The Scarlet Letter: Sin
Since the dawn of time people have read, studied andenjoyed books in
which the hero or heroes fall from grace.No matter who those heroes are-
the human race in The Bible,the demon prince Lestat in Anne Rice's "Vampire
Chronicles"or a certain Thane of Cawdor in "Macbeth"- sin plays a greatpart
in all of their downfalls and subsequent ressurections.And the three main
characters in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"-Dimmesdale, Chillingsworth,
and Hester Prynne- are no different.
All three characters are flung from the normal rolesthat society has
laid upon them- minister, housewife, doctor-into new roles- sinner, whore,
and vengance crazed sadist.These new roles are not necessarily ...
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view as if he were a
dirty secretlike Hester was; he was embraced by it. However, his sin
didtake it's toll. He was disfigured horribly and became atwisted man,
scarred by sin. He also was robbed of thepleasure of destroying Dimmesdale
which was his reason forliving. He died shortly after Dimmesdale.
Hester Prynne, however, was the complete opposite of Chillingworth in
that her sin gave her life, not destroyed it. She took her punishment and
embraced it, using it to rebuild herself not as a pathetic sinner, but as a
pseudo-saint. At first, the town shunned her as a sinner. However,after
they saw that she was good, and her sin was of love,the same town embraced
and loved her. Her sin drew her moredeeply into the society of Boston than
she ever was before.And when her time to die came, she did so with honor.
HesterPrynne - sinner and saint. However, Hester's sin was shared.
Whereas she was asinner on the outside and a saint on the inside,
ArthurDimmesdale is the reverse, ...
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The Scarlet Letter: Sin. (2006, July 30). Retrieved January 11, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Sin/49947
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"The Scarlet Letter: Sin." Essayworld.com. July 30, 2006. Accessed January 11, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Sin/49947.
"The Scarlet Letter: Sin." Essayworld.com. July 30, 2006. Accessed January 11, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Sin/49947.
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