Puritan Influence On Society

In the history of America, religion has always had huge impacts on society, especially during the beginning of the nation, where religious freedom was something to be promised in the new colonies. During this time, the number of Puritans grew in the colony of Massachusetts, starting to use politics and social standards heavily based on their religious beliefs. Nathaniel Hawthorne captured their society in his book, The Scarlet Letter, which is considered a literary classic, through showing the life of an outcast of the culture based on the severity of her sins. The story portrays the influence of Puritan’s religion and politics on the culture of their world, and affected the mentality and ideology of the characters. During the Reformation …show more content…
Its scene is a seventeenth century Boston settlement, a community of Puritans, with the conflict surrounding the main character, Hester Prynne, and her daughter, Pearl, who was the result of her mother’s adultery. Hawthorne shows the opinions of the citizens in the settlement towards Hester almost immediately, as they argue the punishment for the severity of her crimes. The goodwives gossip amongst themselves in the second chapter that her punishment was far too light of a sentence. One argues, “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead,” (Hawthorne, 49) while another states, “This woman has brought shame upon us, and ought to die” (Hawthorne, 49). Both statements show the lack of empathy towards Hester, as she is a sinner, and obviously is already damned to hell in their eyes. Even after her release from jail, when she can live her life in the town once more with the letter “A” sewn into her clothes, marking her of her sins, it is hardly the worst of it as she becomes an outcast from the community. This is an example of the values in their society and shows their opposition to the sinful and how they treat those who do not follow the ways of their …show more content…
Since the colonies, America has often been a base for religious freedom, but at the time, the ruling was still left up to religion, as there was hardly difference between church and state. The Puritan settlements were no different, and it shows how even disagreeing with the beliefs were not tolerated by those in power. The society made no difference between law and faith, and the culture was based heavily on the Puritan lifestyle, so treatment was often unfair and cruelly biased by the beliefs, and Hawthorne did an excellent job showing that through the eyes of Hester Prynne and her