Defined by its exploration of the darker themes within humanity, Nathaniel Hawthorne paints The Scarlet Letter as a tragic romance embodied by the immoral lovers Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, in the aftermath of their sin. Set in the middle of the seventeenth century during a time of religious fervor, Hawthorne’s novel unfolds in the colony of Massachusetts, characterized by its strict, traditional Puritan community at the time. In consequence for their actions, Hester and Dimmesdale struggle to face the vindictive Puritan community during their endeavor for self liberation from their brand as sinners. With this central conflict driving the novel, Hawthorne is able to analyze humanity’s darker morals, expressed throughout his text. Through
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As Dimmesdale is first introduced, he is noted for his skills as a minister yet is described as an individual, “who felt himself quite astray, and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own” (Hawthorne 72). Dimmesdale’s first introduction reveals an unusualness that foreshadows his true character, hidden by his social guise of a highly respected and pious minister. In fact, Dimmesdale’s characterization revolves around his religious hypocrisy in the sense that “it is the truth of sin that he keeps hidden which makes him the very pillar of moral purity in the community” (Telgen 313). With this in mind, Hawthorne creates Dimmesdale as a character driven by his sin to a state of psychological ruin, contrasting with Hester’s ability to use her sin as a way to evolve both in strength and morality. In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale develops from his sin in a negative way, in which “he is not changed, but his relationship to the world is; he has lived in fear of discovery, but now he has a sense of his own power to control and manipulate people, rather than merely to maintain a facade” (Pimple). It stands, that Hawthorne is eventually able to use his character Dimmesdale as a way …show more content…
This unrelenting Puritan community would brand Hester and Dimmesdale as sinners of adultery, and would serve to prevent the two characters from spiritually and physically escaping their immoral decisions. In light of this conflict, Hester and Dimmesdale would both embark on a spiritually liberating journey that would allow them to absolve their inner conflict with their self-identity and develop their characters in doing so. Throughout his novel, Hawthorne is able to explore the darker realizations of the central struggle between human nature and worldly sin. Altogether, Nathaniel Hawthorne is able to utilize a mastery of conflict and characterization in his novel, The Scarlet Letter, to present the theme of independent identity intertwined with the expectations of society, as presented in his story of the unprincipled yet sympathetic Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale who struggle for independence of identity in the face of their stringent Puritan
As Dimmesdale is first introduced, he is noted for his skills as a minister yet is described as an individual, “who felt himself quite astray, and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own” (Hawthorne 72). Dimmesdale’s first introduction reveals an unusualness that foreshadows his true character, hidden by his social guise of a highly respected and pious minister. In fact, Dimmesdale’s characterization revolves around his religious hypocrisy in the sense that “it is the truth of sin that he keeps hidden which makes him the very pillar of moral purity in the community” (Telgen 313). With this in mind, Hawthorne creates Dimmesdale as a character driven by his sin to a state of psychological ruin, contrasting with Hester’s ability to use her sin as a way to evolve both in strength and morality. In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale develops from his sin in a negative way, in which “he is not changed, but his relationship to the world is; he has lived in fear of discovery, but now he has a sense of his own power to control and manipulate people, rather than merely to maintain a facade” (Pimple). It stands, that Hawthorne is eventually able to use his character Dimmesdale as a way …show more content…
This unrelenting Puritan community would brand Hester and Dimmesdale as sinners of adultery, and would serve to prevent the two characters from spiritually and physically escaping their immoral decisions. In light of this conflict, Hester and Dimmesdale would both embark on a spiritually liberating journey that would allow them to absolve their inner conflict with their self-identity and develop their characters in doing so. Throughout his novel, Hawthorne is able to explore the darker realizations of the central struggle between human nature and worldly sin. Altogether, Nathaniel Hawthorne is able to utilize a mastery of conflict and characterization in his novel, The Scarlet Letter, to present the theme of independent identity intertwined with the expectations of society, as presented in his story of the unprincipled yet sympathetic Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale who struggle for independence of identity in the face of their stringent Puritan