Puritan Justice

             Puritan Justice.
             The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in a puritan colony in old New England. In it, we experience the ways of the puritans. In the colony exists a barbaric and foolish justice system. The Puritan fundamentalists of The Scarlet Letter practice an unbalanced system of justice and mercy.
             Puritan society drags an unneeded amount of religion into their justice system. The people see themselves as higher beings than the accused. The penalty to counteract the act of adultery is death. Such a brutal sentence is not necessary. There is no separation of church and state, which makes laws extremely strict and most of the time ridiculous. During the time puritan colonies were set up in New England, many women were accused of being witches. The foolish people saw them as servants of Satan and thought they should be dealt with accordingly. "Witches" were taken care of in a variety of ways. Many were burned at the stake, while others were hung, drowned or thrown off of cliffs. The church had come up with the idea that certain markings on the body were the seal of the devil himself, many of which were moles, birthmarks, or scars on the body. Most, if not all, of the accused "witches" were innocent women. The "pure" people seemed to have a hard time showing mercy towards the accused.
             Mercy is amiss in The Scarlet Letter. The main character of the story, Hester Prynne, is found guilty of adultery. Though the penalty of adultery is death, she is shown "mercy." "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 thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom." Although death is overlooked, this is a harsh punishment nonetheless. People look upon the accused (Hester) as scum. Their children spit at her and scold her.