Sin and guilt, two topics emphasized heavily throughout The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, play huge roles in the destruction of Dimmesdale, the corruption of Chillingworth, as well as Hester’s sense of motherhood and the way Pearl is treated. Hawthorne incorporates his use of rhetorical strategies to depict the effects sin and guilt have on these characters and how the characters choose to handle the stress of it all. In The Scarlet Letter a heavy stress concentrated on guilt and sin plays the role of setting the tone for the entire novel. Arthur Dimmesdale is introduced, and with him an excess of guilt and negativity. Dimmesdale suffered greatly at the hands of the sin he committed and the longer he holds onto his secret, the worse
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Hawthorne chose to use the word “ruined” in order to show how Dimmesdale’s sin and the corresponding guilt mangled his soul enough that it cannot be fixed. Another way Hawthorne uses tone to portray guilt and sin is when Roger Chillingworth comes into the picture. When Chillingworth is first described, his left shoulder is said to be higher than his right shoulder. The left side was considered to be connected to the devil and by Chillingworth having a deformed left shoulder it foreshadows his fall to the dark side. In chapter seventeen, Dimmesdale and Hester are in the forest, speaking about many different things, one of the things being Chillingworth. Dimmesdale tells Hester, “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin” (Hawthorne 186). Hawthorne chose to use the words “blacker than my sin” to show how serious Chillingworth’s sin was. Dimmesdale thinks so lowly of himself because of his sin, so the fact that he sees Chillingworth’s plot for revenge as worse than his own sin makes the readers understand truly how terrible Chillingworth is. Finally, in chapter thirteen Hester is described as having gone through a “sad transformation” (Hawthorne 158) due to her sin. She is …show more content…
An early example of irony is in the third chapter when Hester is serving her three hours on the scaffold and Governor Bellingham tells Dimmesdale, “the responsibility of this woman’s soul lies greatly with you.” (Hawthorne 72). It is ironic because Governor Bellingham is putting Dimmesdale in charge of Hester’s fate when Dimmesdale is just as guilty as Hester. Ultimately, this just adds more guilt onto Dimmesdale’s conscience. Another ironic moment was when Chillingworth visited Hester in the prison and confronted her about their marriage as well as who her baby’s father was. When Hester would not reveal the name of the father, Chillingworth took it upon himself to assure her that he shall not “interfere with Heaven’s own method of retribution” or “betray him the gripe of human law” (Hawthorne 80). The irony is revealed quite quickly seeing as within a few lines Chillingworth changes his tune and threatens to take Dimmesdale’s soul, which is the complete opposite of letting Heaven’s retribution deal with Dimmesdale. Irony is incorporated with the scarlet letter Hester Prynne is required to wear. In the beginning the “A” stands for “adultery” and is viewed by everyone as a form of punishment and a symbol of shame; however, by the end of the novel, the letter comes to mean something entirely different, “able.” This is ironic because originally the
Hawthorne chose to use the word “ruined” in order to show how Dimmesdale’s sin and the corresponding guilt mangled his soul enough that it cannot be fixed. Another way Hawthorne uses tone to portray guilt and sin is when Roger Chillingworth comes into the picture. When Chillingworth is first described, his left shoulder is said to be higher than his right shoulder. The left side was considered to be connected to the devil and by Chillingworth having a deformed left shoulder it foreshadows his fall to the dark side. In chapter seventeen, Dimmesdale and Hester are in the forest, speaking about many different things, one of the things being Chillingworth. Dimmesdale tells Hester, “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin” (Hawthorne 186). Hawthorne chose to use the words “blacker than my sin” to show how serious Chillingworth’s sin was. Dimmesdale thinks so lowly of himself because of his sin, so the fact that he sees Chillingworth’s plot for revenge as worse than his own sin makes the readers understand truly how terrible Chillingworth is. Finally, in chapter thirteen Hester is described as having gone through a “sad transformation” (Hawthorne 158) due to her sin. She is …show more content…
An early example of irony is in the third chapter when Hester is serving her three hours on the scaffold and Governor Bellingham tells Dimmesdale, “the responsibility of this woman’s soul lies greatly with you.” (Hawthorne 72). It is ironic because Governor Bellingham is putting Dimmesdale in charge of Hester’s fate when Dimmesdale is just as guilty as Hester. Ultimately, this just adds more guilt onto Dimmesdale’s conscience. Another ironic moment was when Chillingworth visited Hester in the prison and confronted her about their marriage as well as who her baby’s father was. When Hester would not reveal the name of the father, Chillingworth took it upon himself to assure her that he shall not “interfere with Heaven’s own method of retribution” or “betray him the gripe of human law” (Hawthorne 80). The irony is revealed quite quickly seeing as within a few lines Chillingworth changes his tune and threatens to take Dimmesdale’s soul, which is the complete opposite of letting Heaven’s retribution deal with Dimmesdale. Irony is incorporated with the scarlet letter Hester Prynne is required to wear. In the beginning the “A” stands for “adultery” and is viewed by everyone as a form of punishment and a symbol of shame; however, by the end of the novel, the letter comes to mean something entirely different, “able.” This is ironic because originally the