Sining is perfectly unbearable in the bible! This myth about the bible being pure is one of many believed by the people in Puritan societies who are non cognizant of the true significance of the bible. The bible is a set of moral values from God that suggests forgiveness and acceptance, for many narratives that are told in the Bible are based on saints and people who have sinned and learned from their errors through God ‘s endurance of their wickedness and his forgiveness. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his novel entitled The Scarlet Letter, tells the narrative of a adult female named Hester Prynne and her lover Arthur Dimmesdale, who put this myth to rest. They both have committed a wickedness, yet they still went to heaven toward the terminal of the novel. The struggle of the narrative is that the supporter finds it difficult to deliver herself from the guilt that the townsfolk put her through because of her wickedness ; her lover Arthur Dimmesdale find it difficult to squeal his wickedness, for he is a Christian curate ; and Hester ‘s ex-husband Roger Chillingworth, the adversary of the narrative, lets revenge take over his morality. Through events, Hawthorne uses symbolism, word picture and sarcasm to show that possibly the biggest struggle faced by evildoers is that they find it difficult to deliver themselves while covering with their quandary. By extension, The Scarlet Letter is an court to today ‘s society, where people are populating in disaffection from the society, when being told of what they did incorrectly. It besides teaches us to travel on with life and utilize wrong-doings as a reminder to non reiterate our errors.
The novel is set in the seventeenth century of Boston, during Puritans clip. During this epoch, people were really conservative and faith was the reply to everything. Rather than populating up to their moral inherent aptitudes, they would look up to spiritual leaders to make up one’s mind their destiny. Laws were really enforced at the clip, and when one did non follow them, one would be convicted and publically disciplined with great penalty as an illustration to deter people from perpetrating the same offense. Work force and adult females were out of any sexual or close relationship, for it is considered a wickedness of shame in their society.
Hester Prynne is used as an illustration of perpetrating criminal conversation, which is forbidden in the Puritan ‘s society. The first of import scene of The Scarlet Letter is when Hester is being marched from a prison to the scaffold while keeping her babe Pearl in her weaponries with the missive Angstrom on her thorax. This scene has three of import elements that add in to Hester ‘s agony and besides contribute to her salvation. While standing on the scaffold, she is non merely publically humiliated by the community, but besides the guilt and shame that she has to cover with emotionally: – ” [ Hester ] sent Forth a call she turned her eyes downward at the vermilion missive, and even touched it with her finger, to guarantee herself that the baby and the shame were existent ” ( 55 ) . This shows that the first component ; the scaffold symbolizes public exposure and is a topographic point of safety that tortures and alienates the evildoer from society. The 2nd component ; Pearl whose Hester is keeping in her weaponries is a symbolic character that affects her Hester in many ways. Hester named her girl Pearl, which non merely show that she is Hester ‘s lone hoarded wealth, but besides the fact that the fortunes environing her birth are an annoyance to the society, merely like how a pearl is formed from a grain of sand that irritates the clam ‘s lingua. Therefore, Pearl non merely gives Hester her felicity, but she besides represents Hester ‘s vermilion missive A and is a changeless reminder of Hester ‘s wickedness and shame as Hester confirm it to the magistrate “ [ Pearl ] She is my felicity! She is my anguish, none the less Pearl maintain me here in life! Pearl punishes me excessively! ” ( 104 ) The effects of Hester ‘s wickedness causes Pearl to populate in disaffection and slightly suffer through the hurting that her female parent suffers excessively. The 3rd component is the missive “ A ” , standing for “ fornicator ” , but as the narrative progresses, Hester ‘s wickedness besides transforms her into a more serious and giving individual which causes her missive “ A ” to transform into “ able ” . After go forthing to Europe, Hester feels that it is her responsibility to travel back to Boston and spread the of import values that she has learned from her wickedness. Although the result of her wickedness made life no easier for Hester, it turns Hester into a better individual that is greeted by many, for she contributes good to the society. In the terminal, Hester learns to deliver herself and dies off with the missive “ A ” now standing for “ Angel ” .
Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester ‘s lover who is kept in secretiveness until the terminal of the novel is besides a evildoer. Dimmesdale is a good respected Reverend who people would seek to obtain a close relationship with to be in God ‘s good grace. However, Dimmesdale is a evildoer and will ne’er be worship by God. His wickedness has transformed him into a weak individual, to the point where he hallucinate and can no longer walk for his bosom is throb with hurting, which is easy killing him. His cowardness forces him tortures himself through tanning, fasting and other suicide in penitence for allowing Hester and their kid face the public humiliation. The scaffold is one of the most of import symbolisms to Dimmesdale ‘s character. Dimmesdale ‘s first scene on the scaffold shows that he is a coward, for he denies his wickedness, instead than stepping up and confront the public humiliation with Hester. The 2nd scene shows that he is trusting to get by with his wickedness when he sees the Red zenith in the sky. During the 2nd scene on the scaffold, Dimmesdale calls: “ It is done! “ ( 151 ) , which shows that he is ready to suppress his failing even if there are certain outcome to it. Just like Jesus on the cross stating “ It is finished ” and bows his caput as he dies for the people ‘s wickedness. The 3rd scene on the scaffold shows that Dimmesdale is able to suppress his ain failing and alleviate himself from his wickedness by giving the greatest discourse, so dies consciously. By making this, Dimmesdale is able to deliver himself and do it to heaven with God ‘s forgiveness of his wickedness.
Although Roger Chillingworth has non committed any wickedness that has to make with unfaithfulness, he is finally the biggest evildoer in the novel that leads to his suicide. Dimmesdale and Hester have committed a wickedness of criminal conversation, but they have no purpose of aching those around them but themselves. Chillingworth on the other manus, sees Hester standing on the scaffold agony through the public humiliation and made a remark: – “ It irks me, however, that the spouse of her inquity should non, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side. But he will be known! – he will be known! – he will be known! ” ( 69 ) This shows that in the beginning, he did hold a motivation to his retaliation, as he vows to happen her lover and warrant his wickedness with her on the scaffold. But after cognizing Dimmesdale ‘s dark secret, Chillingworth began his strategy of tormenting Dimmesdale. Rather than allowing Dimmesdale confess and have his repentance from God and the people, he tries to maintain Dimmesdale off from the scaffold, for he knows that the scaffold is a manner for Dimmesdale to alleviate his hurting. His evilness causes him to transform into a dark, ugly, older and misshapen individual as he allow himself into Satan ‘s power and subsequently lost himself in his ain strategy. He does non cognize the true intent of tormenting Dimmesdale, but to do Dimmesdale suffer. After Dimmesdale ‘s decease, Chillingworth dies without profiting from the wickedness he has committed.
Reading The Scarlet Letter may chase away many of the myths people believe about the bible. The bible is surely non a book full of regulations from God but alternatively it is a set of moral values that can be learn from, as grounds shows clearly that although Hester and Dimmesdale have sinned, they were able to utilize their ain moral inherent aptitude to deliver themselves and are accepted to Heaven. Whereas Chillingworth deliberately tries torture Dimmesdale but ends up aching himself. He tries to do Dimmesdale suffer, but end up non experiencing any pleasance from it, alternatively the feelings of lost and confusion that finally leads to his decease. Another possible subject is that sometimes sexual attractive force is non in the control of the homo ‘s manus and can be tolerable because after all, sexual behaviour is what all living things are born with and is portion of nature.
