Public Guilt vs Private Guilt
Kassi Rawleigh
Everyone has felt the deep stir of guilt when committing a wrongful action. Whether it consists of lying, cheating, stealing, or destruction of property, the crushing feeling can impress deeply on our lives. Guilt takes two diverse forms in the Scarlet Letter; public guilt, which allowed Hester to rejuvenate, and private guilt, which caused sickness to form in Dimmesdale. The idea of depression or hefty amounts of guilt leading to chronic illness can be seen in modern society through academic sources. To begin dissecting this phenomenon, an understanding of the process that lead Dimmesdale’s overwhelming sense of guilt is necessary. Moreover, A very intricate relationship …show more content…
Public guilt, at first, seems more detrimental because of the gossipers reactions, “‘It were well,’ muttered the most iron-visaged of the old dames, ‘if we stripped Madame Hester 's rich gown off her dainty shoulders; and as for the red letter which she hath stitched so curiously, I 'll bestow a rag of mine own rheumatic flannel to make a fitter one!’” (Hawthorne, 25), but as the novel continues, the worse punishment is revealed. The puritans harshly cast Hester off to a world of solitude with Pearl, but Hester, who faced public shaming, experiences only public ramifications from her scarlet letter. The ramifications come throughout the novel in forms such as rumors rather than the internal and physical pain of the minister. The characters move in separate directions; while one suffers the other is well, as one deteriorates the other rejuvenates. Dimmesdale unable to understand Hester’s actions until he felt the internal pain of guilt himself. By integrating these two different forms of guilt into the novel, Hawthorne exemplifies the notion that private guilt is more physically and emotionally destructive over time than public guilt, but does this hold truth in modern …show more content…
Goldberg 's research proves that individuals who struggle with depression are three times more likely to develop a chronic disease. Goldberg believes that the depression not only increases the rates of disease, but that the disease is developed from the individual 's depression. Some chronic diseases that support this idea are: coronary heart disease, strokes, colorectal cancer, back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and multiple sclerosis (Goldberg). Based on Goldberg’s research, untreated depression can lead to serious and unnecessary pain. Analyzing Dimmesdale 's case, if he confronted the source of his guilt, his suffering would have decreased and potentially disappeared, leaving him alive and well. Based on the idea that depression can lead to more serious physical disorders, than previously discussed, many American citizens in our lives are at risk. In fact, Anxiety and Depression Association of America states that major depression causes the leading number of disabilities in American citizens, ages 15 to 45, effecting over 14.8 million Americans at any given time. comparing this to Goldberg’s study;
Kassi Rawleigh
Everyone has felt the deep stir of guilt when committing a wrongful action. Whether it consists of lying, cheating, stealing, or destruction of property, the crushing feeling can impress deeply on our lives. Guilt takes two diverse forms in the Scarlet Letter; public guilt, which allowed Hester to rejuvenate, and private guilt, which caused sickness to form in Dimmesdale. The idea of depression or hefty amounts of guilt leading to chronic illness can be seen in modern society through academic sources. To begin dissecting this phenomenon, an understanding of the process that lead Dimmesdale’s overwhelming sense of guilt is necessary. Moreover, A very intricate relationship …show more content…
Public guilt, at first, seems more detrimental because of the gossipers reactions, “‘It were well,’ muttered the most iron-visaged of the old dames, ‘if we stripped Madame Hester 's rich gown off her dainty shoulders; and as for the red letter which she hath stitched so curiously, I 'll bestow a rag of mine own rheumatic flannel to make a fitter one!’” (Hawthorne, 25), but as the novel continues, the worse punishment is revealed. The puritans harshly cast Hester off to a world of solitude with Pearl, but Hester, who faced public shaming, experiences only public ramifications from her scarlet letter. The ramifications come throughout the novel in forms such as rumors rather than the internal and physical pain of the minister. The characters move in separate directions; while one suffers the other is well, as one deteriorates the other rejuvenates. Dimmesdale unable to understand Hester’s actions until he felt the internal pain of guilt himself. By integrating these two different forms of guilt into the novel, Hawthorne exemplifies the notion that private guilt is more physically and emotionally destructive over time than public guilt, but does this hold truth in modern …show more content…
Goldberg 's research proves that individuals who struggle with depression are three times more likely to develop a chronic disease. Goldberg believes that the depression not only increases the rates of disease, but that the disease is developed from the individual 's depression. Some chronic diseases that support this idea are: coronary heart disease, strokes, colorectal cancer, back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and multiple sclerosis (Goldberg). Based on Goldberg’s research, untreated depression can lead to serious and unnecessary pain. Analyzing Dimmesdale 's case, if he confronted the source of his guilt, his suffering would have decreased and potentially disappeared, leaving him alive and well. Based on the idea that depression can lead to more serious physical disorders, than previously discussed, many American citizens in our lives are at risk. In fact, Anxiety and Depression Association of America states that major depression causes the leading number of disabilities in American citizens, ages 15 to 45, effecting over 14.8 million Americans at any given time. comparing this to Goldberg’s study;