Puritanism in the Scarlet Letter Essay Example

“The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a well known American novel. The story delves into a Puritan society where a woman named Hester lives. The story starts off with her getting convicted of adultery and punished by wearing a token of her sin on her chest. She must wear a scarlet “A” so she experiences embarrassment wherever she goes. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, had deep bonds with his Puritan ancestry and wrote this story to display its weaknesses and strengths. Puritanism was a religious movement that began in England in the late 1500s. The Puritans goal was removing any remaining links to Catholicism within the Church of England after its departure from the Catholic Church. To do this, Puritans sought to change the structure and ceremonies of the church. Puritan law was extremely strict. Men and women were badly punished for a variety of crimes. Even a child could be put to death for cursing his parents. In Nathanial Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter,'' the author uses many examples of Puritanism to show how the rules affected the way people viewed each other and themselves while throughout the novel, strong examples of hypocrisy among the characters and townspeople arise.

Hawthorne does an amazing job at representing the Puritan society in “The Scarlet Letter.” He shows the readers how it affected the characters such as Dimmesdale and Hester and how they further viewed themselves after she was convicted. In chapter 13, Hawthorne describes how Hester’s mood has changed “from passion and feeling, to thought”(Hawthorne, #158). Hester realizes that she has gone from a life of passion and feeling to one where she quietly thought to herself. She now viewed herself as alone especially when it comes to raising Pearl since she doesn't have the society to lean on for help. While Hester was struggling, Dimmesdale “above all things else, loathed his miserable self”(Hawthorne, #174). He battles with himself since he carries guilt with him everywhere he goes. He feels torn between sharing his sin with the community and being looked down upon or continuing to be the Minister even though it means he must keep this secret. The author depicts how guilt lingers throughout Dimmesdale in the duration of the novel until he finally confesses his sin towards the end of the book. At the beginning of the book, Hawthorne gives background about Dimmesdale and describes him “as of a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence.” (Hawthorne, #75). Dimmesdale feels like he can’t handle hard situations. This foreshadows for when he can’t decide to tell the truth or hide his sin and continue to feel ashamed of himself. 

The Puritan society in “The Scarlet Letter” is very judgemental when it comes to how they view each other. When Hester Prynne first receives the letter she must wear as punishment, all the townspeople change their perception of her. The community, “who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time—was that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom”(Hawthorne, #60).  Before this, they had viewed her as just another generous and caring person, but now they turn her away. Hawthorne shows how much power this punishment has over them and overall how controlled they are by the society. Later in Chapter 6, when Pearl is around, everyones sees her as a token of Hester’s punishment. Since the townspeople “had got a vague idea of something outlandish, unearthly, or at variance with ordinary fashions, in the mother and child; and therefore scorned them in their hearts, and not unfrequently reviled them with their tongues”(Hawthorne, #110). The Puritans view Hester and Pearl to be “unearthly”(Hawthorne, #110) and this quote depicts how they are influenced by the Puritan society to push them out of the community. Hawthorne himself explains the Puritans as the “most intolerant brood that ever lived”(Hawthorne, #110). He shows how judgemental they are of the mother and daughter and how they would go as far as to say rude things to Pearl, a child. After a while, Hester began helping the community by using her talent to make clothing for the poor. People around had noticed and they “refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able”(Hawthorne, #196). They were able to look beyond her crime and change their outlook on her thinking she was now being strong. 

Among the rules of Puritanism, Hawthorne includes a lot of hypocrisy between the characters and the society. One of the main characters that presents a theme of hypocrisy is Dimmesdale. Hawthorne helps readers notice that “hypocrisy is an important element in The Scarlet Letter, exemplified most completely by Dimmesdale's delivery of his most eloquent sermons to his congregation even as he is consumed by the knowledge that he has failed to live according to their rules.”(“The Scarlet Letter” Article, Gale). Dimmesdale’s actions are great examples of hypocrisy since he publicly frowns upon Hester even though he committed the same crime she did. He is overcome with guilt for not confessing his sin. When Dimmesdale finally wanders the idea of confessing to his sin, Hawthorne describes that “the minister well knew--subtle, but remorseful hypocrite that he was!--the light in which his vague confession would be viewed”(Hawthorne #174). Dimmesdale is worried how the townspeople would think of him once he confesses. He knows that he will be portrayed as a hypocrite, but aren’t they all? The author shows that “the fault shared by the Puritan settlers and the women outside the prison is pious hypocrisy”(James) James explains how all the Puritan settlers are guilty of being hypocritical. One of the sins is gossip and they allow someone who has sinned to be gossiped about even though that means the townspeople are committing a crime. Writer Charles Cohen agrees that Puritanism is riddled with a “demon of repressive hypocrisy”(Cohen). He shares his views about how hypocrisy has taken over the Puritan society. It is a big issue and shown a lot throughout “The Scarlet Letter.” Cohen expresses hypocrisy as a demon you must exercise out of Puritanism. 

In “The Scarlet Letter,” the readers follow a young woman named Hester, who has been convicted of adultery, living amongst a Puritan society. Due to her actions, she must wear a scarlet “A” on her chest to represent the sin she has committed. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, conveys how harsh the Puritans were and how the strict rules mangled the community. He shows how these laws affected the people in the town and the relationships between the people that build off of what they are taught to believe. The way the characters change how they feel about themselves and each other because of these strict beliefs are displayed greatly throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses bold examples of hypocrisy all through the book since it was a big component of Puritanism. This compelling story truly demonstrates how stern and unforgiving the Puritan people were. It makes readers reflect on how hard it must have been to live in that type of community and the challenges they would face daily.