The Scarlet Letter Themes
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Revenge
Nathaniel Hawthorne presents revenge as an unnatural act that twists a person’s soul into something evil. Not only does it alter a person’s basic personality, but it never satisfies. In the religious worldview presented in The Scarlet Letter, vengeance belongs to God alone. Hester Prynne hints at this when she asks Dimmesdale to forgive her for failing to reveal Chillingworth as his enemy. When the minister shows his reluctance to let go of this betrayal, she repeats her request for forgiveness and says: "Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive!" (17.28).
Questions About Revenge
1. Why does revenge twist a person’s soul into evil in The Scarlet Letter?
2. Is revenge different from other "sins" in this respect? Are some sins worse than others for Hawthorne?
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Even though it is natural to seek punishment through revenge, The Scarlet Letter suggests that revenge is an otherworldly, spiritual concern, and better left to God. When individuals dare to pursue their own revenge, they end up finding punishment for their presumption, as Roger Chillingworth discovers when Dimmesdale escapes his grasp.
Although Roger Chillingworth’s appearance and demeanor are deformed by his quest for revenge, it could be possible to argue that he redeems himself with his final act – bequeathing all his possessions to his wife’s daughter, Pearl. His action releases both mother and child, allowing them to escape the shame that has been thrust upon them by the legalistic, judgmental Puritan community.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Women and Femininity
The Scarlet Letter follows several strong women in an era when women were expected to be subordinate to their male counterparts. Hester Prynne is willing to take on her own shame while protecting the man she loves from his share of the public condemnation. She keeps his secret faithfully, for seven long years. Even when she might have been able to demand his help, she does not seek it. Alternatively, the two men in Hester's life, her husband and her lover, are cowards and hypocrites, unwilling to reveal their true identities. Women, although the "weaker sex" in this heavily religious society, prove to be incredibly strong in this novel.
Questions About Women and Femininity
1. Why does Hester choose to protect the minister from facing punishment alongside her?
2. Is Pearl’s gender a factor in the strength of character she projects?
3. Why doesn’t Hester decide to join the witches after Mistress Hibbins invites her?
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Although, during Hawthorne’s time period, men were considered dominant, Hawthorne characterizes women as strong and independent (though sometimes morally repugnant), while many of his male characters are morally weak.
Even though Pearl is the youngest character in the book, and is characterized by others as a "demon" child, she demonstrates the strongest moral convictions of any main character in the book. When Reverend Dimmesdale at last proves himself capable of living up to her standards, she develops the kind of sympathetic character frequently attributed to women.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Compassion and Forgiveness
In Christianity, grace and forgiveness are frequently contrasted with the law. A legalistic faith (such as the Puritan one) suggests that conformity to a strict set of rules is the most important religious practice you can perform, in this world and in the afterworld. The more good you do and the fewer sins you commit, the more likely you are to go to heaven. Grace (or forgiveness), alternatively, is the concept that you are forgiven for your sins through faith.
The Puritan society in The Scarlet Letter exhibits a mixture of both legalism and grace. The narrator presents the society as essentially legalist, with its inhabitants adhering to strict moral codes and societal values. Hester’s punishment is a form of legalism. She has sinned and must be isolated from the rest of the group to keep her from contaminating them. The narrator, however, consistently offers the opinion that society, especially a religious society like this one, should be ruled by grace. At the end of the novel, Hester has been forgiven by the strict society that once punished her.
Questions About Compassion and Forgiveness
1. The narrator’s family history suggests at least one reason why he might emphasize the difference between legalism and grace. What is it and why is it important?
2. How does knowledge of the narrator’s own history inform how we read the book?
Chew on This
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Although Hester Prynne is judged and punished in a legalistic society, she transforms her sentence, to wear the scarlet letter, into a symbol of grace rather than shame.
Even though Reverend Dimmesdale avoids confessing his sin for seven years because he fears the wrath of a legalistic society, he finds grace through confession in the last moments of his death. The peace that he finds is not dependent on the forgiveness or grace that onlookers offer, but rather on the forgiveness he finds from God and from within as he faces truths about himself.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Sin
Sin is clearly a matter of great importance in the mid-17th century Puritan community of The Scarlet Letter, as religious sin is associated with breaking the law. In this novel, we see a hierarchy of sins. Roger Chillingworth’s pursuit of revenge is deemed a "worse sin" than the passion that led Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to commit adultery. No character in the book questions the idea that sin should be punished, and all recognize that sin will be punished, if not here on earth by man, than by God after death. Committing sin is regarded as willfully allowing the Black Man (Satan) to place his mark upon your soul.
Questions About Sin
1. Why is Chillingworth’s sin deemed the worst sin of all by both Hester and Dimmesdale?
2. How and why is sin a communal, collective problem in The Scarlet Letter?
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Although sin can be a personal act committed in secret, it has an ongoing legacy that affects not just the person who commits the sin, but the larger community surrounding him.
Although Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin is punished both by man and by God, it is Chillingworth whose very nature is transformed and twisted into a devil-like state by his cold-blooded pursuit of revenge.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is seen not only as a sin in The Scarlet Letter, but as a sin that leads to great personal injury. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a religious figure, comes to embody hypocrisy, resulting in so much guilt that he becomes ill. His guilty conscience produces the mysterious appearance of the scarlet letter on his skin over his heart and ultimately causes his death. Dimmesdale’s illegitimate daughter is especially hard on her father. Until he renounces his hypocrisy, she has little to do with him. When he finally reveals the truth about himself, she loves him for who he is. The narrator warns us not to let our reputations become more important than our lives, and it poses an interesting question about the danger of valuing appearances.
Questions About Hypocrisy
1. Which characters are represented as hypocrites in this book and why?
2. Who seems to tell the truth, and what role do these characters have in the novel?
3. Is it possible to say that Hester Prynne is a hypocrite? Why or why not?
Chew on This
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Although Hester grants the minister reprieve from public shame, little Pearl judges him for his unwillingness to acknowledge his relationship with them publicly. He is able to redeem himself only when he confesses to the townspeople that he is also guilty of the sin of adultery.
Even though hypocrisy appears to save the minister from punishment and humiliation, his torment is ultimately worse even than Hester’s. Hester lives a long life, but the minister dies from his internal anguish.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Guilt and Blame
Guilt and blame weave in and out of the hearts of the characters that inhabit The Scarlet Letter . The relationships of these characters are defined by either the guilt they feel or by the blame they place. However, it would seem that any character is equally capable of feeling guilty or of placing blame. Hester Prynne commits adultery and is ostracized for the blame placed upon her. Her lover is transformed physically and emotionally by the guilt he feels, and her husband is driven mad by his quest to inspire guilt in Hester’s lover.
Questions About Guilt and Blame
1. Do guilt and blame work together to bring reformation of any of the characters in this book? Why or why not?
2. What does "redemption" mean to the Puritans in this novel?
3. What does redemption mean to Hester? To Roger Chillingworth? To Reverend Dimmesdale? To Pearl?
4. Does redemption require confession, according to this book? If so, to whom? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Although Puritan society sets up strict guidelines to control people’s behavior, its use of isolation and blame as punishment drives Hester and the Reverend Dimmesdale to reject its social mores and religious devotion for a short time.
The scarlet letter A fulfills its intended purpose by isolating Hester Prynne from society, but it ultimately fulfills an unintended purpose—that of reformation of her character
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Justice and Judgment
In the world of The Scarlet Letter, the inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay Colony have a finely tuned sense of justice based on a partnership of religion and law. When a citizen breaks the colony’s law, he is also breaking God’s law. While it is only through confession to the public that a sinner, Arthur Dimmesdale, finds peace, this conflation of God’s law with man’s law also creates an intolerant, authoritarian society that does not allow for human mistakes.
Questions About Justice and Judgment
1. What is the difference between justice and judgment?
2. Why do the townspeople like to judge so much? What kinds of judgment do we see?
3. Does Hester ever judge others?
Chew on This
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The townspeople in The Scarlet Letter crave justice, even at the expense of truth.
The most painful kind of judgment inflicted in this novel is self-judgment.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Isolation
The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a society that is as good at excluding people as a middle school clique. We watch our heroine, Hester Prynne, live in isolation for years and years, cast out of Puritan society for having a child out of wedlock. Her isolation leads her to see her society in a new light and allows her to think outside of the box. Ironically, it seems characters who are the most appreciated by and involved in this society seem to be the most conflicted and alone.
Questions About Isolation
1. Is anyone else besides Hester Prynne isolated? What about Dimmesdale?
2. How does Hester’s isolation affect her?
3. How does isolation affect Pearl?
4. Do the landscape and setting contribute to a feeling of isolation in this novel? What is Massachusetts Bay Colony like?
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Isolation empowers Hester Prynne.
Hester loses a sense of her own humanity as a result of being cut off from society.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of The Supernatural
Lots of crazy things go down in The Scarlet Letter – things like eyes that glow red, meteors in the shape of an “A,” witches that go riding their broomsticks. In many ways we readers learn to understand these events as being part of a fable or (dark) fairy tale. We’re not so much concerned with whether these supernatural occurrences are real or not, but we know they are telling us something important about the characters and the secrets they keep.
Questions About The Supernatural
1. What role does Mistress Hibbons play in this story? Why is it significant that she is related to the Governor?
2. How do the characters in The Scarlet Letter feel about supernatural things and events?
3. What exactly does Mistress Hibbons do in those woods, eh?
4. Is Pearl supernatural?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In the world of this story, the supernatural is anything that cannot be explained.
Pearl’s eerie intelligence and elfish ways are just a product of being excluded from society. She just doesn’t have any social skills.
The Scarlet Letter Theme of Fate and Free Will
The world of The Scarlet Letter is a religious one that believes in fate and in the idea that each person’s life follows a specific and set path. Puritans believed in Divine Providence, or the idea that God was a guide who controlled every aspect of life, or, more specifically, of a nation’s livelihood. They believed God worked toward bringing about good, and they looked for messages and signs from him through the celestial occurrences (like meteors). Characters in this novel constantly struggle between letting fate run its course and choosing a path for themselves. Those who are ostracized by society seem more able to forge a life of their own.