Human Inclination To Love In The Scarlet Letter
The Human Inclination to Love
In writing The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne was immersed in the era of transcendentalism and romanticism that so greatly influenced his work. Defining the movement was the concept that humans are inherently good in their nature and if they are left to their own devices ultimately they will do that good uncorrupted (Chase 109). Within The Scarlet Letter, this is brought to full awareness through the nature of Puritan society in the early English colony of Boston, Massachusetts. As a civilized, religious, and refined community this setting was foiled by the neighboring and unexplored North American wilderness, in which the untouched and uncivilized human nature lurked amidst the shadows by society’s …show more content…
It becomes a sanctuary compared to Dimmesdale’s struggle between good and evil in his decision whether to confess his hidden sin or not. The Puritan community in which Dimmesdale ministered served only as a place of his anguish and evil within for him, while the wilderness served to be a safe haven and place of goodness for the sake of his sanity. It also served for the ignition of his more emotional relationship with Hester. Therefore the integrity of Dimmesdale’s heart comes to be the developing factor to his character. As minister of Boston, Dimmesdale held the identity of the community; he was the epitome of holiness. All parishioners of the community looked to him to be the carrier of people’s sins and sufferings. However, unlike Hester who had openly the “A” on her chest allowing open repentance, Dimmesdale had no outlet for his evils enclosed in his inner heart while trapped by Puritan society and he was wearily clouded with guilt. He stood on no scaffold because he lacked the courage to confess he had trespassed against the sanctity of his position and his community. This when shed real light upon reveals that the setting itself caused Dimmesdale to betray his own heart and state of mind rather than anything
In writing The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne was immersed in the era of transcendentalism and romanticism that so greatly influenced his work. Defining the movement was the concept that humans are inherently good in their nature and if they are left to their own devices ultimately they will do that good uncorrupted (Chase 109). Within The Scarlet Letter, this is brought to full awareness through the nature of Puritan society in the early English colony of Boston, Massachusetts. As a civilized, religious, and refined community this setting was foiled by the neighboring and unexplored North American wilderness, in which the untouched and uncivilized human nature lurked amidst the shadows by society’s …show more content…
It becomes a sanctuary compared to Dimmesdale’s struggle between good and evil in his decision whether to confess his hidden sin or not. The Puritan community in which Dimmesdale ministered served only as a place of his anguish and evil within for him, while the wilderness served to be a safe haven and place of goodness for the sake of his sanity. It also served for the ignition of his more emotional relationship with Hester. Therefore the integrity of Dimmesdale’s heart comes to be the developing factor to his character. As minister of Boston, Dimmesdale held the identity of the community; he was the epitome of holiness. All parishioners of the community looked to him to be the carrier of people’s sins and sufferings. However, unlike Hester who had openly the “A” on her chest allowing open repentance, Dimmesdale had no outlet for his evils enclosed in his inner heart while trapped by Puritan society and he was wearily clouded with guilt. He stood on no scaffold because he lacked the courage to confess he had trespassed against the sanctity of his position and his community. This when shed real light upon reveals that the setting itself caused Dimmesdale to betray his own heart and state of mind rather than anything