Scarlet Letter Strengths And Weaknesses

Human nature brings out the strengths and weaknesses of society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the concepts of sin and resilience are brought into question. Resilience is the ability to recover rather quickly from difficult situations. This trait is seen in the protagonist, Hester Prynne, through her stubborn personality in which she knows what she stands for. In contrast, the characters in this novel all present their weakness at some point. One of the most prominent weaknesses in this novel is the concept of sin. For example, Arthur Dimmesdale’s downfall is that his sin overwhelms him and is incapable of wanting to change. Through the strengths and flaws seen in these characters, Hawthorne demonstrates that a …show more content…
This novel is about Hester and her affair and the town’s response. The towns sees her as an adulteress and stare at her when she passes by as Hawthorne comments, “She underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (55). However, even though Hester Prynne feels completely alone in the world toward the start of the novel, she holds her chin high and holds her daughter, Pearl, closer to her chest. Hester displays an enormous amount of dignity. The town likes to think that making Hester wear the scarlet letter on her clothes makes her feel ashamed for her actions and will teach her that what she did was sinful, but she feels shame for having been caught, not for what she did because as a result, she received Pearl out of it. Society misinterprets what is actually going on to fit their own beliefs and …show more content…
But to no one’s knowledge except a very exclusive few, he is the man who Hester had an affair with and the true father of Pearl. He is consumed by sin, yet society chooses to see what they wish. Ironically, Dimmesdale is the one who suggests the idea that there is no such thing as a sin that doesn’t drag someone else into it other than the sinner when he exclaims, “If thou feelest it be for th soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer” (67). The irony in this statement is that both Hester and Dimmesdale committed a sin in the eyes of the Puritans, yet only one of them is having to take the public punishment for it. Dimmesdale is playing the victim at the beginning of the novel, until he gets to know Pearl and the guilt consumes him and he suggests running away with Hester. She declines because of everything she’s come to know and accepting the life she’s living. Dimmesdale reveals his internal conflict to Hester Prynne by saying, “The judgement of God is on me… It is too mighty for me to struggle with!” (196). The town doesn’t see that Dimmesdale is not who he is claiming to be by claiming to be a reverend, and he himself initially denied his sin because he was