Maya Seckler
10.23.15
Living on the Edge
Who sets the social standards in a society: the people or the institution? Do individuals have real influence or do they blindly follow along? Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, explores the individual versus society through the lense of Puritan life in the 1600s. Hawthorne not only criticizes society in general but also specifically targets authority by making the Church seem hypocritical. In the novel, Hester Prynne, a woman living in 17th century Puritan Boston, commits the sin of adultery. This act of adultery is widely condemned by her rigid Christian community, and she is forced to literally bear the public shame of this sin on her chest. In The Scarlet Letter, church and the law are one and the same. Thus, the Puritans not only condemn Hester for disobeying religion, but also charge her with breaking the law. By defying the church, she defies all …show more content…
The authorities are afraid of the bold, free thinkers because they are a threat to their power and control. Authority favors those who abide the law rather than those who defy it, such as Hester, Pearl, and Mistress Hibbins. For example, Pearl is described as “wild, desperate, [and] defiant” (Hawthorne, 62). She is stubborn and refuses to heed anyone’s directions. She is so defiant that the authorities try to suppress her wild behavior. In chapter VIII, Governor Bellingham and Mr. Wilson summon Hester and Pearl in attempts to take the child away from her mother. They’re suspicious of her preternatural activity, they want to find out who Pearl’s father is, and see if she’s had “such Christian nurture as befits a child her age” (Hawthorne, 76). While Pearl wants to run wild, the authorities want to restrain her wild desires and force her to conform to their version of a “good Christian
10.23.15
Living on the Edge
Who sets the social standards in a society: the people or the institution? Do individuals have real influence or do they blindly follow along? Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, explores the individual versus society through the lense of Puritan life in the 1600s. Hawthorne not only criticizes society in general but also specifically targets authority by making the Church seem hypocritical. In the novel, Hester Prynne, a woman living in 17th century Puritan Boston, commits the sin of adultery. This act of adultery is widely condemned by her rigid Christian community, and she is forced to literally bear the public shame of this sin on her chest. In The Scarlet Letter, church and the law are one and the same. Thus, the Puritans not only condemn Hester for disobeying religion, but also charge her with breaking the law. By defying the church, she defies all …show more content…
The authorities are afraid of the bold, free thinkers because they are a threat to their power and control. Authority favors those who abide the law rather than those who defy it, such as Hester, Pearl, and Mistress Hibbins. For example, Pearl is described as “wild, desperate, [and] defiant” (Hawthorne, 62). She is stubborn and refuses to heed anyone’s directions. She is so defiant that the authorities try to suppress her wild behavior. In chapter VIII, Governor Bellingham and Mr. Wilson summon Hester and Pearl in attempts to take the child away from her mother. They’re suspicious of her preternatural activity, they want to find out who Pearl’s father is, and see if she’s had “such Christian nurture as befits a child her age” (Hawthorne, 76). While Pearl wants to run wild, the authorities want to restrain her wild desires and force her to conform to their version of a “good Christian