The Scarlett Letter Theme Essay

Tom Jacob                10/5/15        TSL Essay                Period 5 English

        Does isolation enhance natural body functions and allow for a deeper and more peaceful mind? There are a handful of Buddhist monks that will argue that alienation forces the body to fend for itself, sharpening the mind in all aspects. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne would argue that isolation is actually detrimental to one’s character and mental capacity. In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, many of the main characters are isolated from the rest of the Puritan society. Most notable are Hester Prynne, her daughter Pearl, her husband Roger Chillingworth, and her lover Rev. Dimmesdale. Hawthorne analyzes and chastises life during the time of the Puritans. Through his examination of their lifestyle, it can be said that isolation, both physically and in the figurative sense of Puritan morality, prevents one from finding true happiness and achieving pure redemption from past transgressions.  

        Upon committing her transgression of adultery, she is viewed as an outcast and lives a solitary life on the outskirts of Boston. Though she finds comfort from a society that detests her for her past transgressions, Hester ultimately suffers physically and mentally as a result of her alienation from other Puritans of that time. Hester’s new life, alone and away from public endeavors leads her to ponder the hypocrisy that was Puritan morality. She is forced to live with sadness in her heart, seeking forgiveness and redemption. Ironically, she never does repent for her actions, because she is anathematized by the deceptive nature of this community. Hester’s pain towards her loneliness and isolation is evident in her interactions with her daughter Pearl, Hester’s only company. “But she named the infant ‘Pearl’, as being of great price – purchased with all she had – her mother’s only treasure!”  (Hawthorne 83). This mother-daughter relationship is quite delicate; Pearl helps Hester deal with this enduring loneliness which she suffers from. Pearl, in fact, does more for her mother. She recognizes the “inner sinfulness” that Hester has in her heart and displays on her chest in the form of the scarlet letter. When Hester removes these clothes that have crushed her for so long, Pearl cannot understand these changes that come across in her mother. Yet with the company provided by Rev. Dimmesdale in the forest after so many years of isolation, Hester finally experiences true happiness from this social encounter.

Both Rev. Dimmesdale’s position as a preacher and his own personal redemption from his transgressions are in distinct disparity to his isolation from society. As a preacher, Dimmesdale promulgates social values to the members of his church. He is portrayed to the Puritan society as a prophet, a beacon of truth that enlightens his followers.   However, Dimmesdale is convinced that his life is the standard of bigotry. Yet Dimmesdale’s physical appearance as a preacher benefits the community and gives him a reason to exist. In a self-detesting isolation, he inflicts physical and mental harm on himself in a physical attempt to repent for his moral and spiritual sin. These acts are entirely misguided, and show us the danger that lies behind self-induced alienation.

Symbols and the setting in The Scarlet Letter also reflect the theme that isolation and alienation prevent one from finding happiness and true salvation. Hester’s scarlet letter serves as a symbol which suggests to us that she has been isolated from the Puritan community, a brand on her person that denounces her and her sin. As a representation of the differences between her the supposed ‘morally pure’ Puritan society, the scarlet letter separates Hester from the rest of society and increases the rifts between those who condemn her for her actions. The letter represents the pain that Hester feels from being isolated from any and all social interactions besides with her daughter Pearl. “Man had marked this woman’s sin by a scarlet letter which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself.” (Hawthorne 93). Essentially, Hawthorne explains that sin is what distinguishes Hester from the rest of Puritan society. Three essential and separate scenes in The Scarlet Letter take place on the scaffold; in each case, the author shows the reader the damage which isolation causes. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is by herself with her daughter in her arms, but she and her lover are separated. While Hester’s public display of sin in the form of the scarlet letter eventually allows her to overcome the horror of society, Dimmesdale holds his sin hidden in his heart, where it takes a mortal and severe mental toll on him. Isolated in his shame, he is driven mad by his conscience. The trial that Hester and Pearl endure on the scaffold together, with the whole town watching, symbolizes Hester being ostracized from the Puritan community. In the second scene, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl hold a vigil in the middle of the night. The scene itself illustrates the social alienation that the three of them suffer, although not normally as a group. The rest of the town is deep in slumber, which could be interpreted as their shunning and ignoring of those “sinners” in their society, those who must stand alone on a pillory of shame to serve as an example and source of ridicule to the community. In the last scene, Dimmesdale finally confronts his inner demons, and atop the scaffold, confesses his sins. Soon afterwards, he collapses and dies. Yet this death is more like a spiritual release; in casting off his isolated self-hatred, and sharing it with the community, he finally is able to uncover his guilt and shame and as a result, find true peace. According to strict Puritanism, what sins Dimmesdale has committed will be forgiven with his repentance and acceptance of the error of his ways. Yet whether or not Dimmesdale goes to heaven after death is not so relevant than the fact that he finally conquers his fears and finds moral peace and happiness in his confession.