Scarlet Letter Essay, Research Paper
The Puritan Beliefs As Told Through The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne was non a Puritan. But Hawthrone & # 8217 ; s sires were Puritans, so he had an apprehension of their belief system and their footing behind it. He stated that he hoped the wickednesss of his sires had been forgiven. Hoping to expose those thoughts which he understood, yet despised, Hawthorne intentionally presented many of import Puritan beliefs as import facets to the Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses three chief Puritan beliefs: Providence, predestination, and the rigorous codification of moralss that the colonists of New Englanders lived by.
The first chief Puritanical belief Hawthorne referred to was the belief in godly Providence. The Puritans believed that God granted Providence, the right to come in heaven upon one & # 8217 ; s decease, to people who were moral and performed meaningful workss while on Earth. The chief illustration of God allowing Providence is in chapter 8 when Hester visits the governor refering Pearl. & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; The immature curate & # 8217 ; s statement & # 8230 ; [ that ] the kid had saved [ Hester ] from Satan & # 8217 ; s trap & # 8221 ; ( 100 ) . Surly if God did non desire Hester to come in His land upon her passing, He surely would & # 8217 ; ve allowed Pearl to be taken and Hester to come in the wood with Mistress Gibbons. A 2nd illustration of Providence in the Scarlet Letter is when Dimmesdale is deceasing on the scaffold. He claims that the & # 8220 ; firing anguish upon his chest & # 8221 ; ( 226 ) and the & # 8220 ; dark and awful old adult male & # 8221 ; ( 226 ) sent by God had given him a & # 8220 ; exultant decease before the people & # 8221 ; ( 226 ) . If God sent these anguishs to give Dimmesdale a glorious decease, Dimmesdale must & # 8217 ; ve been granted God & # 8217 ; s Providence.
A 2nd Puritan belief referred to in the Scarlet Letter is the thought of predestination. Predestination is the belief that God has a program for all his people and no affair how difficult one works to alter that result, it w
ill finally be. The townsfolk when Dimmesdale falls sick falsely believe it to ” come Forth out of the struggle, transfigured with the … glory…” ( 110 ) . And since this earthly curate was chosen as a battlefield for the struggle between good and evil, he was predetermined to lift to a saintly station in the celestial spheres. Upon his decease, Dimmesdale states “… it is conceited to trust that we could meet… in an everlasting and pure reunion. God knows…” ( 226 ) . And if God is the ultimate justice of his destiny and knows Dimmesdale’s destiny, it seems logical that Dimmesdale’s destiny is already predetermined.
The concluding belief of Puritan society mentioned by Hawthorne is the rigorous codification of moralss. The Puritans believed that every wickedness should be meet with an earthly penalty and good as a religious penalty. The earthly penalty would frequently affect public humiliation. Harsher penalties would frequently affect extended public opprobrium. The vermilion missive is an first-class illustration. As Roger Chillingworth said: & # 8221 ; I can conceive of a strategy of retribution & # 8230 ; so that this & # 8230 ; firing shame may blaze upon thy bosom & # 8221 ; ( 61 ) . Along with Hester & # 8217 ; s missive, was Roger Chillingworth for taking to maintain his individuality a secret. He did non desire & # 8221 ; the dishonour which besmirches the hubby of a traitorous adult females & # 8221 ; ( 64 ) , which itself, while non mandated by jurisprudence, brings opprobrium he choose to populate without. When Hester and Dimmesdale decided to run off together, they waited so that Dimmesdale can give his Election Day discourse and leave no responsibility unfulfilled. Completing one & # 8217 ; s occupation is an ethical thing to make.
Despite the fact that Hawthorne rejected Puritan thoughts and resented the manner in which his sires acted, he still understood Puritan beliefs. Hoping to expose those thoughts, he gave them predominant parts in the Scarlet Letter. The three chief thoughts he addressed were: Providence, predestination, and the rigorous codification of moralss that the colonists of New Englanders lived by.
