The Effects of the Scarlet Letter

Charlie Bracewell

Mrs. Griffin

Pre-IB English 10

27 September 2017

The Effects of the Scarlet Letter

        In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the setting of the historical romance novel is Puritan Boston in 1642. The main character, Hester Prynne, commits adultery which affects her life and the people’s lives around her. This act of sin is thought to be one of the worst sins that a person can commit and should be punishable by death, but the council has decided to go easy on her. For her sentence, she must wear a scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life. In the novel, the main characters have secret relationships that tie back to the scarlet letter and the decisions that Hester makes. The “A” creates a relationship between Hester and Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale, and Hester and herself.

        The scarlet letter creates a personal and loving relationship between Hester and Pearl, who is Hester’s daughter and best friend. Pearl loves and respects her mother and wishes to be just like her when she grows up, which means she wants to have an “A” of her own. However, Hester just wants Pearl to have a caring father so that she will be “truly human” (Hawthorne 180). Hester is by herself to raise Pearl though because her relationship with Dimmesdale is still a secret to the rest of the towns people. Pearl wants to be with Dimmesdale and repeatedly asks for him to stand with her and Hester at noon, but Dimmesdale continues to make up excuses in order to get out of standing with them.

        The second relationship created by the “A” is between Hester and Dimmesdale. This relationship is formed by love and the longing that they share to be a happy family that is whole once again. Dimmesdale cannot be with them yet for fear of what Chillingworth may do, so Hester and Dimmesdale continue to keep secret their love. Hester’s reason for not being with Dimmesdale is that she is still married to Chillingworth and cannot just forget their secret marriage despite the amount of hatred that she has for him. Dimmesdale agrees with her on this subject and even confesses that even he would “hurl him [Chillingworth] into a dungeon” if possible (97). So, Hester and Dimmesdale continue to love each other without anyone else’s knowing.