Puritans In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Puritans in the late 1840s believed that God had only chosen very few people to be saved, and all others are sinners and are not worthy of salvation. It is moreover ironic that the one man viewed as the epitome of puritanical beliefs is actually a sinner, the woman viewed as the epitome of sin is actually a loving and charitable woman, and the man viewed as a godsend to save the church is actually full of malicious intent. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth 's actions create conflict, showing that whether a sin is committed secretly or publicly, it ends up hurting not only the individuals involved, but also others around them.
Hester’s standing on the scaffold creates a rift between her and …show more content…
Since Dimmesdale did not confess to his immorality, he feels extreme guilt for allowing Hester to take the full amount of punishment for the sin that both of them committed which begins to eat away at his very being from the inside out. It is quite apparent to the reader and Pearl, who even says that Hester wears the scarlet letter A “for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart” (Hawthorn 122). It is evident that Dimmesdale is feeling physical pain due to the guilt that he is feeling from allowing Hester to take all of the blame. He is often seen clutching his chest, over where his heart resides. However, the oblivious townspeople believe that the reason he is clutching his chest is because he is overcome by a passion for the liturgy. They think that their pastor is the epitome of a Puritanical citizen and honor him for it. However, he has committed one of the most grievous sins in the Puritanical society and has no one to turn to. His reputation in the town grows and he is torn in two different ways, reveal his affair with Hester and possibly be banished from the town or killed, or keep his sin a secret and allow the guilt to eat him alive. He is living two different lives, the one of a sinner, and the one of the godly pastor. Once the signs of Dimmesdale’s guilt begin to emerge, Roger Chillingworth attached himself to Dimmesdale in order to find out the truth behind the guilt. Desperate to find the truth behind the pastor’s malady, “[Chillingworth] attached himself to [Dimmesdale] as a parishioner, and sought to win a friendly regard and confidence from his naturally reserved sensibility” (Hawthorne 83). Roger Chillingworth attaches himself to Arthur Dimmesdale with malicious intent. Nonetheless, a strong bond is