The scarlet letter

Introduction

 The scarlet letter illustrates the theme of sin.  Several situations in the novel illustrate the theme. First, Hester Prynne waits for her husband in vain and decides to make love with Reverend Dimmesdale.  Her adulterous sin comes to light when she gives birth to her child.  The second situation that illustrates sin is when Roger Chillingworth seeks revenge and destroys Arthur Dimmesdale for making love affairs with Hester. These characters violate moral standards, and sin affects their life physically and mentally.

            Hester Prynne is the protagonist and an adulterer.  She is sent to America by her husband, who never follows her.  Due to the husband's absence, she creates a love affair with Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant. To her, adultery is not only a sin, but it is a thing that separates her from the community.  She is isolated, and the community does not treat her as a normal woman.  In chapter 5, she says that "the days of the far-off future would toil onward... (Hawthorne, chapter 5). This shows that Hester her past sin has destroyed her future life.  She has a shameful experience and life of alienation.   In the community, she is a symbol of frailty and lust.

 Roger Chillingworth is a malevolent character who develops an evil vengeance.  When he arrives at Boston and finds that his wife is a disgrace to the society due to committing adultery, he demonstrates a true evil by destroying the life of Dimmesdale.   In chapter 3, he says that "it irks me that the partner of her iniquity should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side (Hawthorne, chapter 5).  Chillingworth acknowledges that his wife Hester committed adultery, but her love should also face the punishment.  He also acknowledges that his wife is beautiful and attractive, and therefore, any man could love her. Rather than solving the matter with Dimmesdale, he psychologically tortures him and makes him suffer from grief and anguish.

Conclusion    

Sin is the most significant theme in the novel. Sin does not only affect the sinner, but it also affects other people.  First, the sinners suffer greatly since their experiences mental and physical pain. The more the sinners hide the sin, the more they suffer.  This indicates that it is important for people to be honest and repent to become free.  The sinful nature also reveals that sin and guilty go together since the sinner develops an emotional experience after violating the moral standards.

 

 Work cited                                                                                                                                               

 Hawthorne Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter:  a romance. Samuel E. Cassino, 1892