Judge Me Not, Love Me, Seek No Revenge.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption, centers on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. A young woman (Hester Prynne) comes to this town to find a place to live for her and her husband, but falls victim to the desires of the human nature. Hester falls in love with Reverend Dimmesdale, and conceives Pearl. The town people unjustly judge her for her "crime"; "he with out sin cast the first stone". She is forced to were a scarlet "A" on her breast for the duration of her natural life. Hester's husband Roger Chillingworth arrives to find his wife unfaithful and commits the rest of his life to find out who the father is, and to reap vengeances on him. Love, revenge, and unjust judgment are three themes Hawthorne emits form his novel. .
Hester is different form any woman Dimmesdale has met, and this is what attracts him. Hester married an older man (Roger) and longs for love and affection. They meet and fall deeply in love, but are restrained because of Hester's marriage. They soon receive news of Roger Chillingworth falling victim to the Native Americans, and act on their within minutes. The theme of love is evident each time they see each other. Their love never dies and only grows stronger with time. They wish to announce this to everyone, but must wait seven years before marriage, according to Puritan customs. Their love creates Pearl, and Hester and Dimmesdale also love her. Hester tells Pearl that, "in days to come he will walk hand in hand with us. We will have a home and fireside of our own; and thou shall sit upon his knee; and he will teach thee many things, and love thee dearly." (1420) Their love is strong and pure, but Chillingworth's revenge is deadly. .
Hawthorne adds Cillingworth to the novel as Hester is receiving her punishment for ery, which compels Cillingworth to his hatred and revenge.