The Scarlet Letter (1995) - Movie Review Example

The Scarlet Letter Directed by Roland Joffe, The Scarlet Letter motion picture brings Nathaniel Hawthorne’s characters to life in a riveting performance by actress Demi Moore who plays Hester Pryne, actors Gary Oldman and Robert Duvall who play Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (Mr. Pryne) respectively. Understanding the historical context of the movie requires one to have prior insight on the author’s life, setting and themes of the novel from which the screenplay was adopted. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel ‘Scarlet Letter’; set in mid-seventeenth century in a village located in Boston, Massachusetts is a fictional account of the Puritan society. In it, Hawthorne describes the Puritan society and the cultural aspects defining it. In addition, he expounds on the role cultural expectations play in an individual’s life by focusing on the character Hester Prynne. Hester was a young married woman who had an affair with a local Rev. Dimmesdale when she feared her husband dead, which resulted in the birth of a child, Pearl. On her re-entry into society with her child in her arms, other society members met her with looks of disapproval. Her refusal to name her adulterous partner resulted in her future humiliation. The novel revolves around Hester’s life and her path to self-discovery after condemnation and ex-communication from the society. She strived to exhale, provide a life for her daughter and reclaim her dignity (Hawthorne 40). The Puritan society, a sect that emerged from the Protestant Christians advocated for its members to live a pure life free from sin. They shunned secular practices in their society; for example, adultery, stealing among other secular practices. However, they did not stress on some practices highly regarded by Protestant Christians; for example, mandatory attendance of church regularly. The Puritan culture defines people’s identity setting expectations for them. These expectations provide guidance on how people handle the prevailing societal issues. Hawthorne defines the Puritan society as a patriarchal society. Meaning, this society valued men more than it valued women. The society’s view of women was, therefore, discriminatory in nature especially because it ascribed two basic roles to them. They include; role of a mother and role of a wife. When playing the role of a mother, women cared for their children, nurturing them while socializing them to the Puritan culture. Moreover, when playing the role of a wife, the society expected women to remain submissive and faithful to their husbands. Societal values also expected them to procreate; providing heirs for their husbands. These heirs ensured the continuation of their family legacy. These two roles defined the society’s expectations of women and guided their behavior. Women were to remain silent unless the society needed them to speak. The irony in this is baffling (Hawthorne 70). Just like modern, contemporary, real societies, societal expectations move down across generations through agents of socialization. These agents include; peers, parents, teachers, and institutions such as religious or political institutions among other agents. Hester’s adulterous actions went against society’s expectations. Puritan society viewed marriage as a sacred, important union. It was among the pillar stones of Puritan society. The expectations set for spouses were, therefore, very high. Hence, adultery went against the society’s requirements especially because it symbolized disrespect and dishonored the marriage. This explains the reasons for Hester’s humiliations when she went in front of other society members. Hester’s extreme humiliation also resulted from refusing to name Pearl’s father because he was a prominent member within the society. Therefore, there was a public outcry for Hester to be physically marked on her forehead reflecting the people’s thought and feelings towards non-conformers to societal expectations. Shunning of deviants by other members of society occurs in both the real and fictional worlds (Hawthorne, 15). Religion was among the valued pillars that built Puritan society. Society, therefore, expected people to adhere to religious doctrines. Deviating from these doctrines had repercussions. This explains why Dimmesdale did not confess to his dalliances with Hester that resulted in the birth of Pearl. The society also held him in high esteem; therefore, he did not want to ruin his reputation. Worsening the situation was the fact that he was the local church minister who preached against adultery and the honoring of the institution of marriage (Hawthorne 40). Puritan society also valued selflessness in its members. Therefore, societal values allowed for the advancement of the entire society as a single unit. Self-preservation and selfishness went against societal values. Society required people to streamline their goals with those of the society. Meaning, goals, which affected, the progress of the society as a whole were to be avoided at all costs. The entire community vigilantly watched out for non-conformers who sought to advance and flourish in their own agendas, whereas, the entire society lagged behind (Kopley 108). Failure to conform to the societal standards brought about psychological, physiological, emotional and social distress. For example, Dimmesdale’s psychological state became imbalanced from the feelings of extreme guilt associated by refusing to confess to his adulterous actions. This took a toll on his physiological health too, whereby, he suffered from many ailments. He was only able to attain peace after acknowledging Pearl was his daughter before he died. On the other hand, Chillingworth’s vengeance consumed him, and he eventually succumbed to it (Kopley 77). Characters in this novel either portray either evil or good characteristics or a combination of both. The entire community as a whole; serves as a representation of evil. This is because of its unforgiving nature and extreme self-righteousness of its inhabitants. Puritan inhabitants are quick to judge and condemn non-conformers. They chose not to sympathize and their thinking results from collective thinking. This could prove beneficial to the entire society, whereby, unified thinking allows for the society to progress simultaneously. On the other hand, it could prevent society’s progress by preventing competition between people of which serves to motivate individuals. Healthy competition allows for people to strive for success in order to surpass or reach their colleagues’ level (Johnson 156). Hester’s characteristics portray her good nature. This is because she does not expose Dimmesdale despite the members of the society publicly humiliating her and demanding that she exposes her child’s biological father. The fact that she returned to Puritan village in her later life; means she did not harbor negative feelings against those who humiliated her and considered her as an outcast. She also accepted her situation by wearing the scarlet letter on her chest proudly with no shame. Hester also raises Pearl to value her dignity and to be accountable for her actions. Pearl’s refusal to acknowledge her mother, when she let down her hair and removed her scarlet letter piece of cloth symbolizes Hester's good parenting skills. Hester did this after finding out Dimmesdale was ready to flee and start a family with them. Hester also values love, which represents good things. Her love for Dimmesdale sees her through all her misfortune (Johnson 98). Her daughter served as a reflection of Hester’s goodness. This explains why Pearl found love and joy when she got married in the place where they fled to from Puritan. The few letters Pearl wrote to her mother before Hester died are proof of this. Roger Chillingworth’s vengeful nature qualifies him to be a representation of evil. In his quest to figure out who Pearl’s father is, Chillingworth adopts negative qualities. These qualities consumed Roger and eventually led to Roger’s death. However, his high level of concern for his patients and his concern for Pearl despite his prior knowledge of Hester’s infidelity qualifies him to be a representation of good. Chillingworth moved his medicine practice to Puritan village to care for his patients. He served in the capacity of an on-call physician in Puritan attending to patients like Dimmesdale. The fact that he lets Pearl inherit all his property also vouches for his goodness (Kopley 77). Hawthorne’s real life experiences influenced his fictional work. The Salem witch-hunts happening in the real life influenced Hawthorne’s fictional writing, whereby non-conformers stood on the scaffold and forced to weather the insults thrown at them. The scaffold was a raised platform where individuals stood as they underwent public humiliation (Hawthorne 140). He, therefore, meshed the real world with his fictional world. He attempted to describe society as it was by condemning its unforgiving nature. He also tried to highlight the solidarity of such societies, whereby unification became possible because of the common societal expectations. These expectations helped preserve order within the society by punishing non-conformers and rewarding conformers. The ascription of status served as rewards for the latter group. People, therefore, strived for social recognition by acquiring a status. This brought honor and respect to an individual and their entire family. In conclusion, Hawthorne’s novel sought to critic the Puritan society, especially its emphasis on shunning all things secular. As a transcendentalist, he believed in divinity manifesting itself everywhere; for example, in the natural world. He held strong, negative feelings towards the hypocrisy of Puritan’s as he portrayed their inhumane treatment of Hester Pryne who had no choice but to pin a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest that signified her adulterous actions. According to transcendentalism, divinity was a personal matter; whereby, a structured, formalized religion did not define a person’s divinity. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Plain Label Books, 2009. Print Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding The Scarlet Letter: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995. Print Kopley, Richard. The Threads of The Scarlet Letter: A Study of Hawthorne's Transformative Art. California: University of Delaware Press, 2003. Print Read More