Freest Character in the Scarlet Letter

In the novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne makes Hester the most “free” character by showcasing her transformation from ostracized sinner to an able woman of her letter in order to display the idea that repressed sin destroys the soul while openness and honesty sets a soul free. Hester was not burdened with the internal guilt that consumed her “fellow sinner”, Arthur Dimmesdale, because she had to wear her sin openly on her chest, forcing her to confront her sin and the stigma that comes along with it. By confronting her sin, she was able to accept what she had done and be freed from the guilt that comes with secrecy and represented sin. Her freedom allowed her to be the least internally burdened of the main characters. Roger Chillingworth was a vengeful, obsessive man and was therefore burdened everyday by thoughts of his revenge on Dimmesdale. Pearl was too young to fully understand what was happening and was confined and controlled by society and her mother, and therefore, did not have the most freedom. Arthur Dimmesdale was suffering from illness caused by the internal burden of guilt that he had felt, so he was not the most free character. Hester received shame and punishment from society for her sin, but put very little guilt and sin on her own self, saving her from her guilt and pain other characters felt.

Hester was forced to confess her sin to the world, unlike her counterpart Dimmesdale. She was forced to be truthful and accept the punishment and stigma; “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (chapter 5, page 54), This quote demonstrates how the Puritan Community placed all of the blame and burden of the sin of adultery on Hester. She was forced to accept all of the shame that