Theme Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne chose such a controversial topic as adultery for The Scarlet Letter, his nineteenth century novel of "seventeenth century sexual repression and hypocrisy", demonstrates a delicate yet changing climate with regard to infidelity. Historically, carrying on an adulterous affair back in such an era of Puritanism and traditional values was not taken lightly; in fact, by today's standards, such horrific treatment for what is now considered an everyday occurrence was harsher than murders suffer by current standards. Those who acted out of the vows of matrimony centuries ago, as Hester Prynne did in The Scarlet Letter, paid a high price for their momentary pleasures of the flesh. In those days, the Puritans saw to it that such …show more content…
But the punishment is extraordinarily lenient in comparison to the Biblical and legal punishments that were available at the time. A more charitable reading of the Bible would come later in reflections on the New Testament interpretation of adultery law, namely, that the public need not step in to punish a crime when we ourselves have our own sins to be judged. Each person suffers enough already for his or her own sins. More so in our society, it is so taboo, when you consider the historical context of marriage, isn’t being shocked by adultery a bit of an overreaction? Of course, no one can deny that when you lie and do something behind another person’s back, you are doing something wrong. You’re breaking an agreement, and that lacks …show more content…
the woods, In the town, Hester usually is confronted with the legal and moral consequences of her crime. Governor Bellingham comes to take her child away, Chillingworth reminds her of her deed, and she faces Dimmesdale in the context of sinner (his reputation remains untarnished despite his role in the affair). But whenever Hester leaves the town and enters the woods, she is free to rediscover herself. The woods also traditionally expresses darkness. In the darkness of night, Hester is free to meet Dimmesdale, to confess her misgivings, and to live apart from the torment and burdens of the guilt enforced by the community. Dimmesdale is also free at night to expose his guilt on the scaffold and reconcile with Hester. “She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest" (18.2). In other words, Hester is cast out of the rules and order of the town, forced to live in a metaphorical forest: a wilderness of shadowy right and wrong. In this modern era, People justify their affairs by saying "it's for the good of the marriage," or "it will make our marriage stronger." In other words, I may be hurting my spouse now, but in the long run, we'll both be happier. However, back in the puritan era, adultery was seen as social suicide. Puritanism, in its rigidity and demand for conformity punishes not merely the crime, but the will and spirit of the transgressor as it reclaims this member of its