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Summary: Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
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Summary: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter was written to show that the consequences of a sin
cannot be escaped and that many different lives are influenced by one wrong
deed. The lives of Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger
Chillingworth are wrecked by the crime in The Scarlet Letter. Roger
Chillingworth is transformed into a demon of revenge. So malevolent does he
become that Hester wonders "whether the tender grass of early spring would
not be blighted beneath him." She would not be surprised to see him "spread
bat's wings and flee away." The penalty paid by Arthur Dimmesdale is to
appear to be what he is not, and this is a terrible punishment to his
sensitive nature. The slow steps by which his soul is tortured and darkened
are followed with wonderful clearness, and the agony of his soul alone with
God is presented with an almost Shakespearean pen. The third sufferer is
the beautiful Hester Prynne. Her fate is the most terrible because she not
only writhes under a severe punishment inflicted by the authorities, but
also suffers from daily, even hourly, remorse. To help assuage her grief,
and to purify her soul, Hester becomes the self-effacing good Samaritan of
the village. Her uncomplaining courage, noble beauty, and self-sacrifice
make her the center of this tragic story.
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