Destructive Freedom In The Scarlet Letter

Destructive Freedom In America, most people think that freedom is beneficial to everyone, that everyone should have freedom, similar to our society. Though freedom does have its perks, The Scarlet Letter would contest saying that freedom leads to destruction. Nathan Hawthorne proved that a society filled with rule and law is better than the wilderness of moral freedom. The story of an outcast from society who lives in the wilderness is one where the concept of freedom should be a positive thing because the outcast can escape the horrors of society. With regards to Hester, Hawthorne shows that the freedom of the wilderness in which she lives only destroys her life even more. In the forest, Hester feels free to act outside of the rule and law …show more content…
The scarlet letter changed the life of Hester. It led to judgment and seclusion. The forest was where Hester committed adultery, and she was punished through the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter ruined the life she could have had. She had no chance of bringing up her daughter in a town that accepted her and her family. The freedom signified by the uncertainty of the woods versus the laws and rules of society caused destruction in her life and the life of her family. As everyone judged her, Hester, “her position outside the web” (Korobkin), “permits her to see and judge society as a whole” and all she wanted to do was escape, showing her judgment on the society, how her freedom clouded her from the benefits of rule, law, and …show more content…
Pearl never acted specifically on her own freedom, but rather her damage is the result of others choices with their freedoms. Due to the way Pearl was raised, she ended up with a temper. Pearl would, “picked up her apron full of pebbles, and, creeping from rock to rock after these small sea-fowl, displayed remarkable dexterity in pelting them” (115). Due to her parents’ actions according to their freedom, Pearl was caught up in the destruction that freedom causes. Pearl was not always a nice child, when she felt threatened, she would throw stones at the kids. As well, Pearl declared that her mother plucked her from the rose bush outside of the prison, instead of saying that she was the creation of God. Because Dimmesdale and Hester acted the way they did with their freedom and the repercussions that went along with it, Pearl has a little bit of evil inside her, and she is not always the angel her mother wants her to be.
Many have been hurt due to the wilderness of moral freedom. Freedom is a tornado , tearing through the lives of others. Hester suffered through the scarlet letter, through a broken heart, and close calls of the dissolution of relationships. Dimmesdale suffered through physical pain, self-harm to be exact. Pearls life was destroyed due to the things that her parents did with their freedom. All was lost and many suffered all because of freedom. Freedom isn’t the fairy tale ending that some think it would be. Freedom can