In Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Man, His Tales and Romances, published by the Continuum in 1989, Edward Wagenknecht gives the following analysis of The Scarlet Letter:.
"Because Hawthorne did not believe that law can deal with sin as distinct from crime, he makes a whole paragraph of the sentence: "The scarlet letter had not done its office." He seems to have felt that in placing it upon Hester's breast, the magistrates had blasphemously usurped the function of God, as Chillingworth later usurps it in his plot against Dimmesdale. Yet it serves her well in freeing her from all danger of trying to live such a lie as consumes her lover. She presents what she is to the world at all times, so that there is nothing left to fester inwardly." .
I believe that Wagenknecht's observations are correct. He says that the punishment given to Hester Prynne by the Puritan people was not the punishment of God, that it was not the responsibility of Chillingworth and those who punished Hester to give punishment to a sinner, and that Hester saved herself from internal torture by publicly acknowledging her wrongdoing. I believe these ideas are true because of the statements made by some of the novel's characters.
When Wagenknecht expresses that the punishment given to Hester Prynne by the Puritans was not the punishment of God, he is right. He stated that in this novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is no distinction made between crimes and sins. This is proven when a man tells Chillingworth that the people of the town have punished Hester and when governor Bellingham decides to take Pearl away from Hester because of what she identifies as her creator. In chapter three, a townsman tells Roger Chillingworth that he should be glad "to find [himself], at length, in a land where iniquity is searched out, and punished in the sight of rulers and people, as here in [his] godly New England"(64). In this sentence, the townsman admits that the government in New England was responsible for the punishment of sinners.
Punishment has always revolved around the same ideas, to discipline an individual, and to set an example for the rest of society, discouraging them from following in a convict's footprints. Either way, the end result is to set a criminal apart from the rest of society. Today we publicize the effe...
Morales 8 Alex Morales Melinda Shingler Honor English 20 October 2014 A Tremendous Sinner "Never support two weaknesses at the same time. It's your combination sinners - your lecherous liars and your miserly drunkards - who dishonor the vices and bring them into bad repute." ― Thornton Wilder...
Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne contains abundant symbolism, which is used to unify the novel and add deeper meaning. ... This in turn causes the Puritan view of her letter "A" to change from adultery to ability. ... In the center of the novel's action, a meteor passes across the sky in the shape of the letter "A". ... (Bloom 91-92) Pearl is also greatly affected by the scarlet letter, but in another way. ... (Novelguide) Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols very well in his novel The Scarlet Letter. ...
The Scarlet Letter To the naked eye, the story of The Scarlet Letter appears to just be a well-written love story within a puritan society full of unexpected flips and turns. Upon closer examination, The Scarlet Letter is really filled with obsession, guilt, and morals. ... Hawthorne's ultimate theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. ... The breathtaking letter had now become a part of her. ... Pearl was just a smaller version of the scarlet letter. ...
The Scarlet Letter can be considered a satire of Puritan beliefs because the book is full of angry people who mock and ridicule the unfortunate one who bears the letter "A" on her chest. ... The Scarlet Letter could have been written to show others of Puritan ways and beliefs but one who reads this would go on believing the people led their lives in a completely different way. ... Such people were punished in such ways as the scarlet letter, or in The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials. ... In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter is a satire because, although it does prove the characteristic...
In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme sin and concealment. ... They sentenced her to wear the scarlet letter and to stand on the scaffold in front of everyone. ... As Hester has the scarlet letter on her bosom, Dimmesdale's holds his heart like a scarlet letter burns in secret there. ... Dimmesdale sees the "A" in the sky and he interprets it as standing for adultery (the scarlet letter.) ... This is how Nathanial Hawthorne connected the theme of The Scarlet Letter. ...
In the novel, The scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne arrives at colony where she is accused of adultery due to a love affair with minister Dimmesdale. ... She is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter, which symbolizes her sin. ... Hester proves her courage when the chance to flee her sentence and remove the scarlet letter, is presented to her . If she would reveal her daughter's father, all shame would be removed, but decides to see the letter as a moment of the past. ... Unlike Dimmesdale, Hester is able to accept her sin by wearing the Scarlet Letter....
The Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. ... He also clutches his chest a lot in away that reminds Pearl of her mother, Hester's scarlet letter "A" By this point in time Hester Prynne's husband has found out about Dimmesdale's secret and has been tormenting Dimmesdale with it. ... In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Dimmesdale makes many changes - especially at the scaffold scenes. ...
