“The Scarlet Letter” Persuasive Essay

In “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the hypocrisy of the Puritan society of the seventeenth century with the story of the downfall and redemption of Hester Prynne. The hypocritical Puritan society punishes Hester for committing adultery. However, in her own mind, she does not see her actions as a sin because she acts out of love. Furthermore, she redeems herself by turning her offense into a virtue. Through the tale of Hester Prynne, Hawthorne’s moral is that the sin is not in adultery, but in the persecution of love by the society.

The Puritan society persecutes Hester Prynne for committing adultery, while the persecutors themselves are guilty of hypocrisy. Hawthorne exposes the true two-faced mind-set of the Puritans through their regard of corporal punishment: “[The] society shall have grown corrupt enough to smile, instead of shuddering at it” (39). Hawthorne inserts his own commentary, averring that the society is “corrupt enough to smile” at Hester’s punishment. He even mentions that it is more common to “shudder” (tremble) at such a scene, rather than view it as a form of entertainment. The author’s style is very straightforward in criticizing the Puritan culture. Thus, the Puritan society is hypocritical in punishing Hester Prynne because they themselves are not acting with Christian charity.

In her own mind, Hester Prynne is not guilty of the crime for which she is being punished. To her, love is not a sin, but a right. She is a free soul, and she does not believe that the society’s laws are right to punish her for following her heart. Hester’s unrelenting love for her fellow adulterer is portrayed in the quote, “‘I will not speak!’ answered Hester, turning pale as death, but responding to this voice, which she too surely recognized” (47). Here, she refuses to denounce the name of her lover and sacrifices herself to spare him the punishment. Hawthorne employs the simile “pale as death” to stress Hester’s fear of the inquisitor. In fact, the author also states that Hester “too surely recognize[s]” his voice. Thus, he foreshadows that the questioner, Arthur Dimmesdale, is in fact Hester’s lover. Hester believes that the freedom to love is greater than any law of society.

Hester is a heroic figure in the Puritan society because she turns her offense into a virtue. She demonstrates her compassion by aiding those in need. The connotation of the scarlet letter goes from a derogatory one to a positive one due to her helping hand in the community, as revealed through the passage, “The [scarlet] letter was a symbol of her calling… many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said it meant to be Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (111). Here, Hawthorne displays Hester’s strength in overcoming the degradation of the scarlet letter. His sentence structure is inverted at the end of the sentence, emphasizing the appositive “so strong was Hester Prynne”. The emphasis on this vibrant quality gives the impression of a supportive tone toward Hester’s newfound virtue. The new meaning of the scarlet letter upon her chest is symbolic because it reflects the goodness she demonstrates toward society. Hester is the embodiment of strength in the commune, even after undergoing the most degrading treatment by society.

Finally, Hawthorne proves that the hypocrisy of the Puritan culture is the cause of Hester’s demise, rather than the original act of adultery. Throughout the novel, Hester is oppressed by the Puritan individuals and her demise is an effect of the evils of society. Hester never believes that adultery is a crime because she follows her heart in her love for Arthur Dimmesdale. She is a figure of strength in the Puritan era because she turns her offense into a positive attribute, even though she is persecuted by the society. Finally, The Scarlet Letter is the story of the triumph of individual spirit over cultural and societal boundaries