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The Puritan society that formed in the years immediately following the British colonization of America set a precedent that would evolve into a new nation’s national identity. Such a theme is evident in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” which depicts the trials the trials and tribulations of such a community as an allegory of the nation’s struggle to “find” itself. Particularly in regards to religion as seen in the novel, the ongoing cycle of transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance which the protagonists face is a representation of the system by which the new nation was defining itself. The pushing of religious boundaries through transgression and the final acceptance of such sins in “The Scarlet Letter” is an allegorical reference to Americans’ pushing of established norms to gradually evolve a unique national identity.

The primary religious transgression that occurs in the novel is the sin of adultery committed by Hester and Dimmesdale. Through the action both participants mentally transgress from society, though only Hester visibly does so through the scarlet “A.” The sin, because it is unaccepted by the religious community, warrants a shunning ot the accused. Thus, initial transgression of the accepted norms of society brings about a detachment, the components of which, when reattached, will be accompanied by slight alterations in religious structure (a “scar”).This is the first step of the gradual evolution of a national identity.

Shame and repentance are naturally the next two elements of the cycle which our protagonists face and which incidentally is shaping a developing America. While Hester’s uprightness and rigidity of character mask her shame somewhat, it is at the very least apparent in Dimmesdale that he experiences intense regret of the sin. This matches the Puritan society’s existing expectations precisely, as such is the will of an enforcer. The repentance which ensues, shown explicitly by Hester and Dimmesdale, evokes wuite the same reaction from the colonial society. With committers and accusers matching one another’s expectations, the final stage of the cycle, acceptance, is ripe to begin.

Hester’s acceptance back into the Puritan community brings with it her transgressions. As such transgressions fuse into society through this endlessly repeating cycle, a unique religious and ultimately national identity arises. It is from this repeating process that the unaccepted becomes the acceptable and greater freedoms take shape. Hester’s re-entry into society is quickly followed by her becoming a “town advisor” of sorts who lends her fellow community members aids in times of hardship; she has experienced such trauma herself. This is an additional allegory that eventual acceptance after transgression combines elements in society to form a new identity.

Clearly, the ongoing cycle of transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance illuminated by Hester and Dimmesdale in “The Scarlet Letter” is actually a representation of the evolving religious identity of the developing American nation. Through a “recycling” of transgressions they eventually become (in equal or lesser form) a part of the norms of an ever-changing society. As such, it is apparent that “The Scarlet Letter,” through the aforementioned cycle which pervades throughout, is an allegory of the movement through which America took religious shape.