Guilt in the Scarlet Letter essays

Guilt in the Scarlet Letter essays Guilt and redemption in Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone is a central topic of the novel. The whole story is based on the life of a married woman after committing adultery and describes the effects of this sin. There are two persons who are exposed to this sin and guilt: Hester, a married woman and Reverend Dimmesdale. If Hester was courage enough to struggle this problem and face all hardships and misfortunes with dignity after confessing, then the fear of exposal and shame of the committed sin turned into a personal catastrophe for Dimmesdale. As a result, failing to struggle with the shame and guilt reverend Dimmssdale died. The guilt for Hester as a result turned into a shameful page of her life: she had to wear scarlet letter on her closing, which marked her as sinner and she had to raise her illegitimate daughter Pearl, who was embodiment of this sin. After society found out her sin, Hester was cruelly punished for being adulterer. Because novel takes place in Puritan New England the issues of morality were very strict and the punishment was very cruel. The most terrible thing in Hesters sin was that she committed adultery with towns minister; reverend Dimmesdale and she had to keep silence about it. After spending several months in jail and being affected to 3 hours of public humiliation, Hester had to wear red letter A that would mark her as adulterer. For Puritans this letter stood as "a living sermon against sin (Hawthorne 69), but for Hester it was a life reminder of her guilt: the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it(72). Nevertheless, despite all hardships and humiliation she had to stand in her own city, Hester was able to accept it and continue her life. Sh...