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In the novel, “The Scarlett Letter,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, religion plays a vital role in establishing the national identity of the nation. Religion was connected to the government and state laws at the time. One way that Hawthorne established the national identity of the nation was by creating a cycle that kept on repeating itself all throughout the novel. The cycle consisted of: transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance. As you will see in the following paragraphs, the cycle brought out the national identity of the nation in a way that it relied on the concepts of religion.

First of all, the nation at the time knew what was right, and what was wrong based on religious beliefs. In the novel, Hester Prynne was accused of committing adultery, which was really bad at the time. Transgression is seen in the novel by showing how people can judge others by what they did. “Good wives,” said a hard featured dame of fifty, “I’ll tell ye a peace of mind. It would be greatly for the public be hour, if we women, being of mature age and church members in good repute, should have the handling of such mate factresses as this Hester Prynne.”(49) Society knew what Hester did wrong. They knew that what she did was not tolerated due to their religious beliefs. The nation at the time thought that they were going to control their lives by religion.

Shame explores the national identity of the nation in a way that it shows how religion can bring on shame. Due to religious beliefs, Hester Prynne was forced to wear an, which stood for adultery. “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A.”(51) Once again, the concept of shame is brought on due to religion. Since society knew that she committed a sin, they made Hester wear the letter A as a kind of punishment.

Repentance expresses the nation’s national identity in a way that it showed how people can feel bad about what they did. For example, Chillingworth felt bad for engaging in a relationship with Hester. “Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relationship with my decay.”(72) Chillingworth knew that what he did was wrong. At the time, it was alright to marry at a very young age. One can establish the national identity of the nation by viewing the repentance that people shared towards themselves.

Last but not least, acceptance was used to show that no matter what was done, religion also forgave or accepted those who have committed any wrongdoing. For example, Hester is accepted back into society. The reason why she was accepted back into society was because she had suffered a lot. “The past is gone! Wherefore should we linger upon it now? See! With this symbol I undo it all and make it as it had never been.”(198) At the time, people were isolated from society once they committed a crime, sin, etc. They slowly won their way back into society.

In conclusion, religion shows the nation’s national identity due to the fact that transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance show up many times in a continuous chain. They all create a sense of a nation under religion. Hawthorne’s use of the cycle brings out a strong message to the reader. To sum it all up, without the cycle, one cannot establish a nation’s national identity that is based on religion.