The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Research Paper Example

The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel ‘Scarlet Letter’; set in the Puritan village located in Boston,Massachusetts is a fictional account of the Puritan village. In it, Hawthorne describes the Puritan society and the cultural aspects defining it. In addition, he tries to highlight 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 while her husband was away which resulted in 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 culture defines people’s identity and roles while at the same time 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). Hester’s adulterous actions went against society’s expectations. Puritan society viewed marriage a sacred, important union. It was among the pillar stones of Puritan society. Therefore, adultery went against the society’s requirements. This explains the reasons for Hester’s humiliations 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. In both the real and fictional worlds, deviants are shunned by other members of society. Hawthorne’s real life experiences influence his fictional work. The Salem witch-hunts happening in the real life influenced Hawthorne’s fictional writing, whereby non-conformers stand 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). 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 78). 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 at the given same pace plus in the same direction. 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 take responsibility 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 Hesters 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 (Johnson 98). 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 consume him and eventually led to his 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). In conclusion, the major themes identified by this novel include; sin, past and present and Puritan legalism. Hawthorne uses his real life experiences like the loss of his job because of the changes experienced in politics to write his fictional work. Exploration of sin in the novel occurs from two different perspectives; firstly, from the society’s perspective and lastly from the sinner’s perspective. The society considers any deviations from societal expectations to be sins. They, therefore, rally for the punishment of sinners in order to restore society to a state of righteousness. On the other hand, sinners seek forgiveness and acceptance from the society for their shameful acts. Their only hope is to be accepted into the fold once again by their empathetic neighbors. The past and present theme explores the influence of the given past plus present on the characters’ lives. For example, Chillingworth’s sympathetic nature towards his adulterous wife is a reflection of his experiences. He chooses not to condemn Hester because he understood that she was young when they got married. He also realized that his departure might have contributed to her seeking the affection from another man (Kopley 56). Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Plain Label Books, 2009. Print Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter Study Guide. New York: Saddleback Educational Publ, 1999. Print Johnson, Claudia Durst. Understanding The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995. Print Kopley, Richard. The Threads of The Scarlet Letter: A Study of Hawthornes Transformative Art. California: University of Delaware Press, 2003. Print Read More