The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter

This novel is a piece of work that's based upon adultery. It explores the effects of sin based on social beliefs. The community discovers Hester Prynne's sin and forces her to stand humiliated in front of the townspeople. She is to stand upon the scaffolding for three hours and wear a stitched scarlet letter upon her clothes for a lifetime. Soon the reader can assume that the baby, Pearl, is not the daughter of her husband who of knowledge still resides in Europe. Hester accepts her sin and patiently awaits her sentence to be over. She realizes that the sin has always been within her emotions.

When her husband arrives in the town, he pretends to be a common man with the name of Roger Chillingworth. He asks around about the woman's crime and a townsperson explains that his wife had an affair and a child by that man, however, she refuses to mention the father's name. Hester believes that no one will need to know the name of the child that the baby will find a heavenly father. She says this in front of the town to the judge is inevitably is the father of Pearl.

Arthur Dimmesdale is a minister and one of the judges of Hester's crime. In secret he pleads to other judges to spare her punishment into revealing her heart's lover. He's a confusing and slightly sinister man in depth, ultimately, he tells Hester she must reveal her lover's identity to save his soul. Chillingworth appears now as a very twisted man out for revenge. He says that he couldn't have ever been a good enough husband to keep Hester a happy woman anyway. He projects that his belief is now that he is corrupted for all future human contact. Chillingworth uses his knowledge to make every thing bigger in the minds of the townspeople than a simple human mistake. He uses his knowledge to seek revenge upon the companion adulterer in the story. In the end Dimmesdale never really has the affects he should have from Chillingworth's intended revenge.

The conclusion of the story leads to the confession of Dimmesdale's, he confesses his sin after a sermon on honesty.

Unfortunately, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale both pass away, but Hester and Pearl are able to disappear with the inheritance money for Pearl. This chilling story shows a remarkable truth even in society today, if not based on large scale accounts. Things like this happen on shorter levels of reality daily. The fact is the people of this story found ways to deal with the situation and made truth a grand thing in their hearts.

Interview with Hester:

In the very beginning of the story it talks of you standing upon the scaffolding holding the child, what feelings did you have exactly? Where you aware of all of the townspeople in that moment in time?

-At that moment in time I was being shunned by all of the townspeople, and I had to wear that letter upon my chest; even then I staring at my small child I still felt at peace with myself.

Hester, what are your major thoughts on puritan beliefs?

-There was a time in my life when I agreed with them, but then I saw that the beliefs