The scarlet letter :: essays research papers

Torment Of MisfortuneThe guilt, hypocrisy, and vengeance revealed in The Scarlet Letter.     In an eon of sexual repression and conservatism, there is never room for public show of relationships. Emotions and affection are kept hidden from the public eye. With such limitations there is always an recommend to break from what is considered proper. From this, lies and deceit are born to cover our mistakes. Hester Prynne stands helpless on a scaffold with her illegitimate daughter Pearl, wearing a blazoned scarlet A, making known she is an adulterer. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale stands silent within the on looking crowd as his lover and daughter are to be persecuted. In the farthest corner, stands Roger Chillingworth, Hesters husband quietly embittered at his wifes infidelities. A soiled and twisted love triangle connects these three individuals as Hesters persecution draws near. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these individuals to typify guilt, hypocrisy and vengeance thr ough secrecy and sin in The Scarlet Letter.      Hester Prynne pities the life of her daughter Pearl, labeled a child of sin and a mathematical product of adultery. Pearl is in essence a real representation of the scarlet letter that she bears. Hesters own doing lays out the fate of her child. "Hesters impassioned state had been the modal(a) through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life and, but white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery lustre, the black shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance. Above all, the warfare of Hesters spirit, at that epoch, was perpetuated in Pearl." Hester has the power to make things right and announce the identity of Pearls father Arthur Dimmesdale, however she holds back for fear of ruining her partners reputation and esteem. Hester holds commitment to both Pearl and Dimmesdale, she endures the sting of guilt through her silence.      Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a supposed man of idol takes silence along with Hester. He is guilty of his sins but more so guilty of being a walking hypocrisy in his congregation. To rectify his wrongs, he preaches of god and refraining from sin. However he continues to hide his relationship with Hester and denies his illegitimate daughter the privilege of his name. His commitments to the church are a conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and his need to confess. He yearns to confess but fears the negative outcomes. In his subconscious he wishes to tell all his sins, but results in his strong participation in church.