As with her lover and her partner in sin, the life of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter gives key insights to idea that shame varies from individual to individual, and from society to society. Like Dimmesdale, she experiences a deep shame for her previous actions. Unlike Dimmesdale however, she is punished for her crime and is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet ‘A’, as a token of her shame, “the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart” (Hawthorne 122). From here, her experience with shame diverges from that of Dimmesdale. While the reverend falls victim the deleterious effects of shame, Prynne grows from her shame and becomes an integral part of the community, even earning a sense of respect from the town members. Ultimately,
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Within the Puritan society detailed in Hawthorne’s novel, Prynne is severely punished for adultery and is forced to face the shame that follows. Likewise, Dimmesdale suffers through a more private shame, but nonetheless feels the fullest brunt of the forces of guilt, causing real harm to his mental and physical health. This shame over their shared crime of adultery only carries such a weight in the society they live in, and thus their experiences of shame are specific to this society. Furthermore, the Puritan society creates this shame, and tailors it to fit every individual it is inflicted upon. This is apparent in two ways: in comparison with Pearl and in comparison with other societies. Pearl is an individual that was raised in a certain isolation from the Puritan society; for this reason, her actions and comportment is viewed as “imp-ish” and peculiar. Her innocence from the strict Puritan world provides a frame of reference by which the Puritan shame can be viewed. She does not convey the shame towards her mother that rest of the town does, only finding curiosity in the scarlet letter, and acts entirely unabashedly. She becomes the antithesis of the restrained Puritan society that is. Secondly, the relativity of shame becomes apparent when the Puritan society and shame is compared to other societies.
Within the Puritan society detailed in Hawthorne’s novel, Prynne is severely punished for adultery and is forced to face the shame that follows. Likewise, Dimmesdale suffers through a more private shame, but nonetheless feels the fullest brunt of the forces of guilt, causing real harm to his mental and physical health. This shame over their shared crime of adultery only carries such a weight in the society they live in, and thus their experiences of shame are specific to this society. Furthermore, the Puritan society creates this shame, and tailors it to fit every individual it is inflicted upon. This is apparent in two ways: in comparison with Pearl and in comparison with other societies. Pearl is an individual that was raised in a certain isolation from the Puritan society; for this reason, her actions and comportment is viewed as “imp-ish” and peculiar. Her innocence from the strict Puritan world provides a frame of reference by which the Puritan shame can be viewed. She does not convey the shame towards her mother that rest of the town does, only finding curiosity in the scarlet letter, and acts entirely unabashedly. She becomes the antithesis of the restrained Puritan society that is. Secondly, the relativity of shame becomes apparent when the Puritan society and shame is compared to other societies.