Scarlet Letter Essay

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morning. Mistress Hibbins is a witch and highly suspicious of Dimmesdale while also being very judgemental of Hester. Her expression of distaste for Dimmesdale reflects the Puritan disapproval of breaking away from societal norms, like Dimmesdale is trying to achieve here. Witches were regarded as villainous by all people during the time and this description of her sour expression reflects how the evil of witches is similarly found in Puritans. Each of these three characters participates in the acts expected of members in a restrictive society, such as judging Hester. Each is also written with unattractive expressions in order to relate the lack of beauty to the corrupted morals and harsh judgements of society.

The most graphic and developmental illustrations of physical appearances are employed to describe the main characters in order to communicate the character’s ongoing moral changes. In contrast to the unsightly Puritans, Pearl has a “perfect shape” (61) that was “worthy to have been brought forth in Eden” (61), as if she is untouched by the original sin. Hawthorne states that Pearl could be from the Garden of Eden because she is pure and perfect. Pearl has this beautiful appearance because she is a symbol for Romanticism. The symbol of Romanticism is always pictured as beautiful to communicate her lasting Romantic tendencies that cannot be polluted by Puritanical conventions. Arthur Dimmesdale however, endures a long struggle towards Romanticism and is portrayed with eyes that show a “world of pain” (78) and he often covers his heart with his hand combined with an expression “indicative of pain” (82) as a result of his illness. Dimmesdale’s pain comes from him concealing that he is Pearl’s father and his eyes and expression reveal the pain that he feels. His pain from lying connects the Romantic value of truth, and Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale’s pained expressions from lies to introduce his Romantic ideals and later full transition into a Romanticist once he reveals himself to the public. Hester’s struggle to maintain her Romanticism is much more prominent within the novel, and as Hester returns to her Puritanical appearance, her “beauty [departs]” (145) as she “[gathers]… her hair, and [confines] [it] beneath her cap” (145) which symbolizes her return to Puritan standards. As Hester returns to the expected Puritanical appearance she loses her Romantic beauty, meaning that Puritanism will disguise her true self or individuality. Hawthorne describes this transition in order to make a statement about how Romantic individuality is destroyed by societal expectations. Pearl’s continuous Romantic tendencies in contrast with Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s gradual shift towards them praises Romantics for their beauty and individuality and criticizes the struggles from society that the characters must encounter.

Nathaniel Hawthorne represents his character’s morals through the varying physical descriptions and expressions throughout his novel. His technique is used in order to criticize the restrictive society’s debauched ideals and to glorify Romantic values. The Romantic characters are all beautiful, truthful, and merciful to showcase the positive and pure aspects of Romanticism. In contrast, the Puritan characters each have unattractive forms or are elderly to emphasize the negative and outdated aspects of their community and society at large. Hawthorne initially establishes the key differences between Puritanical and Romantic figures, which then develops into a criticism of Puritan morals and a method of communicating the shift towards Romanticism of characters as they escape prohibitive institutions. The author’s purpose in this novel applies to his own time period, however many similar themes can be seen in today’s society. Various expectations are set for every person depending on their race, gender, economic background, etc. in order to limit the individuality that Romantics celebrated. As a basic and restrictive standard is set for all humans, we still struggle to break away from the tainted and confining society that Romantics rebelled against so long ago.

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