in the book. The author explores three themes in this paper: the nature of women, the problem of guilt, and the contrast between sin and grace.
From the Paper "Hawthorne uses some beautifully crafted images throughout the novel, "The Scarlet Letter". Hawthorne's use of contrasting images to reinforce the themes is not only inspired, but creates a richness for the reader that could not exist otherwise. The contrasting images of the prison door and the rosebush create a visible contrast between the imprisonment of sin, as preached by and to the Puritans, and the beauty and wildness of the rosebush, representing human nature, beauty, freedom and grace given to all sinners, both in the prison and outside of the prison. The rosebush, placed by God, gives hope to those in the prison, while the prison door, placed there by those who are supposedly civilized, the Puritans, only offer condemnation and shame."
