Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' and the Weaknesses of Puritan Society

This essay delves into the weaknesses of Puritan society as depicted in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter,' focusing on the hypocrisy and stern laws governing the community. It examines how the novel portrays the rigid rules and regulations, impacting individuals' lives and leading to societal flaws. The analysis highlights the contrast between public appearance and private knowledge, a major theme in the book, and discusses the consequences of strict adherence to scriptural teachings without understanding human emotions. The essay further explores how the community's judgment and alienation affect personal lives, prompting individuals to seek alternatives to fulfill their emotional needs. It concludes that while societal structures have changed, the intervention in personal lives and the hypocrisy observed in Puritan society still resonate in contemporary contexts. Desklib provides access to this and many other assignments for students.

Running head: WEAKNESSES OF PURITAN SOCIETY
WEAKNESSES OF PURITAN SOCIETY
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The Puritans were the Reformed Protestants who aimed at purifying the Church of
England of the impacts of the Catholicism in the 16th and the 17th century after the ascension of
Elizabeth I of England. The stern laws and regulations that governed the Puritan society was
formulated based on the scriptures. However, there were flaws with the judgment that was given
to the defaulters of the law.
“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne has helped in the proper understanding of
the different aspects of the hypocrisy and the sternness of the laws that governed the Puritan
society. Apart from the praises made by Hawthorne’s Puritan blood, the author also undertook
ways in order to criticize the regulations and the laws of the Puritans ironically. The early
Puritans followed John Calvin, a French Protestant reformer, who believed the whereabouts of
the world as a conflict between God and Satan. These Calvinists believed that they are redeemed
of the consequences of their sins through salvation whereas the others are eternally damned. The
author in his novel ironically represented the belief as a biased and unlawful element of the
society that gave those Puritans the power of ruling over the society.
The discussion is aimed at understanding the rigid and the stern laws and regulations that
guide the society and thereby understand the hypocrisy that the society imposes on the life of
every individual. On the other hand, the changes in the society brought about by the Puritans are
based primarily on the Scriptures and the ideas of salvation that men are required to do.
The depiction of the laws and the regulations that are being imposed by the Puritans in
‘The Scarlet Letter’ has helped in the understanding of the social condition and the mentality of
the people that lived in the society at that time. The strong adherence to the Scriptures and the
hate that the society bore towards the sinners is the major theme of the work by Hawthorne. The

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author undertakes the depiction of a purely non-corrupted society. However, there is an irony to
the concept, which is portrayed in the novel. The depiction of the purely non-corrupted society is
affected by the hypocrisy of the members of the Puritan society and the actions taken by the
same. The inheritance of power and misutilization of the same is being portrayed through the
depiction of the characters of Mistress Hibbins, who at the bright daylight pretends to be a
Puritan but at night joins the “Dark Man” in the forest away from the society. The rigid rules and
regulations imposed by the Puritans on the society had both good and bad effects on the same. It
affected the private life of the people. As per the context of the novel, the crisis faced by Hester
Prynne has helped in the proper understanding of the order and the repression that was offered by
the Puritans while developing the society based on the faith and religion. The novel emphasizes
on the appearances and the penance that is being imposed by the Puritan society. It has helped in
the understanding of the different flaws in the societal offerings and the manner in which it
affected the lives of the people dwelling in the society.
The introspective nature of the puritans is also being portrayed as a theme of the novel.
The portrayal of the sins and the penance that is being imposed by the authorities helps in the
understanding of the different factors of the change that is implemented on the society. The
Puritans face great difficulty in “hating the sin and not the sinner”. To simplify, they are against
both the sinner and the sin and therefore imposed strict penance in order to make an example of
the sinner in the society. The imposition of the rigid rules has affected the lifestyle of the people
and there well being as well. The forced discipline has resulted to alternatives that the members
of the society found in the forest away from the strict decorum of the society that adheres the
mentioned discipline of the Scriptures. The hypocrisy that is noticed in the work is a result of the
strict adherence to the scriptural teachings rather than understanding the importance of the

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human emotions. The community calls for the blood of the sinners but those who have sinned
equally remains silent. It has helped in maintaining the backdrop of the hypocrisy that is created
by the author in this novel. The strict imposition of the laws and the rigid regulations has helped
in determining the aspects of public appearance and private knowledge, which is perhaps the
major theme of “The Scarlet Letter”. The lovers, Hester and Dimmesdale, plans to escape the
community to the forest where such imposition of laws were not prevalent. “Society everywhere
is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members… the virtue in most request is
conformity.” The theme of hypocrisy and conspiracy of the community against the lifestyle of
the people has not changed a bit apart from the changes in the structure of the society and its
undertakings. There are changes that are evident in the society based on the proper understanding
of the emotions of the people, however, the intervention of the same ion the life of the people is
still perceived in the present day. Though there are evident changes in the strict rules and the
rigid ideologies of the people, which govern the society, there are certain exceptions based on the
mindset of the people.
The life of Hester and the price she had to pay for the so called sin of adultery actions
has helped in the clear understanding of the different aspects of judgment that the community.
The understanding of the mentality of the people based on the strict adherence of the laws that
were laid down by the founding members of the society has helped in determining the scenario
of the world in which Hester and Dimmesdale survived. The policies and the rigid rules that
were imposed on the community that lived in Massachusetts Bay Colony have greatly affected
the lifestyle of the people. The private life of the people was made public and prosecuted based
on the laws that were forwarded by the Scriptures. This conformity, whether they agreed or not,
were followed and they were thus compelled to follow the order of the Puritans. This resulted to

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a deviation to the sins that were forbidden in the community. The hypocrisy in the community
was perceived through the alternative actions that were undertaken by the inhabitants of the
community in order to gain over their liberty of the actions.
The presentation of the various aspects of the social reformatuion that is being
undertaken by the Puritans is portrayed in the novel “The Scarlet letter”. The alienation of the
community and the rigid rules and regulations enforced by the authorities has helped in the
understanding of the mentality of the people and their concept of judgment that the sinners are
penalized with. The rigid regulations and the public prosecution affected the private lifestyle of
the people, which led the people to search for other alternatives to fulfill their emotional
standpoints. The determination of the ‘God’s Elect’ and the judgments that are being made by
the Puritans based on the Holy Scriptures has helped in understanding the holistic approach of
the Puritans.

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