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Yamil Farid Yunes

American Literature

21 November 2000

The Physical Manifestation of Emotion

in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Set to the background of early Puritan life in the Americas, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a novel that examines the dynamics surrounding the lives of individuals affected by sin. Hester Prynne is branded for her sin and made to flaunt her wrongs to society. Her secret-lover, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, is tormented by his own inner shame for the sin he committed. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, becomes consumed by hatred and his quest for revenge against the two lovers. The Scarlet Letter explores how guilt, shame, hatred, revenge, and sin can all be manifest in the world and even affect the physical bodies of those who harbor these emotions.

Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister of Boston, has "achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office" (Hawthorne 127). He is held in the highest regard and considered a model citizen by the people of Boston. However, a secret that Dimmesdale keeps is causing him great inner pain and disgrace. He has taken part in an illicit affair with Hester Prynne and has only stood to watch as she has been put to shame for the sin he too partook of. As Julian Hawthorne writes, "the poison of sin is not so much in the sin itself as in the concealment. . . ." This very "poison" is not only perturbing his soul, it is also ravaging his body. According to John Larson, Dimmesdale has subconsciously let his health fail in order to find a way to pay for his sins. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne gives the reader glimpses of Dimmesdale's decline. He looks "haggard and feeble" (107) and has a new "listlessness in his gait" (170). Soon, his voice gains "a prophecy of decay" (107) and the townspeople notice that he has the habit of clutching at his heart as though he were in great pain. By the novel's end, at the minister's death, we even see that the years of secretly carrying this sin has, "by a ghastly miracle," branded the Scarlet Letter upon his own flesh over his heart (J. Hawthorne). A life full of this secrecy and shame has become worse than "the silence, or even atonement of death" (Larson).

In the case of Roger Chillingworth, we see a man whose sole purpose has become revenge. Chillingworth "has put his devilish lust of vengeance in the place of God, and day by day he worships it and performs its bidding" (J. Hawthorne). Dimmesdale has robbed him of Hester Prynne and instead of seeking forgiveness or trying to shield his estranged wife of further pain, he only wishes to torture Dimmesdale with his own bitter secret. In addition, Chillingworth keeps his identity as Hester's husband a secret from the townspeople. Concealing this fact only serves to hide any good left in him and only allows the evil in him to grow (Larson). Chillingworth becomes "striking evidence of a man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil . . ." (Hawthorne 152). The feelings of hatred and vengeance he retains only serve to reflect themselves and to change his body. Whereas he had at one time been the goodly, scholarly type, the people began to notice "something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him" (114).

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows through the character of Arthur Dimmesdale how hidden guilt and shame can enfeeble a man and how sin can leave its mark of evil upon his very body. Through Roger Chillingworth's character, Hawthorne shows us how the harboring of hatred and how the ugliness of revenge can express themselves in one's physical visage. The physical changes that affect Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are two examples of one of Hawthorne's most powerful and meaningful themes: any secrets that one buries will eventually express themselves physically and take a hold of one's personality (Larson).

Sources Cited

Hawthorne, Julian. "The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne." 6 Nov. 2000

<http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/scarlet.htm>.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Signet Classic, 1999.

Larson, John. "Scarlet Virtue." 6 Nov. 2000

<http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~jdl16615/writing/scarlet.html>.









			Yamil Farid Yunes American Literature 21 November 2000 The Physical Manifestation of Emotion in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Set to the background of early Puritan life in the Americas, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a novel that examines the dynamics surrounding the lives of individuals affected by sin. Hester Prynne is branded for her sin and made to flaunt her wrongs to society. Her secret-lover, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, is tormented by his own inner shame for the sin he committed. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, becomes consumed by hatred and his quest for revenge against the two lovers. The Scarlet Letter explores how guilt, shame, hatred, revenge, and sin can all be manifest in the world and even affect the physical bodies of those who harbor these emotions. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister of Boston, has "achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office" (Hawthorne 127). He is held in the highest regard and considered a model citizen by the people of Boston. However, a secret that Dimmesdale keeps is causing him great inner pain and disgrace. He has taken part in an illicit affair with Hester Prynne and has only stood to watch as she has been put to shame for the sin he too partook of. As Julian Hawthorne writes, "the poison of sin is not so much in the sin itself as in the concealment. . . ." This very "poison" is not only perturbing his soul, it is also ravaging his body. According to John Larson, Dimmesdale has subconsciously let his health fail in order to find a way to pay for his sins. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne gives the reader glimpses of Dimmesdale's decline. He looks "haggard and feeble" (107) and has a new "listlessness in his gait" (170). Soon, his voice gains "a prophecy of decay" (107) and the townspeople notice that he has the habit of clutching at his heart as though he were in great pain. By the novel's end, at the minister's death, we even see that the years of secretly carrying this sin has, "by a ghastly miracle," branded the Scarlet Letter upon his own flesh over his heart (J. Hawthorne). A life full of this secrecy and shame has become worse than "the silence, or even atonement of death" (Larson). In the case of Roger Chillingworth, we see a man whose sole purpose has become revenge. Chillingworth "has put his devilish lust of vengeance in the place of God, and day by day he worships it and performs its bidding" (J. Hawthorne). Dimmesdale has robbed him of Hester Prynne and instead of seeking forgiveness or trying to shield his estranged wife of further pain, he only wishes to torture Dimmesdale with his own bitter secret. In addition, Chillingworth keeps his identity as Hester's husband a secret from the townspeople. Concealing this fact only serves to hide any good left in him and only allows the evil in him to grow (Larson). Chillingworth becomes "striking evidence of a man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil . . ." (Hawthorne 152). The feelings of hatred and vengeance he retains only serve to reflect themselves and to change his body. Whereas he had at one time been the goodly, scholarly type, the people began to notice "something ugly and evil in his face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him" (114). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows through the character of Arthur Dimmesdale how hidden guilt and shame can enfeeble a man and how sin can leave its mark of evil upon his very body. Through Roger Chillingworth's character, Hawthorne shows us how the harboring of hatred and how the ugliness of revenge can express themselves in one's physical visage. The physical changes that affect Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are two examples of one of Hawthorne's most powerful and meaningful themes: any secrets that one buries will eventually express themselves physically and take a hold of one's personality (Larson). Sources Cited Hawthorne, Julian. "The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne." 6 Nov. 2000 <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/scarlet.htm>. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Signet Classic, 1999. Larson, John. "Scarlet Virtue." 6 Nov. 2000 <http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~jdl16615/writing/scarlet.html>.