Guilt in the Scarlet Letter and the Crucible
Scarlet Letter/Crucible Essay
The presence of guilt has been felt by all human beings. As guilt grows in a
person's life it eventually begins to have a deteriorating effect on the individual. In both
The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible more than one of the characters are experiencing
some form of guilt and the effects of the public's opinion on their own personal sins.
Each character's guilt originates from a different personal problem and with each
character's guilt comes a different reaction. Miller and Hawthorne use the source of
guilt, the actions resulting from it and the eventual consequences to portray the
concept of a guilty conscience to the reader.
Each character's guilt originates from a different source. Through different
characters, Hawthorne and Miller display guilt and it's source to the reader. In both The
Scarlet Letter and The Crucible the use of relationships between a man and a woman are
used as a primary source of guilt. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale and Hester, and Miller
uses Proctor and Elizabeth. The men in both cases are experiencing guilt involving
mistakes made sexually. Dimmesdale, who is a highly respected priest has a sinful
relationship with a married woman, and Proctor, a married man, falls for a young girl and
commits adultery. With Dimmesdale, his guilt stems from the concealment of his sin. He
watches Hester as she confesses and for seven years he agonizes over it, while he still
remains innocent in the eyes of all. However with Proctor, he confesses to his wife right
away. In an argument with his wife he says, "' I should have roared you down when you
first told me of your suspicion. But I wilted, and like a Christian, I confessed!"'(55). The
guilt that Proctor feels comes, not from a secret that he is keeping, but from "'The
magistrate that sits in his heart"'(55), as Elizabeth puts it. With the women in these
relationships, their guilt
The presence of guilt has been felt by all human beings. As guilt grows in a
person's life it eventually begins to have a deteriorating effect on the individual. In both
The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible more than one of the characters are experiencing
some form of guilt and the effects of the public's opinion on their own personal sins.
Each character's guilt originates from a different personal problem and with each
character's guilt comes a different reaction. Miller and Hawthorne use the source of
guilt, the actions resulting from it and the eventual consequences to portray the
concept of a guilty conscience to the reader.
Each character's guilt originates from a different source. Through different
characters, Hawthorne and Miller display guilt and it's source to the reader. In both The
Scarlet Letter and The Crucible the use of relationships between a man and a woman are
used as a primary source of guilt. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale and Hester, and Miller
uses Proctor and Elizabeth. The men in both cases are experiencing guilt involving
mistakes made sexually. Dimmesdale, who is a highly respected priest has a sinful
relationship with a married woman, and Proctor, a married man, falls for a young girl and
commits adultery. With Dimmesdale, his guilt stems from the concealment of his sin. He
watches Hester as she confesses and for seven years he agonizes over it, while he still
remains innocent in the eyes of all. However with Proctor, he confesses to his wife right
away. In an argument with his wife he says, "' I should have roared you down when you
first told me of your suspicion. But I wilted, and like a Christian, I confessed!"'(55). The
guilt that Proctor feels comes, not from a secret that he is keeping, but from "'The
magistrate that sits in his heart"'(55), as Elizabeth puts it. With the women in these
relationships, their guilt