The Scarlett Letter presents the struggles of people when they are caught up in sin and a society of rules, that of the Puritans in colonial America. No one is perfect in this novel, but each character, Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl, Chillingworth find some redemption at the end.
Hester and Chillingworth are married, but get separated when Hester goes to Boston. There, Dimmesdale, a loved preacher, has an affair with her. Pearl is the result.
Hester lives a seven year journey of shame, as her punishment is to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothing. Although Hester finds herself humbled down, living as an outcast, and helping others, she lives in her sin as she has no repentance. She refuses to give up the secret of who her lover was, for she …show more content…
Hester took the journey to become better, but Dimmesdale gets worse. His secret stays hidden for years, (except by Chillingworth) and it eats at him. The guilt Dimmesdale carries weighs on him like bricks. He continues preaching, though, of sin and forgiveness, of God; and the people love him. They see him as a righteous man. In his attempts to atone, he beats himself, starves himself, and holds vigils. He lives in hypocrisy, guilt, the secret, and the unwillingness t acknowledge in front of all that Pearl is his daughter. Dimmesdale does find redemption though. It comes through truth and repentance, and it frees him from being a slave to his wrongdoings. He stands in front of the Boston people, and he tells them all his secret. He acknowledges Pearl in this. By confessing, he acknowledges his sin, for he said, “The law we broke-the sin here so awfully revealed…It may be that when we forgot our God, -when we violated our reverence each for the other’s soul, -it was thenceforth vain to hope that we could meet hereafter, in an everlasting and pure reunion. God knows: and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions.”(Hawthorne 197). Dimmesdale’s final redemption is from leading Hester back to a straight path. He helped lead her astray, but by setting the example and being grateful to God, he has helped her
Hester and Chillingworth are married, but get separated when Hester goes to Boston. There, Dimmesdale, a loved preacher, has an affair with her. Pearl is the result.
Hester lives a seven year journey of shame, as her punishment is to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothing. Although Hester finds herself humbled down, living as an outcast, and helping others, she lives in her sin as she has no repentance. She refuses to give up the secret of who her lover was, for she …show more content…
Hester took the journey to become better, but Dimmesdale gets worse. His secret stays hidden for years, (except by Chillingworth) and it eats at him. The guilt Dimmesdale carries weighs on him like bricks. He continues preaching, though, of sin and forgiveness, of God; and the people love him. They see him as a righteous man. In his attempts to atone, he beats himself, starves himself, and holds vigils. He lives in hypocrisy, guilt, the secret, and the unwillingness t acknowledge in front of all that Pearl is his daughter. Dimmesdale does find redemption though. It comes through truth and repentance, and it frees him from being a slave to his wrongdoings. He stands in front of the Boston people, and he tells them all his secret. He acknowledges Pearl in this. By confessing, he acknowledges his sin, for he said, “The law we broke-the sin here so awfully revealed…It may be that when we forgot our God, -when we violated our reverence each for the other’s soul, -it was thenceforth vain to hope that we could meet hereafter, in an everlasting and pure reunion. God knows: and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions.”(Hawthorne 197). Dimmesdale’s final redemption is from leading Hester back to a straight path. He helped lead her astray, but by setting the example and being grateful to God, he has helped her