Hawthorne
American Lit 1
Internally Sinned
Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the leading American novelists and short story writers, used sin as a recurring theme in his works. Merriam Webster defines sin as an offense against religious or moral law. Hawthorne believed everyone had some type of sin in his or her “soul.” In his works, Hawthorne makes it clear to his readers that a sin is an act of evil but the true definition of a sin is ones response to the sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne is able to exemplify the different effects of sin through his characters and the “secret” sin within them.
Hester Prynne committed adultery, which is a mortal sin in the Puritan community. The only reason that Hester was not killed for her sin was because she was with child. Therefore, instead of killing her, the Puritan community forces her into a life where she is ostracized and shunned. While Hester accepts her sin and accepts the consequence for her actions, it is not clear whether she believes she has actually committed a sin. In a conversation with Dimmesdale about their affair, Hester says, “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other. Hast thou forgotten it?” (Hawthorne, Chapter 17) Hester may have accepted the punishment for a sin she does not believe she fully committed but she does suffer from a greater sin, guilt. Hester’s secret sin or the sin in her soul as Hawthorne would describe it, is the sin of guilt. Hester may be able to handle the ramifications from her actions but her daughter is suffering as well. “Day after day, she looked fearfully into the child’s expanding nature, ever dreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity that should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being.” (Hawthorne, Chapter 6) Hester feels guilty that she brought Pearl into a world where she will be judged and punished because of her mothers’ sin.
Margarita Georgieva stated that when it comes to sin, people
Internally Sinned
Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the leading American novelists and short story writers, used sin as a recurring theme in his works. Merriam Webster defines sin as an offense against religious or moral law. Hawthorne believed everyone had some type of sin in his or her “soul.” In his works, Hawthorne makes it clear to his readers that a sin is an act of evil but the true definition of a sin is ones response to the sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne is able to exemplify the different effects of sin through his characters and the “secret” sin within them.
Hester Prynne committed adultery, which is a mortal sin in the Puritan community. The only reason that Hester was not killed for her sin was because she was with child. Therefore, instead of killing her, the Puritan community forces her into a life where she is ostracized and shunned. While Hester accepts her sin and accepts the consequence for her actions, it is not clear whether she believes she has actually committed a sin. In a conversation with Dimmesdale about their affair, Hester says, “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other. Hast thou forgotten it?” (Hawthorne, Chapter 17) Hester may have accepted the punishment for a sin she does not believe she fully committed but she does suffer from a greater sin, guilt. Hester’s secret sin or the sin in her soul as Hawthorne would describe it, is the sin of guilt. Hester may be able to handle the ramifications from her actions but her daughter is suffering as well. “Day after day, she looked fearfully into the child’s expanding nature, ever dreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity that should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being.” (Hawthorne, Chapter 6) Hester feels guilty that she brought Pearl into a world where she will be judged and punished because of her mothers’ sin.
Margarita Georgieva stated that when it comes to sin, people