P5+JTasedan

Our Place in society stems on our own personal individualism especially in the. In the novel by Nathan Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, the three characters: Hester Dimesdale, and Chillingworth find their own sense of individualism in their Puritan society through the cycle of transgression, shame, repentance and acceptance. The cycle of these individual characters represent the same cycle in our nation’s national identity.

Hester, the main character and supposed heroine of the story commits the mortal sin of adultery. In her society, this is a punishable crime and she is sentenced with the scarlet letter on her clothes, forever. The people of her colony see her as a criminal and quickly turn away, hence, causing transgression. “‘Mother’, said little Pearl, ‘the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom…It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!’” (p. 127) This quote is said by Hester’s daughter, pearl, amplifies her punishment. Not only does the child realize her mothers is a sinner, but Pearl sees that she will one day sin as well and possibly have a letter on her too. This meaning that sin is inevitable. With this said, Hester is brought shame to herself and realizes it. Her repentance is to commit herself to her community, carrying good deeds and symbolically apologizing for her mistake. Then, and only then was she accepted by her society, As a nation, we feel we must live up to our morals and if we mess up in a knotty situation, the most effective way to get out of shame and transgression is to show you’re a good person once again and all is forgiven.

While Hester was dealing with her sin, Dimesdale, the town’s preacher was too weak to admit he was Hester’s adulterous lover. He kept his feeling and emotions bottled up from the town because he was a rolemodel for many of the people there. He held himself in such high esteem in the outlook of society, but he neglected himself the worst physiologically and for that, he shames himself to God and his phyche. Infact, he became so weak from his personal shame that he wish to escapes it all. “‘Mother,’ said Pearl, ‘Was that the same minister that kissed my by the brook?’ ‘Hold thy peace, dear little Pearl!’ whispered her mother. ‘We must not always talk in the market place of what happens to us in the forest.’” Dimesdale is the minister that kissed his child in the brook, because their plan was to leave the town by water so that they will no longer be beaten up by their shame. However, they fail at their plan and Dimesdale finally realizes that he too must admit his part in the adultery. In most nations, people will push their limits of how much they can stand until they give in. Dimesdale represents that national identity.

Chillingworth represents a most interesting individual in this book. He is the husband of Hester who does not seek revenge on his wife, she is already punished. He takes it upon himself to punish the other adulterer who was not moral enough to admit his crime. He saw that Hester could not escape her punishment, especially with the physical evidence of Pearl and the Scarlet Letter. “Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But…the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the worlds scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence too.” (p. 252)