In each person’s life, they will be given an identity. It can be as simple as one’s relation to others, one’s profession, or things you are involved in, and every day individuals are given identities from society. Social identities cause prejudice, exclusion, and stereotypes. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, identity plays a major role in defining the characters of the novel. Pearl, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale are among the characters that struggle with their socially given identity; each character responds differently to each identity, and their response guides their actions throughout the novel. In the novel, Pearl is an outcast because of her relation to Hester. Pearl has no friends, and therefore makes
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Such helpfulness was found in her – so much power to do, and power to sympathize, that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification They said that it meant able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (127).
Hester was able to change her social identity from a weak woman who gave into her temptations of sexual desires to a strong, independent, capable woman. She took the burden that came with her social identity and turned it into something positive. In contrast to the negative identities of Pearl and Hester, the Puritanical people labeled Arthur Dimmesdale equivalent to an angel. Due to his overactive conscience, he feels anguish and guilt because Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin. Therefore, he becomes an eloquent and powerful preacher, and this causes the townspeople to love him more. His congregations see his speeches as a metaphor instead of confessions of personal sin. This drives Dimmesdale to find a source of repentance through self-punishment. His spiritual and physical conditions begin to deteriorate; he was often seen gripping his chest in pain. Eventually the guilt and anguish he felt caused him to confess his …show more content…
– behold me here, the one sinner of the world!’ (197).
Dimmesdale let the burden of his sin and his social expectations weigh him down until he eventually confessed his sin. He was in so much anguish and pain that after his confession he died on the scaffold. Because he held himself to a higher moral standard than everyone else, he was very judgmental of himself, and that eventually killed him. In summation, the identities that society determined for Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale were a great burden, and it shaped their decisions and course of their lives. Pearl’s and Hester’s negative societal image cause them to reinforce their character, and Dimmesdale’s positive societal image causes him to dwindle. Hester and Pearl were able to change the image that society gives them into a positive one, whereas Dimmesdale crumbles under social expectations. Overall, one can take the image that society gives them and turn it into a good one, or crumble under social
Such helpfulness was found in her – so much power to do, and power to sympathize, that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification They said that it meant able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (127).
Hester was able to change her social identity from a weak woman who gave into her temptations of sexual desires to a strong, independent, capable woman. She took the burden that came with her social identity and turned it into something positive. In contrast to the negative identities of Pearl and Hester, the Puritanical people labeled Arthur Dimmesdale equivalent to an angel. Due to his overactive conscience, he feels anguish and guilt because Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin. Therefore, he becomes an eloquent and powerful preacher, and this causes the townspeople to love him more. His congregations see his speeches as a metaphor instead of confessions of personal sin. This drives Dimmesdale to find a source of repentance through self-punishment. His spiritual and physical conditions begin to deteriorate; he was often seen gripping his chest in pain. Eventually the guilt and anguish he felt caused him to confess his …show more content…
– behold me here, the one sinner of the world!’ (197).
Dimmesdale let the burden of his sin and his social expectations weigh him down until he eventually confessed his sin. He was in so much anguish and pain that after his confession he died on the scaffold. Because he held himself to a higher moral standard than everyone else, he was very judgmental of himself, and that eventually killed him. In summation, the identities that society determined for Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale were a great burden, and it shaped their decisions and course of their lives. Pearl’s and Hester’s negative societal image cause them to reinforce their character, and Dimmesdale’s positive societal image causes him to dwindle. Hester and Pearl were able to change the image that society gives them into a positive one, whereas Dimmesdale crumbles under social expectations. Overall, one can take the image that society gives them and turn it into a good one, or crumble under social