Scarlet Letter

Annie Brice once said,“Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be.” In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is revealed to society as somewhat of a ‘hussy’. She is punished because of the sin of adultery. Her adulterer is a highly respected man in society. Reverend Dimmesdale, her adulterer, is not openly punished. When Hester accepts her true self, she finds inner peace. Hester accepts herself and lives with her guilt slowly redeeming herself. Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale must try, in a persistent manor to redeem their sin. In the end, Hester is happier and stronger than ever, while Reverend Dimmesdale, suffers over the course of his secret sin. They devise a plan to run away. Hester and Dimmesdale’s running away from their problem will only make it grow. If people face the penance of sin with persistence and determination, they will likely amount to happiness and growth.

When Hester Prynne learns to accept herself, she gains inner peace. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is a youthful woman, who is accused and punished of adultery. She is thus forced to wear the letter A on her at all times to symbolize her sin. Reverend Dimmesdale is Hester’s adulterer. He hides his sin and has to live with the guilt everyday of his life. He punishes himself secretly, but that is not enough to redeem him. Although the outward sign of sin seems much worse, it is in fact much more painful than suppressing it within ones self. “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Though little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years’ cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am.” (176) The A strengthens Hester’s soul. She grows courage and learns to live with the letter. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, hides the grief, which further destroys him. Hester gives to charity and helps the needy. People then accept her, and even think of the A as a meaning of able. “The letter was a symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, - so much power to do, and power to sympathize, - that many people refused to interpret the Scarlet A by its original signification. They said it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” (148) Hester carried this mark throughout her life. Her penance for adultery lasted long, but paid off in the end.

Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale try to redeem themselves of sin in a lasting manor. Hester’s life is a life of an outcast. She suffers through all her pain, patiently waiting for her life to improve. She works to find redemption in her sin by helping the needy and donating to charity even though she is a poor woman. Hester remains isolated with her daughter, Pearl, for seven years being a woman of piety. However, Dimmesdale tries to secretly confess his sins to his congregation, thinking of alleviation for his sin. “…I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am a utterly a pollution and a lie!” (132) This makes his congregation respect him even more because they cannot bear to think of such a modest man being a sinner.