The Scarlet Letter and The Punishment of Hester Prynne

“The Scarlett Letter” Thematic Essay

No matter how much someone may be punished for a severe crime, nothing will be able to compare with the regret, guilt, and self-reproach that they will endure, as these negative mindsets can drive one to insanity, or even worse, death. This concept is thoroughly expressed by Nathaniel Hawthorne in “The Scarlet Letter” where two sinners would face their fate by either direct punishment or their own culpability. One of the most significant themes that is developed in “The Scarlet Letter” is that the punishment imposed on us by others may not be as destructive as the guilt we experience. This theme is gradually portrayed through Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale facing the consequences of committing adultery, where Hester is able to overcome and adjust to her external punishment, but Dimmesdale struggles and faces immense trouble dealing with the internal guilt from keeping his sin a secret from others.

Reverend Dimmesdale sustains a lot of internal conflict and pain throughout the novel, being a religious leader in the community and having to set a solid example as a Puritan, but failing to maintain his purity after committing adultery and hiding it in fear of the consequences. This constant guilt led Dimmesdale to mental health problems which would translate to self-inflicted harm in an attempt to purify himself, however failing to feel better for what he had done. Hawthorne writes, “It was his custom…to fast…not in order to purify the body…but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him” (150). The guilt from Dimmesdale drives him to extreme acts like this, fasting until his “knees trembled beneath him,” showing the major effect that this was having on his lifestyle. The most important aspect of this is that this was caused by his own feelings from going from someone that no one would ever expect to commit even the smallest sin, to committing something like adultery, an extreme sin looked down upon by his fellow Puritans. Along with this, “In Mr. Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, [Dimmesdale] had plied it on his own shoulders; laughing bitterly at himself” (Hawthorne, 150). Here Dimmesdale resorts to self-flagellation, the act of physically harming oneself, an extreme example of the substantial suffering that Dimmesdale would endure from this sin. This consistent harm that Dimmesdale endures is all caused from his own personal guilt, with no third-party explicit punishments inflicted on him except for his own, showing the magnitude of the effects caused from one’s own guilt.

Hester has very little trouble dealing with her punishments and soon adjusts to a meaningful lifestyle. Within the novel, Hester at first seems to be permanently outcast by society by being branded and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A,” but she would gradually become accustomed to her punishment and make it a part of who she is. Hawthorne states, “Individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin…but of her many good deeds since” (169). Here the scarlet letter is expressed as a “token” representing her good deeds and showing the normalization of Hester back into society, doing the opposite of what the scarlet letter was intended for. Even Hawthorne states, “The scarlet letter had not done its office” (173). This further shows that the scarlet letter, something that was intended to punish Hester, was not fulfilling its duty, which conveys the idea that the punishment Hester faces was not as detrimental to her as expected.

As Dimmesdale continued to significantly suffer and deal with the guilt of his sin, his mental and physical health had rapidly deteriorated, leading him into obtaining a personal doctor, Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth, the husband of Hester, was seeking revenge against Hester’s partner, and as Dimmesdale’s secret became clearer to him, he deliberately started a conversation regarding the nature of the problem that Dimmesdale was experiencing, where Dimmesdale explained that his “sickness” was in his soul, becoming uncomfortable with the questioning from Chillingworth. After starting to argue, Chillingworth asks Dimmesdale, “How may this be, unless you first lay open to him the wound or trouble in your soul?” (Hawthorne, 141). Dimmesdale then fiercely replies, “No—not to thee!—not an earthly physician…I commit myself to the one physician of the soul…who are thou…that dares thrust himself between the sufferer and his God?” (Hawthorne, 141). Dimmesdale could not hold in his passionate feelings about the topic, as his guilt was driving him to an altered state of mind that was provoked by the apprehensive questioning from Chillingworth, causing an unusual response from Dimmesdale as they were close friends up until now. The last thing that Dimmesdale wanted at this point was for someone to know about his secret, and this sustained guilt was the “sickness” that tormented Dimmesdale to a point of no return, again emphasizing the earnestness of the harm caused by guilt.

In conclusion, the punishment imposed on someone by others just simply cannot be compared to the magnitude of the destruction caused by the guilt someone may experience, as seen from Dimmesdale’s self-inflicted harm and suffering, Hester’s ease of normalization into society following her actual punishment, and Dimmesdale’s deteriorating mental and physical health. Hester and her scarlet letter become a symbol of her transformation as she becomes normalized in society, facing little adversity and trouble. When compared to Dimmesdale, nobody other than Chillingworth even suspects him of being Hester’s partner, yet he endures more pain and suffering than her because of nothing but his personal guilty feelings and cognition. This comparison of internal versus external struggles shows the massive impact internal feelings have as guilt, being an internal struggle, proved to have a major deleterious effect on Dimmesdale, while external struggles were easily dealt with by Hester, making it clear that inner pain is more destructive than external pain. No matter what the situation may be, one will always be able to see increased devastation caused from the guilt, regret, and remorse of committing wrongdoings, rather than the actual punishment itself.