Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very famous literary figure in American literature. He is well known as an American novelist and short-story writer. This American writer was one of the members of Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community. His fiction works had great importance behind the Romantic Movement in America. If we go through his fictional works, we can easily notice one thing that inherent evil and sin of humanity are very common themes. Not only that but also his works teach moral lessons and deep physical complexity.
If readers go through his famous literary work The Scarlet Letter then the sin of humanity, inherent evil and deep physical complexity can be found. Sin, punishment and redemption are major themes of this novel. The Puritan settlement in New England also gets importance in this novel. In Puritan society, what is religion that is practiced as law.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is the best example of sin, punishment and redemption. Even sin, Punishment and redemption are considered to be the most important themes of this novel. These themes have a great influence on the novel from the beginning to the end. These themes are important to the overall effect of the novel. For this reason, The Scarlet Letter can be mentioned as a story of sin, punishment and redemption.
Throughout the novel, we will find many sins committed by various characters. Sins committed by different characters can be divided into two types- instinctive sin and intentional sin. These sins are different from each other not only by their names but also by their types. Human beings are not free from these types of sins. They either commit sins unconsciously or willingly.
Instinctive sin actually indicates that type of sin that comes naturally. According to Puritan religion, human beings are by born sinners because through Adam the inherent inclination to sin entered the human race.
Intentional sin refers to that type of sin that is committed with a purpose. So, it can be said that intentional sin is committed according to a plan. This type of sin is much worse than instinctive sin.
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have committed instinctive sins. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the story, has committed adultery along with Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result of her sin, she has given birth to a child named Pearl. Because of her child, she was unable to hide her unlawful activity.
Adultery is considered to be one of the worst crimes that go both against individuals and society. It is a violation of a moral code formulated and honored by society. Involvement in adultery is thought to be an immoral activity in all civilized communities of the world. There is no doubt that by indulging in it, both Hester and Dimmesdale have violated the sanctity of the Seventh Commandment. Nathanial Hawthorne says,
“Thou Shalt not commit Adultery.”
Every wife should be truthful to her husband. They should do their duties and remain faithful as a perfect religious wife. They should not do anything in the absence of their husbands that will make them sinners. If they go against society and religion, their life will be full of miserable.
Hester Prynne had to suffer a lot for her sin. She was punished both by God and society. Her life remained unhappy till the end of the novel. For her adultery, she did not find any pleasure in her life. By doing this, she even offended the relationship between husband and wife. Her immortal activity has put a stigma in Puritan society.
As a punishment for her crime, she had to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation. It was not enough for her in Puritan society. She had no choice but to wear the letter “A” on the bosom of her chest for the rest of her life. The letter “A” indicates the type of sin that she has committed. Compared to her sin, the punishment was not that much as it used to be. She should deserve the death penalty. However, she was given that type of punishment to make her realize the crime or sin.
It should be mentioned here that whatever she has received as a punishment of her sin was distinguished in that the results of her actions were for the most part external. Nathanial Hawthorne says,
“In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished.”
Public embarrassment and isolation emotionally damaged Hester Prynne. As a result of her admission of guilt, she received less punishment. She was physically punished.
Throughout the novel, she was mentioned as a sinner. Her sin was adultery. The result of her sin was her child named Pearl. By doing such kind of sin, she wronged her husband beyond reconciliation. Because of her sin, she had to go through some suffering that can be mentioned as punishment- both physical and mental punishment. However, what comes after the punishment was redemption. She got rescued from her sin after going through a lot of suffering. Her scarlet letter “A”, which is the symbol of adultery, is later interpreted as ‘Ability’ because she had become a generous helper for the poor and oppressed and a wise counselor for their problems. The new meaning of the scarlet letter indicates that she was not treated as a sinner by other people. In the later part of the novel, she was seen giving due respect and honor. While meeting with Dimmesdale in the forest, she removed her scarlet letter and threw it away and planned to flee with her lover from Boston. It shows her feeling of redemption. Hester did not feel repentant until the death of Dimmesdale.
Arthur Dimmesdale was one of the most important characters who committed the same sin that Hester Prynne did. He was the partner of Hester Prynne for committing adultery. Readers received a great shock after finding him as an adulterer. It is obviously a great shock as he was not an ordinary person. He was the Minister of the Puritan church. He gave sermons to the people about religious things. So, this type of crime was not expected from him. Another important thing was that he did not confess publicly about his crime. He was afraid of confessing his crime because of his position in society.
His punishment was totally opposite to Hester’s punishment. He was not publicly abused and physically punished like Hester Prynne. He remained completely silent about his sin. Because of this, Dimmesdale felt extremely guilty. Because of his strong feeling of guilt, he suffered both mentally and physically. To show his physical condition a quotation is given below;
“While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tourtured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to the machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in great part by his sorrows.”
He felt a strong need to repent and cleanse his soul but could not do it. Readers can see his troubled mind when he stands alone on the scaffold at midnight. He was feeling very much pain as he gave a sermon where he talked so scornfully of his own behavior. He did not find happiness until confessing his sin and repent before the public. He was punished by Roger Chillingworth, the husband of Hester Prynne. Roger Chillingworth reminded him of his sin and its aftermath.
Arthur Dimmesdale got inner happiness by repentance. His way of redemption was very much worse than Hester's. At the end of the novel, he redeemed himself by confessing his sin in front of the people who gathered in the marketplace. As he kept his sin secret for a long time, he had to pay it by giving his life. He died on the scaffold just after giving his last sermon on Election Day.
Roger Chillingworth was the worst sinner of this novel. His sin is mentioned as an intentional sin. He did the sin intentionally. He did not like the idea of seeing his wife being punished for the sin that she did not commit alone. He also wanted to see the other partner be punished as Hester did. At first, he told her wife not to reveal his true identity. He then by addressing himself as a physician wanted to help the minister and improved his ill health. We all know that he was looking for revenge. He had a great desire to impose his revenge on the one who stole his wife’s heart. He is mentioned as a leech. Roger Chillingworth said to himself;
“He hath done a wild thing ere now, this pious Mr. Dimmesdale, in the hot passion of his heart!”
It is yet to know what his punishment for his sin was. Readers cannot find him getting punished or going through suffering.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of his finest works, which is the best example of sin, punishment and redemption. It shows how the characters have committed sins and what the consequences of their sins were. It gives a moral message to the readers. After reading this novel, readers may dare to commit adultery and follow the religious path.
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