The
portrayal of Hester Prynne’s predicament against a Puritan community depends
largely on Hawthorne’s historical, moral and psychological background. The
concept of sin occupies a considerable amount of space in people’s lives in the
base time of the novel, and this concept is skillfully handled by Nathaniel Hawthorne,
who was brought up in a community similar to that presented in The Scarlet
Letter. Hawthorne’s imagination mingled with his biography gives life to
four major characters in the novel, who are in one way or another sinful. It is
not possible to list the characters’ names in order of importance. Yet, what we
can call the traditional triangle of a woman, her husband and her lover exists
in the novel. However, what makes their situation rather outstanding is the
common opponent which they all have to confront one by one, and that is Puritan
society.
All
four characters are equally indispensable and equally important. They act and speak for themselves
which means there is no character who is introduced in the novel for the sake
of subordinating the other. However, if one tends to declare Hester as the
chief figure among them, it is because of the perpetual misgiving and pity that
arouses in the reader while witnessing her predicament.
Hester
Prynne is depicted as a strong character in almost all the scenes -- from her
portrayal in prison to the market-place where she stands on a high platform
holding her illegitimate child facing her secret lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, her
long absent husband, Roger Chillingworth, and also the puritan society, whose
religion and law are almost the same. In her silence, she voices her reaction
to the assembled community who act and decide harshly even at their most
merciful moments. Hester becomes a total stranger, not because she detaches
herself, but because she is detached by the society who put on blinkers given
to them by the Puritan rules. After she is set free, she moves to a deserted
house on the outskirts of the town. This is a sterile place, the earlier owner
of which abandons it, as the soil is not convenient for cultivation. Hester
starts a new life with her unlawful child in such a place, but earns her living
on her own, without making futile complaints which will make everything worse
for her. Instead, she makes ample use of her art – the needlework – which
fascinates everybody and becomes the fashion among members of the society who
punish Hester severely for her sin, and make her wear “the scarlet letter.” On the other hand, for Hester the scarlet
letter is only the sign of her sin which she maturely accepts as a reality,
just like Pearl. With her artistry she tries to survive; moreover helping those
who are in poverty, and in desperate need for help keeps her busy. Hester
continues to live with the sin she committed and never looks for an escapist
solution, like going to another European country or declaring Arthur Dimmesdale
as her fellow-sinner.
Arthur
Dimmesdale is incapable of such bravery and act of loyalty like his lover. He
cannot be so courageous as to tell the truth, and prefers to live a life of
hypocrite. The most significant moment in Hester’s life, when she faces the
crowd with her baby in her arms on the pillory is marked by Arthur Dimmesdale’s
words who ironically demands Hester to reveal the baby’s father. His words
carry pathetic overtones of a man who is torn between his sin and his
honorable position as a minister in a Puritan society. “Wondrous strength and generosity of a
woman’s heart” (Murfin 68) saves the poor man’s life, but causes his eternal
suffering. Arthur Dimmensdale hides his secret in his heart till the last day
in his life, only confessing his sin just before he dies. Hester’s passive role
in Arthur Dimmesdale’s punishment is given to her by old Roger Chillingworth,
who seeks revenge and avenges himself on Dimmesdale no harsher than the Puritan
society that punishes Hester because of her sin.
Chillingworth
finds no fault in Hester and if he finds her guilty he knows that she is
already punished by the society. He approaches Hester first as a physician who
merely thinks of helping his patient, and as her old husband who puts Hester
into his heart’s “innermost chamber” (72). Hester never breaks her promise and
does not tell Chillingworth the name of the baby’s father, upon which
Chillingworth takes on oath to find out the man, whom he thinks has wronged
both Hester and him. He also makes Hester promise not to recognize him when he
shows up. His words scare Hester who feels helpless and alone. Chillingworth
makes one thing clear before he leaves Hester and her child alone in the
dungeon they are imprisoned: While giving a soothing message to Hester that he
will not give any harm to her and the child, he makes some threatening remarks
for “someone” whose soul will be ruined by him. Chillingworth’s vindictive
thoughts and later deeds make him the greatest sinner. Acting like an
omnipotent being he committed one of the deadly sins – pride. Thus, he becomes
the most tragic character in the novel. Both Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale come to recognition in the end,
and they undergo a kind of change. Both of them become aware of what they did
and achieve individuality at the end of the novel; however, Chillingworth
carries his revenge till the end.
Pearl,
the fruit of the unlawful relationship between a man and a woman, is also worth
mentioning, as she is created by a wrong done by two adults. This
extraordinarily clever girl later becomes an elf child. Although she is the
product of a potential sin, she is doomed to be a sinner herself. Her reactions
towards the scarlet letter that her mother wears, her surprisingly wise
questions and her outstanding physical appearance with her dark eyes
distinguish her from the other children brought up in the same community.
The
Puritan society Hawthorne presents in The Scarlet Letter is the one he does not approve of. He shows
the prejudices of a society which cause the downfall of a man and a woman who
act according to their instincts. Hawthorne gives a lesson to this readers by
taking this society as his example. After all, they are created by the norms of
a Puritan society and have to live according to the strict rules set by
puritanism. Hester is presented like a flower that is cultivated in a barren
soil, and her child becomes a creature in between her mother and the society
around her. Pearl, the precious stone, as her name suggests, becomes a totally
strange being who cannot even be recognized by her own mother.
The
desirability of the Puritan society is
questioned by Hawthorne, through Hester Prynne. Although the greatest sinner
seems to be the society, all the characters discussed above are sinful in one
way or another. They are the products of the Puritan society, but still with
their individual responses to various situations, they differ from each other,
also from the people living in society. Hester’s sin is sexual, as she becomes
pregnant out of wedlock. The child grows up to be an independent, an unsociable
person. Insociability is also considered to be sin by the Puritan society. Like
her mother Pearl is isolated. She does not have friends except the doll that is
made by her mother and used by Pearl in a kind of witchcraft in one of her
solitary moments. Her striking independence as a little girl and surprising
questions about her father and the letter “A” on her mother’s breast alienates
her from society. According to the Puritan society she inherits her mother’s sin,
and most probably will become a person like Hester.
As
for Arthur Dimmesdale, his sin is
twofold: Apart from his act of adultery, his withdrawal like a coward when
Hester faces the harsh society whose prejudices turn the life of all four
characters into tragedy, adds to his crime. He pays the debt of being a
hypocrite very bitterly, both to Roger Chillingworth and to society, but Hester
and Pearl are the most injured characters. The decision of Chillingworth's hiding his secret and
living a life of a hypocrite causes no pity or fear on the side of the reader.
He commits another crime by keeping quiet.
Roger
Chillingworth, on the other hand becomes the most tragic character by
committing one of the Seven Deadly Sins — pride. He acts like a judge and using
the authority of a judge punishes Arthur Dimmesdale severely, just like the society punishes Hester
Prynne. His obsession of taking his revenge as the ex-husband of Hester Prynne
turns him into a god-like figure as he carries his vindictive thoughts and
deeds till the end. Therefore,
the concepts of sin and the sinner are handled in The Scarlet Letter, yet
in different forms. The four main characters are sinful and they encountered the Puritan society, which seems to be the greatest sinner in the
novel.
Bibliography
All references to the text of The Scarlet Letter are from Ross C. Murfin,
The Scarlet Letter (Boston:
Bedford Books, 1991) Dr. Gül Kurtuluş
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder