Hawthorne's Use of Sin and Hope

Nathaniel Hawthorne and his work can be interpreted in many ways. Most interpret his writing as that of a transcendentalist, but Hawthorne is unique because he suffers from the guilt left behind by his great-great-grandfather, Judge Hawthorne. Hawthorne was ashamed enough to subtly change his name, but his disassociation from his ancestors was just as apparent with The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne wrote an anti-puritan novel that showed how a puritan world is affected by sin. The sins committed in a puritan world are sometimes trivial, but because these are acts against god, the punishments associated are very damaging. A theocracy uses these punishments to make a world that is despairing and gray. A world that is reflected by Hester's appearance.

In Hawthorne's idea of a puritan world, Hester Prynne makes her appearance as a beautiful, young woman strutting out of the decaying prison with the fragrance of hope still expelling from her pores. Her character has accepted the sin, and Hawthorne uses this scene to show how hope can thrive in someone who has accepted the situation. Hester does not blame others for her misfortune, nor is she in denial of her crime. She takes society head on, which is rewarded with hope, life, and beauty practically steaming from her skin. Hope and sin are connected by Hester's character. In a puritan society, Hester's punishment is not only the wearing the scarlet letter, but also losing all hope. She is bright on the scaffold, but slowly loses her color as the years drag on. Her hope is slowly draining from her body. When she removes the scarlet letter in chapter 18, Hester displays new life, "A crimson flush was glowing on her cheek, that had long been so pale"(Hawthorne 199). Hope has again flourished from Hester, who wants to start a life with Dimmesdale. Unfortunately for her, this is a piece by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the novel would lose its meaning if Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale lived happily ever after. It's disappointing to see Hester lose her hope after Dimmesdale's death, but Hawthorne needed to make the association of hopelessness in a puritan society.