The perpetual agony of guilt brings corrupt souls to the depths of insanity. Unable to be freed by their struggling wills, they are forced to succumb to the torture and anguish and amend their spirit to become aliens of their past. With no recollection of their former being, their prior self ceases to exist and becomes anew. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne inspires the audience to comprehend how sin and incessant guilt have adverse effects on individuals living in a reproachful society that does not condone indulgences. As he uses expounding third-person omniscient perspective, employs the sinister character of Roger Chillingworth, and illustrates the dualistically ironic depictions of Arthur Dimmesdale, Hawthorne arouses the reader to understand the consequences of crime and shame.
While using the omniscient third-person perspective, Hawthorne attempts incorporate the audience into the novel in order to help them understand how wrongdoing and persistent ignominy can negatively affect the human mind. This is most evident as the author uses direct address to create a connection with the reader and the story. This rhetoric is apparent when Hawthorne states: "Under the appellation of Roger Chillingworth, the reader will remember, was hidden under another name (nick is this even direct address?)-(Hawthorne 69). Referring to the audience directly is most certainly one of Hawthorne's strategies as it allows the audience to feel entirely connected to the story and understand how indulgence has grave affects on an individual. Although the author uses direct address to illustrate his message, the perspective of omniscience is also shown explicitly when Hawthorne declares: "Reminiscences came swarming back upon her, intermingled with recollections of whatever was gravest in her subsequent life"(11). Such vivid descriptions of the remembrance Hester experienced is a (give me an adjective to describe the example, I can't think) example of the all knowing view that the author has in order to convey the adverse effects of indulgence and shame on a person in Puritan society.
