Salvation And Redemption In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Achieving salvation is not as easy as A, B, C or 1, 2, 3, as it requires a lot of tenacity, courage, and a genuine desire for redemption. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel explores the two different outcomes of sin—salvation and demise. In The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth copes with a revenge that devours, Arthur Dimmesdale deals with an all-consuming guilt, and Hester struggles with the negative effects of isolation and solitude. One would think that these characters daily circumstances would steer them towards their ultimate demise; however, The Scarlet Letter shows that even the most abhorrent sinners have the capabilities to receive salvation if they concede to the arduous work one required to reverse their initial fate of demise. Arthur Dimmesdale’s transpiring sins, overwhelming guilt, and consciousness of hypocrisy led to his confession of sins that instigated his salvation and redemption. While Dimmesdale does …show more content…
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale were both ashamed of their sin and tried their hardest to compensate for their wrongdoings, as Hester disregarded her shunning by serving in her community by means of aiding the poor in their everyday lives. Arthur Dimmesdale, while he did hide his sins, he eventually owned up to his sins with the utmost sincerity by publicly repenting in hopes of finding forgiveness and redemption. Whereas, Roger basks in his revenge and never seeks repentance. Consequently, those who don’t yearn for salvation will not receive salvation and will face only demise. Therefore, the two outcomes of sin, salvation and demise, portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne depict salvation as something that has to be achieved and demise is simply the compliance of