The Ignominy Of Guilt In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a classic work of American literature that speaks to social injustice and the guilt of the human conscience. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, the protagonists of the novel, feel the weight of this guilt after they partake in the act of adultery. Each member of the estranged couple experience the ignominy of their sin in different ways. After giving birth to her illegitimate child, Hester Prynne is publicly condemned for her crime of passion by being made to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her bosom to mark her as an adulterer. Hester compares her pain to having her heart ripped out and trampled on by the towns people. Yet, she stays in Boston and faces her punishment and chagrin head on and is all the better for it. Although she faces years of torment and isolation she is slowly being restored in the towns peoples …show more content…
The Reverend keeps his crime a secret and internalizes his guilt. He is afraid to confess his sin for he is a man of repute in the town and is supposed to be the godliest of them all. He feels responsible for the eternal fates of those in his congregation and fears their reaction. He is fearful in general. His hidden suffering slowly declines his emotional and physical health. He can hardly tell the difference between what is real or a figment of his imagination. He feels such emotional agony in not confessing his sin and accepting his punishment that he cuts his own scarlet letter “A” on his bosom matching that of his former lover Hester Prynne. Since he remains silent he cannot experience forgiveness or repentance. He finally finds solace planing to escape with Hester but as he makes his confession to the town on election day he dies. He is finally able to detangle himself from the web of lies he has strung and have the people behold his sin and suffering for the first time, but the consequences of his long untold sin is ultimately his