Cruelty In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
The Nature of Cruelty: Hawthorne’s Harsh Lesson
During the late 16th century, the Puritans migrated to the New World to purge themselves of crime and sin. They condemned those who did not adhere to their strict beliefs, acting with hostility towards the forbidden acts of drunkenness, blasphemy, and adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the church enacts harsh sentences of incarceration and public shaming in order to discipline the presumed sinners. Even though these punishments seek to inflict harm and cause suffering to their victims, Hawthorne uses their cruelty to elicit the truth.
Presenting a major symbol of Puritan punishment, Hawthorne employs the harshness of the scarlet letter to allow Hester to discover her own strength and beauty. Under …show more content…
Hawthorne’s imposition of self-torment and interior suffering unveil the guilt and sorrow that result from an attempted secrecy of hidden truths. Distressed by his agony, he “typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but he could not purify, himself” (Hawthorne 132). Although declaring Hester’s prowess, the punishment seeks to further uncover Dimmesdale’s own concealed attributes. When compared to the external inflictions upon Hester, which declared her prowess, his self-discipline only results in the further corruption of his character. His sin becomes more apparent when the scourging, fasts, and extended vigils begin deteriorating his physical condition. The soul-searching cannot purify him because they only further reveal his wrongdoing to the public. He cannot“wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (Hawthorne 194). Since Dimmesdale serves as a minister for his community, his congregation praises his sermons and desire to preach against sin. Although outwardly a noble, religious leader, he conceals “the face” of his internal suffering from the cruelty of sin. Depicting the minister’s own hypocrisy, Hawthorne challenges whether both sides of his character can remain true. As much as Dimmesdale strives to hide his veracious interior, no longer can he present himself as the respectable, Puritan man in the community. In reality, he only exemplifies a sinner who weakened under
During the late 16th century, the Puritans migrated to the New World to purge themselves of crime and sin. They condemned those who did not adhere to their strict beliefs, acting with hostility towards the forbidden acts of drunkenness, blasphemy, and adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the church enacts harsh sentences of incarceration and public shaming in order to discipline the presumed sinners. Even though these punishments seek to inflict harm and cause suffering to their victims, Hawthorne uses their cruelty to elicit the truth.
Presenting a major symbol of Puritan punishment, Hawthorne employs the harshness of the scarlet letter to allow Hester to discover her own strength and beauty. Under …show more content…
Hawthorne’s imposition of self-torment and interior suffering unveil the guilt and sorrow that result from an attempted secrecy of hidden truths. Distressed by his agony, he “typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but he could not purify, himself” (Hawthorne 132). Although declaring Hester’s prowess, the punishment seeks to further uncover Dimmesdale’s own concealed attributes. When compared to the external inflictions upon Hester, which declared her prowess, his self-discipline only results in the further corruption of his character. His sin becomes more apparent when the scourging, fasts, and extended vigils begin deteriorating his physical condition. The soul-searching cannot purify him because they only further reveal his wrongdoing to the public. He cannot“wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (Hawthorne 194). Since Dimmesdale serves as a minister for his community, his congregation praises his sermons and desire to preach against sin. Although outwardly a noble, religious leader, he conceals “the face” of his internal suffering from the cruelty of sin. Depicting the minister’s own hypocrisy, Hawthorne challenges whether both sides of his character can remain true. As much as Dimmesdale strives to hide his veracious interior, no longer can he present himself as the respectable, Puritan man in the community. In reality, he only exemplifies a sinner who weakened under