P5+CPedroza

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Hawthorne used a recurring motif, in the Scarlet Letter, to explore the nation’s national identity concerning religion. This cycle was that of transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance.

In the novel, both Hester and Dimmsdale sinned. This was their transgression, when they both broke apart from the community. Hester was a married woman that had an affair with a minister, Dimmsdale. This broke them away from society. For Hester the brake was public while for Dimmsdale it was private. “let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will always be in her heart,”(49). In the novel her adultery was seen as a highly broken law. In Hawthorne’s time the church and state were separated but even a simple mistake in the community you could be a harsh blow to the individual.

The next step in the cycle is was shame. Hester was shamed when it became public knowledge. As she stood on the scaffold in front of everyone the magnitude of her adultery hit her and she felt shame. “ In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another…..and a glance that would abash looked…her neighbors(50).” Her shame was seen by all, as the scarlet A and her child. Dimmesdale on the one hand felt ashamed that he was letting her face it all on her own. That he wasn’t up there with her. In Hawthorne’s time the community was deeply involved in each others lives. One simple mistake would bring forth the wrath of all.

The next step was repentance for Hester. She worked her way back into society by doing good deeds. She didn’t run away but instead stayed to live off the sentence. She worked with her needle to benefit others. She was living her sentence without complain. In the 1850’s people would be better serving their sentence than running off. The same people would have to do deeds to gain their place in the community.

The next step in the cycle he wove was acceptance. After all her years of hard work Hester gained her acceptance back into the community. “..the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became…looked upon with awe and reverence(234).” The letter was no longer looked at with contempt. It was a sign of wisdom and a beam of light to others. It showed that Hawthorne believed one can win back their role in society with work. It’s possible yet hard to shed the shackles of her their sin.

Hawthorne’s cycle of transgression, shame, repentance, and acceptance reflected his society. Communities involved themselves in each other’s lives. Everything was everyone else’s business. There was no privacy for people. There were strict laws communities went by.