Nathaniel Hawthorne’s personal isolation originated in his early childhood and later developed the theme of his most renowned literary novel, The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne emphasized the impact that societal isolation can have on individuals. Several of the victims inflicted with isolation throughout the novel were ultimately met with their inevitable downfalls. Hawthorn selected one particular character, Hester Prynne, to undergo a struggle comparable to Hawthorne’s own. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter centered its characters on a theme of both physical and psychological isolation.
In order to entirely comprehend the theme Hawthorne depicts in The Scarlet Letter, one must delve into his upbringing. Throughout …show more content…
His name represented his personality: cold, cruel, and manipulative. While seeking vengeance, he acted as the devil’s advocate. When Hester met Chillingworth in the woods it appeared that "the old man's soul were on fire, and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast.” (Hawthorne 175). He portrayed the symbol of evil and vengeance. Chillingworth stood as an outsider in the community. Upon seeing Hester on the scaffold, it felt as though “all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her.” (Hawthorne 65). From that moment forward, Chillingworth became isolated from society, both physically and mentally. He sacrificed his own identity and humanity in his quest for vengeance. Chillingworth made hatred his sole motivation; he spent his days seeking revenge. Even Chillingworth himself was “aware of his own transformation into a wretched, vengeful man.” (“The Lit Charts Study Guide to The Scarlet Letter”). Ultimately, his sin appears worse than Hester’s or Dimmesdale’s, who were motivated by misguided love rather than intentional revenge. As stated by Dimmesdale, “We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!" (Hawthorne 202). By the end of the novel, similarly to Dimmesdale, Chillingworth’s mental and physical health had undoubtedly digressed. As Dimmesdale confesses his sin, Chillingworth states that "there was no one place so secret,—no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,—save on this very scaffold!" (Hawthorne 263). With the absence of his identity and the revenge he sought being out of his reach, Chillingworth no longer had anything to live
In order to entirely comprehend the theme Hawthorne depicts in The Scarlet Letter, one must delve into his upbringing. Throughout …show more content…
His name represented his personality: cold, cruel, and manipulative. While seeking vengeance, he acted as the devil’s advocate. When Hester met Chillingworth in the woods it appeared that "the old man's soul were on fire, and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast.” (Hawthorne 175). He portrayed the symbol of evil and vengeance. Chillingworth stood as an outsider in the community. Upon seeing Hester on the scaffold, it felt as though “all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her.” (Hawthorne 65). From that moment forward, Chillingworth became isolated from society, both physically and mentally. He sacrificed his own identity and humanity in his quest for vengeance. Chillingworth made hatred his sole motivation; he spent his days seeking revenge. Even Chillingworth himself was “aware of his own transformation into a wretched, vengeful man.” (“The Lit Charts Study Guide to The Scarlet Letter”). Ultimately, his sin appears worse than Hester’s or Dimmesdale’s, who were motivated by misguided love rather than intentional revenge. As stated by Dimmesdale, “We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!" (Hawthorne 202). By the end of the novel, similarly to Dimmesdale, Chillingworth’s mental and physical health had undoubtedly digressed. As Dimmesdale confesses his sin, Chillingworth states that "there was no one place so secret,—no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,—save on this very scaffold!" (Hawthorne 263). With the absence of his identity and the revenge he sought being out of his reach, Chillingworth no longer had anything to live