The Issue of Remorse on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Research Paper Example

? A Critical Analysis on the Issue of Remorse on the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne created the story of The Scarlet Letter. The novel tackled the history of early America as several issues depicted by the characters throughout the storyline. One of the themes of the novel tackles the efforts of early Americans to create their own national identity. Various studies were conducted about the novel and they discuss the symbols, imageries, issues and parallelisms prevailing in The Scarlet Letter. The critical analysis of the novel would start with a brief biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne and also the significant issues faced by the United States of America in its early years would be analyzed in connection to the story. The main focus is on the issue of remorse faced by the main characters of the novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne came from a famous family living in Salem, Massachusetts. His relatives took care of him when his father died in a voyage. He studied at Bowdoin College together with some famous personalities in literature and politics like Horatio Bridge who became a writer, Jonathan Ciley who became a senator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who became a poet, and Franklin Pierce who became a president of the United States. The personalities mentioned helped Hawthorne to get a public sector job. Afterwards he started as a writer when his works imitate the style of Sir Walter Scott and was considered to be his early writing training. The Transcendentalist Movement of Ralph Waldo Emerson influenced Hawthorne by investing in the Utopian community. The Trancendentalist belief rejects formalism as they promote individualism because humans according to them are more than just sensory realm. Individualism and symbolism became prominent in Hawthorne’s later works especially in The Scarlet Letter wherein the Transcendentalist ideals clashed against the ideals of the Puritans. The Custom House was written by Hawthorne as a prologue to The Scarlet Letter and also as an autobiographical essay. His published work became possible through the help of his friends. The Scarlet Letter became famous across time since morality, spirituality and identity of the Americans were affected by the Puritans. During the time of Hawthorne, adultery was considered as a taboo because of prevailing rigidity and formality of culture. The novel became popular to people from all ages across time (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee). The Scarlet Letter made its author a famous writer. After seeing the relevance of the novel to the life and time of Hawthorne, going deeper into the summary would link the history to the story. Spirituality, morality and Puritan influence on the early America were reflected in The Scarlet Letter. The novel went against the norms and showed how the dreaded behavior and beliefs would be turned from weakness into strength. The story started from a prologue that could be considered as a standalone essay. The essay revealed how the novel was written as the narrator mirrored Hawthorne himself. The narrator worked as a surveyor in the customhouse and he found certain documents bundled and contained a piece of cloth shaped into an A. Since the narrator was careless and lost some important documents, he made a story out of the two-hundred-year-old manuscript made by a past surveyor. His creative thinking produced The Scarlet Letter and the story opened in a Puritan settlement at Boston during the early years of USA. The scarlet letter “A” labeled on the chest of the protagonist named Hester Prynne symbolized her crime as viewed by the townspeople. She walked out of a prison cell together with her baby named Pearl. She arrived at Boston when her old and scholarly husband sent her there. Her husband was lost in the voyage and was assumed to be dead. Because of loneliness, Hester engaged in an affair that led to the birth of Pearl. Afterwards the town elders put Hester Prynne to a public confession to reveal the father of Pearl. She did not reveal the name of the man as she was surprised to see her husband among the crowd. He disguised himself as a doctor named Roger Chillingworth and only Hester knew it. He stayed there to find the man and took his revenge. For the next years Hester became a seamstress while Pearl was growing. The little cottage outside Boston served as the house of Hester and Pearl. Later on the Boston officials tried to take Pearl away from her mother but a young minister named Arthur Dimmesdale helped Hester to keep her daughter. Sadly Dimmesdale was suffering from a heart disease inflicted by psychological stress. Chillingworth became the personal doctor of Dimmesdale as he suspected that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. One time while Dimmesdale was asleep, Chillingworth saw an A on his chest and Chillingworth concluded that his suspicions were correct. On the other side, Hester gained the respect of the townspeople through her charitable works. One day Pearl and Hester saw Dimmesdale punishing himself while the two were going back home. They joined him and Pearl requested a public confession for Dimmesdale about having a daughter. Later Hester went to Chillingworth to stop him from “punishing” Dimmesdale but Chillingworth did not agree. Hester met Dimmesdale privately in the forest to reveal herself to Dimmesdale so it would be secret from Chillingworth. Dimmesdale and Hester decided to migrate to Europe where they can start as a family, but Chillingworth knew of their plan. Hester then changed her image by removing the scarlet letter and freeing her hair. Her daughter was not able to recognize her without the letter. The day before their plan of migration, the people in Boston celebrated the holiday and listened to the best sermon of Dimmesdale. Before he left the church, he made a public confession by admitting to be the father of Pearl and revealing his scarlet letter on his chest. After the confession he immediately died. Chillingworth died after a year because of his frustration over the failure of his revenge. Hester and Pearl left Boston, and no news about them were found. After many years Hester went back to Boston with her usual self and did the charitable works she had done before. She sometimes received letters from her daughter who was already married to an aristocrat. Later on Hester died and shared a tombstone with Dimmesdale bearing the scarlet letter A (Bloom 14-18). The story had been a long one and the suffering and trials in the lives of the characters were heavy and prolonged. Later on the whole event transformed Hester and changed her weakness into strength. The next part of the novel to look into is the characters. Certainly the characters were very important in the story since there would be no figures to move and act in the novel without them. The story would be dull and inanimate. The ideas, beliefs and traditions were reflected through the efforts of the characters. They drove the plot of the story until the conclusion. They may also have hidden symbols and meanings that may surface upon deeper analysis. The focus of the character analysis is on the main characters only as the story revolved around them primarily. Hester Prynne is the protagonist in the novel. She is a young married European woman who committed adultery when she came to Boston without her scholarly husband. She is beautiful that actually attracted Dimmesdale to her. The affair led to the birth of Pearl. Arthur Dimmesdale is the lover of Hester. He is a respected pastor in Boston and people did not know of his affair. He appears to be a weakling and later on he confessed his secret before he died. Pearl is the daughter of Prynne and Dimmesdale. She is a child with a not-so-good temper though she inherited the beauty of her mother. Roger Chillingworth is the husband of Hester Prynne. He is a scholar who disguised as a doctor for Dimmesdale to pose his revenge. Just like his name and behavior showed, his appearance is ugly with a deformed shoulder. Governor Bellingham is the Governor of Massachusetts and respected very much by his people. Mistress Hibbins is the widowed sister of Governor Bellingham and was executed as a witch. She was mysterious but a colorful character at the same time. The biography, summary, and character analysis of the novel would greatly prepare for the main issue of remorse as it affected the characters and the storyline. Before going to the main issue of remorse, it would be better to define remorse first. Remorse is said to be: a retrospective inner knowledge of wrongdoing to one’s own life, of not “choosing” and living up to one’s particular inner truth. The sense of remorse is experienced through the medium of the inner-directed ethics of conscience, and is based in the earliest dialectic between want and fulfillment (Stern 113). When a person has remorse, he feels the guilt of his past deed through the action of his conscience. The person feels the burden upon the shame and negativities he receive from peers once he committed a taboo. Though a person may seem to accept that fate, he may still “cheat” by showing remorse but deep inside him he contradicts it. In order to understand what a genuine remorse is that the person must exhibit the understanding of his past action by accepting as his fault and knowing the reason why the action is an offense. He must also be aware of the damages he brought to other people through detailed account of the effects and he must express regret. Later on he must propose future actions to compensate for the damages he caused. If ever his actions are less than the said efforts, he may just regret being caught and not for the committed offense (Grayling 72). Remorse is then related to anxiety and fear. Perhaps defining both emotions would be appropriate to connect both of them to the concept of remorse. It can be said that anxiety is the inner emotional experience while fear refers to external negative emotion. Fear and anxiety can bring forth monomania wherein the person affected focus too much in a specific area of interest excluding other aspects of life. Sometimes anxiety may become deeper and anguish is formed as anxiety accompanies slight pain, suffering and helplessness. Remorse is then related to anxiety as guilt gives birth to anxiety of conscience. Remorse is deeper than anxiety of conscience in terms of pain. Symptoms of remorse may include weak memory, focus difficulty, slow and weak senses and even worse like unconsciousness (Rowe 42). Negative psychological effects accompany remorse due to the pain and extreme emotions it contains. According to some people who experience remorse, the worry stops when depression comes though sometimes anxiety comes out during unexpected times. Anxiety also sparks up again during spiritual reading and examining the conscience. People become tired once anxiety eats up their energy. The emotional burdens come together with physical symptoms which reflect neuroses. The noticeable symptoms can be chest pains, palpitations, absent-mindedness, insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite and paleness (Berggren 111-112). The negative effects relate to the committed sin like in the case of the characters in The Scarlet Letter. The three main characters in the novel committed sins in various ways. Roger Chillingworth is said to be the guiltiest among the three as he did not experience any remorse for his mistakes. He aimed to bring misery to Dimmesdale. On the other hand, both Hester and Dimmesdale committed a sin of passion (Wildwood). Dimmesdale was not yet revealed as the lover of Hester in the first few chapters as Hester faced imprisonment and public confession for her adultery (Hawthorne Chapters 1-3). Chillingworth already revealed himself as an “evil man” when he showed himself to Hester in the prison cell while offering her a cup of medicine. Hester did not accept the medicine at first because Chillingworth might be poisoning her. He guaranteed her that he would not torment her as he disguised as a doctor to take revenge on the unknown lover (Hawthorne Chapter 4). The signs of remorse can be seen in the acts of Hester and Dimmesdale as they do something in relation to their sin committed. As another source points out, redemption happens to Hester as she wore the scarlet letter A on her chest for a lifetime and stayed in Boston to repay for her committed sin. Dimmesdale had a different approach to his remorse as he did not confess publicly early on and he experienced the devastating effects as his conscience and guilt bring over anxiety that worsened as the story progressed. His fear prevented him from confessing as the townspeople might execute him or turned to sins as Dimmesdale was not able to follow what he preached. In a mellow way he was still able to repent by convincing the officials to let Hester take care of Pearl. Dimmesdale also carries the scarlet letter on his chest as a constant reminder of the committed sin (Wildwood). Both the characters involved in the affair showed remorse in different ways as Hester showed her change publicly while Dimmesdale did it in a secretive way. Hester demonstrated the sign of her remorse by staying in Boston after her public humiliation and she did some charitable works. She continued helping the poor and working as a seamstress while Pearl was growing (Hawthorne Chapters 5 and 13). Dimmesdale ultimately showed his courage and the best of his remorse when he planned to migrate to Europe with Hester and Pearl. During the planned day of escape, Dimmesdale gave his best sermon and confessed publicly (Hawthorne Chapters 21-23). Roger Chillingworth disguised himself not only as a doctor but as a “demon posing as an angel”. He was loved by the people as helped out the sick, but he secretly tormented Dimmesdale and took his revenge (Hawthorne Chapter 9). His actions were compared to the acts of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth continuously tormented Dimmesdale psychologically and emotionally throughout the novel especially when he discovered the secret of Dimmesdale. Chillingworth was labeled later on in the novel as the Devil (Singh). His anguish and hatred only ended after the death of Dimmesdale. Death stopped the hatred and devilish actions of Chillingworth as he suffered because of failed revenge. He was a character to be hated as another source explained how deeply Chillingworth became as a tormenter and evil man: Hester and Dimmesdale committed a sin that did not intentionally hurt anyone but their own souls, but Chillingworth committed a sin that was purposefully hurting another human being physically and emotionally. Sins of passion are not on the same magnitude as sins of vengeance. Murder and adultery are not on the same level. Hester and Dimmesdale both showed remorse for their sins. Hester and Dimmesdale were both punished by society and both punished themselves. Chillingworth did not feel that he ever did anything wrong even though his sins were worse that those of the person he sought revenge upon. Chillingworth was never punished by society or and he never sought repentance. Chillingworth was the guiltiest sinner in the Scarlet Letter (Wildwood). Remorse only happened to Dimmesdale and Hester as Chillingworth died as a sinner without repentance. Showing the importance of remorse in The Scarlet Letter, Christian Inquirer commented on the issue of morality as the boundary becomes thin between socially-accepted right and wrong. Remorse was depicted with exaggeration as the main characters experienced agony and pain. Their voluntary absolution for the sin they committed and death later on. In response to the crime they committed, it seemed that penance was not enough as justice and condemnation was not reflected in the heart of Hawthorne as he depicted an issue that challenged morality. The conscience is not of a Christian heart but a mixture of classical and romantic one (Johnson 191-192). The main theme challenged the prevailing rigid Puritan culture existing during the early days of America as the issue of adultery and sex were taboos during that time. The issue of remorse was even controversial as in reality in those early days did not reflect the same event in the novel. People truly condemned sinners and forgiveness was close to impossible as the condemned sinners carry the labels of the rest of their lives. Going on to the title of the novel, it meant various meanings to different people as it was linked to remorse. The Puritans considered letter A as Adultery which was the mistake done by Hester. Both the government and church punish the people committing adultery. Giving Hester that label made room for warning to prevent other people from imitating Hester. She changed the label connected to the A on her chest within seven years as she used her good deeds and skills in sewing to gain the sympathy of the people. Her A changed from Adultery to Arts and it became Able later on. The meaning of A for Hester is different, as she took it as Alpha that symbolizes new start and chance. Her freedom and decisions depended upon the Alpha in her life as she questioned impliedly the Puritan principles. Letter A also meant Arthur for her since it was the first name of Dimmesdale whom she loves and the father of her daughter Pearl. On the other hand, Pearl viewed the A as her mother and she could not imagine Hester without that letter. Without knowing, Pearl changed the A from letter of mistake to a letter of freedom and life. Pearl also noticed that the Puritan children did not like to play with her as the A in that situation can mean Alone. For Dimmesdale, that A represented the guilt and Accusation he bore from the affair they had. That Accusation caused all the torments and sickness he had from psychological impact to physical weakening. On the other hand, Chillingworth filled himself with hatred as the letter A represents Anger and Avenge. He wanted to devastate the life of Dimmesdale as he could not accept the affair of Dimmesdale and Hester (Gerbe 13). The story showed how the characters can change the meaning of letter A through remorse and exhibited superior decision-making and accepting the consequences of their actions. For the Scarlet Letter A of Dimmesdale, certain hypotheses were made by several people as it was surprising to see a Scarlet Letter A imprinted on his chest. Some said that the A may had been put by Dimmesdale himself upon his chest from the very day Hester wore the Scarlet Letter A. on the other hand, Chillingworth may had put it on the chest of Dimmesdale using magic, poison and herbs since Chillingworth was a great necromancer. Some even contended that the Heaven punished Dimmesdale by giving him that imprint (Hawthorne Conclusion). The novel may not be a real life story but the themes were very much real that it even exists until the present time. The characteristic of the novel made it to be a story loved by people for generations as the issue of remorse continues to live on until today. Morality will never go out of importance as it serves as the guidelines for proper decorum and behaviors of people. Works Cited Berggren, Erik. The Psychology of Confession. Belgium: E. J. Brill, 1975. Bloom, Harold. Nathaniel Hawthorne. USA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000. Gerbe, Kathrin. The Ambiguity of the Letter 'A' in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter". Germany: GRIN Verlag, 2005. Grayling, Anthony. Thinking of Answers: Questions in the Philosophy of Everyday Life. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam, 2003. Johnson, Claudia. Understanding the Scarlet letter: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. USA: Greenwood Press, 1995. Petrus, Michael. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. USA: Research and Education Association, 1994. Rowe, Todd. Homeopathic Methodology: Repertory, Case Taking, and Case Analysis. California: North Atlantic Books, 1998. Singh, Ishtpreet. “The Scarlet Letter: The Biggest Sinner.” Bookstove. 2 November 2009. Triond. 2 December 2011 < http://bookstove.com/classics/the-scarlet-letter-the-biggest-sinner/>. Stern, Mark. Psychotherapy and the Remorseful Patient. London: Haworth Press, 1989. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. n.d. Nathaniel Hawthorne/The Scarlet Letter – The Classic Text: Traditions and Interpretations. 12 Nov 2011. . Wildwood, Dessy. “Who is the Guiltiest Sinner? The Scarlet Letter.” HubPages. n.d. HubPages Inc. 2 December 2011 < http://dessywildwood.hubpages.com/hub/Who-is-the-Guiltiest-Sinner-The-Scarlet-Letter>. Read More