In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s historical romance Hester Prynne has to wear a scarlet letter of shame on her chest because she committed adultery and had a child named Pearl with Arthur Dimmesdale who was a puritan minister. No one knew that Arthur Dimmesdale was Hester Prynnnes lover due to the fact that they promised each other not to tell anyone of their relationship. When she was required to stand on the scaffold for 3 hours to be humiliated, she spotted her long lost husband Roger Chillingworth in the crowd with an Indian. Her husband Roger Chillingworth was supposed to be lost at sea, he asked why Hester was standing to the scaffold. A person told him that she had committed adultery and Roger Chillingworth said the whoever the father of the child is he should be executed.
In the story Roger Chillingworth repents the worst sin, he sought revenge against Hester’s lover and discovers that Arthur Dimmesdale, a puritan minister, was Hester’s lover. He became Arthur Dimmesdale’s physician and secretly poisons him every day for 7 years until Arthur Dimmesdale died. Roger Chillingworth uses his skill of healing as killing he did not heal Arthur Dimmesdale he tormented him and poisons him instead with herbs. As for revenge, he wanted another human being (Arthur Dimmesdale) to suffer. Chillingworth should not be enraged by Arthur Dimmesdale affair with Hester Prynne because Hester thought that he was lost at sea and had died. So Hester moved on and got a new lover Arthur Dimmesdale.
Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery which is a very serious crime in the puritan culture. The consequence is usually execution. But since her lover is a governor of the little puritan bay colony in Massachusetts he voted against the execution and told Hester to stand on the scaffold for 3 hours instead. Unlike Chillingworth who became a monster because of his sin, Hester adapted and lived a better life than Chillingworth. She discovered that Roger Chillingworth was a devil so Hester did not want to be involved with Roger Chillingworth romantically or socially even though it was the first time she had seen him in a long time.
The sin that Arthur Dimmesdale possesses is a hidden guilt. He never told anyone in the church about his romantic connection with Hester, they secretly had an offspring; Pearl without anyone in the colony knowing. He was a priest and priests have to be honest so if anyone finds out he would be in deep trouble. But in the end, Arthur Dimmesdale faced the truth and chooses the most worthy punishment, death for himself. Because of being honest he proved that he was a good man and scored heaven instead of hell.
Lastly, Pearl Prynne, who symbolizes adultery, truth, and hope. For example, she was born at the bottom of society and everyone thought that she was hopeless but Pearl somehow dragged herself into the upper-upper class since she was the richest person in the new world at that time. Pearl inherited all of Arthur Dimmesdale’s property and wealth. Later on she inherited all of Roger Chillingworth’s property and wealth. She is also married to a nobleman and with all their wealth they quickly became the richest family in the new world (the Americas) This sparked hope for those who were born in the lower class since at that time it seemed impossible to move from the class that you were born in.
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