Free College Essays - The Virtue of Truth in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - The Virtue of righteousness The virtue of equity and the evil of secret violate are intelligibly illustrated in the original, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three principal(prenominal) characters in this novel display their own h superstarsty and sins. Hester Prynne exhibits the essence of truth and arrogance when she bravely faces the humiliation of the scaffold. In chapter 17, when Hester apologizes to Dimmesdale about dissembleing Chillingworths identity, she says, In every things else, I have striven to be true Truth was the one virtue which I might have held, and did hold fast, through all extremityA lie is never good, even though remnant threaten on the other side (pg. 202) It is Hesters pride, which sustains her from the beginning of the novel to the end, when she dies, still sporting the scarlet A on her bosom. Hesters sin is the sin which gives the book its title and around which the action of the book resolves . Adultery, which was disallow by the Seventh Amendment, was usually punished by death. A woman in the crowd stated, At the very least, they should have put the stigma of a hot iron on Hester Prynnes forheadShe may squeeze it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever (pg. 53) Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows truth by his occupation. People living in Boston, Massachusetts looked up to and well-thought-of Dimmesdale because he was a minister. One of his sins was his inability to publicly acknowledge that he move adultery with Hester and that he is the father of Pearl, Hesters daughter. However, adultery was non his biggest sin. His biggest sin is hypocrisy. In chapter ten, he speaks of the concealment of his sins, he says, It may be that they are kept silent by the very constistution of their nature. Or-can we not think over it-guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for Gods rejoice and mans welfareno evil of the past be redeemed by better service (pg. 137). While trying to conceal his sins, they take over his conscience and literally confess themselves during his acts of madness. The third main character, Roger Chillingworth, is a pretty innocent man in the beginning of this book. He comes to America to be reunited with his wife, Hester, but soon comes to find out that she has committed adultery.