Sin， Escape and Salvation On Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

范舒楠

There are three main adult characters in The Scarlet Letter， Hester Prynne， Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. They have various characters and fates， but they are all with sins， attempt to escape away from the punishment but fail and then finally achieve the salvation by themselves.

Hester

Hester first appears as a shameful prisoner. She has to be exposed to the publics censure on the scaffold with her newly-born daughter. Hester is accused of adultery as she herself， a married woman， having an affair with a man and giving birth to a baby. We can see from the novel that although at that time， Hester has been regarded as a widow for her husband is thought to have died； she is not permitted to have any romantic relationship with other men. Hester wants to conceal the scarlet letter by clasping the infant close to her bosom before she realizing that one token of her shame can hardly help to hide another. So， Little Pearl， the bastardy of Hester and Dimmesdale， is taken as the symbol of our heroines sin by both her mother and the neighbors.

She is my happiness—she is my torture， none the less！ Pearl keeps me here in life！ Pearl punishes me， too！ See ye not， she is the scarlet letter， only capable of being loved， and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution of my sin！

Hester has once thought about escaping to the Europe continent to start a new life， but at last she stays. Her sin will not leave and disappear as she escaping away. After confessing her sin in public， Hester chooses to do all she can to atone for her sin， to gain salvation. She earns her life by her needle， teaches her daughter to be a wiser and better person， and tries her best to help the helpless. Time passes by and the scarlet letter has changed its original meaning. Staying instead of escaping contributes to her salvation.

Dimmesdale

Dimmesdale， the respectable clergyman， in fact shares the same sin with Hester. In public he urges Hester to speak out her fellow-sinner， solemnly and movingly.

Take heed how thou deniest to him–who， perchance， hath not the courage to grasp it for himself–the bitter， but wholesome， cup that is now presented to thy lips！

However he does not have the courage to confess his sin and to stand beside Hester.

His retreat adds hypocrisy to his sin. Heater has to endure double agony for his lack of courage. His refusal to confess his sin with Hester， on the one hand， is a kind of escape from punishment. He escapes from the suffering of being criticized by his parishioners so he is able to continue his promising career， continue to commence his discourse， and continue to be admired and respected…in a word， he can continue to live his former， normal and to some extent， divine life as a clergyman. However， does he really escape from being punished？ In fact， he never truly escapes. From the very beginning Dimmesdale himself has realized he could never escape from the torture he deserved.

Hester， though he were to step down from a high place， and stand there beside thee， on thy pedestal of shame， yet better than to hide a guilty heart through life.

On the other hand， Dimmesdales retreat is a kind of escape from responsibility. He is the biological father of Pearl and should take his role as a father and husband. However， Pearl”must seek a heavenly father”， she “shall never know an earthly one”. As a husband， he cannot show his love for his childs mother. And as a father， he cannot take care of his daughter. He even dare not express his concern about the poor mother and daughter， without saying kissing or hugging Pearl in public. He is always not there when he is needed.

Because of his unspeakable sin and his escape from responsibility， Dimmesdale is heavily punished by his own conscience and his enemy Chillingworth. He is broken down by long and exquisite suffering. His mind is darkened and confused by the very remorse which harrowed it. He continues to feel guilty for what he has done； he wants to make a remedy by spending more energy on his priesthood， even by lashing himself. At the end of his life， he finally decided to stand on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl to remove his suffering burden. By the time of his confession， he and Hester ransom each other with all those woe.

Chillingworth

Chillingworth is also with sin. Firstly， he wrongs Hester by betraying her budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with his decay. Whats more， he is of a quiet depth of malice which leads him to imagine an extreme intimate revenge than any mortal had ever done upon an enemy. Devoted to make himself a trusted friend， to whom should be confided all the fear， the remorse， the agony， the ineffectual repentance， the backward rush of sinful thought， he find an adequate way to revenge.

It is sick to drain a person of his energy on insidious purpose. Chillingworth keeps arousing the poor clergyman with a throb of agony. His evil actions finally reward himself with evil.

Almost immediately after Mr. Dimmesdales death， all his strength and energy， all his vital and intellectual force， seems at once to desert him. This unhappy man has made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systematic exercise of revenge. And then， by its completest triumph consummation that evil principle was left with no further material to support it.

However， when his life comes to the end， Chillingworth bequeaths his considerable amount of property to Pearl. By doing this， Chillingworth himself achieves salvation. The earthly stock of hatred and antipathy among him and other two persons has finally transmuted into golden love.

For the complexity of human nature， it is arbitrary to make a definite judgement whether a person is an angle or an evil. The real light is by no means permanent light without darkness， but that which is never overwhelmed by darkness； the real hero is never without humble sentiment， but who that never to humble sentiment that yield.