The Social Tragedy Beneath the Letter“A”

陳春曉

I

The Scarlet Letter was tragic love story. The love story between a clergyman and a married woman in the 17th century was doomed to be tragic. The destinies of Heroine—Hester prynne and hero Dimmesdale were ended with tragedy. Although Chilling worth succeeded in performing his revenge to destroy the couple， yet the same to Dimmesdale he ruined himself. Their tragic destinies were not only the tragedy of their destinies but also the tragedy of the whole age.

II

Hester Prynne， young， tall， beautiful， with an elegant figure， and deep-set was standing on the scaffold. On the breast of her gown， in fine red cloth， surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of goldthread， appeared the letter“A”.She was censured the punishment for her sin—“A”—Adultery， prohibited by the seventh commandment， which was so seriously regarded by the Puritans of 17th century that those who committed it were often punished by death.Hester，for her young baby， avoided being sentenced to death， instead wore the scarlet“A”on her bosom. The“A”would became a kind of symbols for her shame and sin. After loving affair was opened she felt complex inner mind. In Hesters heart she deeply loved Dimmesdale.And love was ever stronger than her respect for the moral code. Just because of her mixed feeling， she choosed to burden the sin alone. When facing any remonstrance and lure， she definitely refused to tell other puritans who were the bastard Pearls father. She constrained her sin， also her love for the minister， beginning to lead a lonely and misery life for seven years long time.

III

Different from the heroine—Hester，Dimmesdale was an ordained minister. He was well educated， and he had a philosophical turn of mind. There was no doubt that he was a devoted servant of God， passionate in his religion and effective in the pulpit. But privately he suffered from a tragic flaw—the weakness which prevented him from acknowledging his guilt in public. His weakness decided his fate partly and also took a great effect on Hester and Pearl.

His fight was one against his own weakness， and the only possible victory lay in public confession of the truth. After 7 years of struggle he accomplished his will that was he decided to confessed his guilt in public after he achieved his greatest triumph as a minister in the Election Day. . . Dimmesdale relieved himself before his death， but he discarded Hester and Pearl into an endless pain.

IV

One of heroine—Pearl， appeared first as an infant， then at the age of three and finally at the age of seven. She alone suffered from sin that was not her own， but rather that of her mother. From the day she was conceived， Pearl was portrayed as an offspring of vice.

Pearl became no more than a manifestation based entirely upon Hesters and Dimmesdales original sin. She was described as the scarlet letter in another form.

However， it was true that Pearl herself couldnt understand the implications of her questions .It was equally true that what she repeatedly requested Dimmesdale to do was exactly the thing that he must do. To save his soul， he must， in public and in broad daylight， acknowledged his relationship to Hester and Pearl. When， in the final scaffold scene， he did take that crucial step.“Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken.” It showed that Pearl would grow up as a woman not like a wild symbol in the future.

V

Antagonist Chilling worth was the most misery person in four characters. Though he succeeded in making a revenge by using the letter“A”，yet he destroyed himself to die， too. When he first appeared， having just concluded over a years captivity by the Indians， Chilling worths appearance was hideous. Finding his wife committed the adultery， bearing in her arms the child of another man on the scaffold， he hated and decided to conceal his identity to search childs father. He began to act his revenge plan.

Chilling worth must assume the responsibility for having destroyed himself. lt was he who had sacrificed his human sympathies in his desire for revenge. When Dimmesdale revealed his sin openly on the scaffold， Chilling worth cried more than once， “Thou hast escaped me！” In one year Chilling worth died， though he succeeded in revenging； he didnt feel happy. His fate was the most horrible of the three， because his sin was the blackest.

VI

In the scarlet letter the destiny of the main characters was doomed to be tragic. The religion asceticism had great destruction to them. The true love of Dimmesdale and Hester and the love of God couldnt exist at the same time. On the one hand the religion asceticism had the absolute power in the young couples， especially the right love of clergyman. On the other hand the couple betrayed the religion morality to pursue this true love ，which led to conflict between the religion and humanity.

The letter “A” could have made Hester die， instead sent Dimmesdale and Chilling worth to die. In 17th century the men were poisoned by religion more deeply than the women. Finally Hester returned to New England （9） where was full of her sin， her sorrow and penitence out of her own free will. The embroidered “A” she wore was no longer a stigma， but a symbol looked upon by others with awe and reverence. All the people may agree Hesters original sin may be immortal. However， it was generally accepted， as a moral being， she rose above the excessive hypocritical puritan morality of her day. In fact all the main characters regretted a lot in that age， their destines were doomed to be ended sorrowfully.

References：

[1]Nathaniel，Hawthorne.The Scarlet Letter.Beijing：Foreign language Teaching and Research Press，1992.

[2]Wu，Wenren.History and Antholgy of American Literature.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，1990.

[3]Shi，Yan.tra.The Scarlet Letter.Shanghai：Translate Press of Shanghai，1981.