Sin and Punishment

Abstract：According to Christianity， man is guilty， it is an original sin. Everyone has his past， including reflection on yesterday's behavior. This process may be Fall of self， like Hester's husband； may be punishment of self， as the clergy； may also be self salvation， like the heroine. The face of the past， people have different choices， which is inspired by this work. The determination to penitence and power for good， as long as sincere mind to the good， as long as constantly correct his own mistakes， no matter how serious the mistakes are， self redemption is possible.

Key words：Sin and Punishment； Salvation

1. The idea of the author's sin theme

Nathaniel Hawthorne is an excellent romantic novelist in 19th century in the United States， his works reflect the deep-rooted influence of the religious consciousness of the pilgrims on him. Hawthorne believes that the root of all evil in the world comes from the evil in people's mind， which is the spot on the human soul. All social problems are caused by the "evil" inherent in people's minds. His way out for mankind is not a world without sin， but to advocate to face the evil in human nature， purify the unclean spirits with self confession.

The theme of the novel is to explore the "expiation" and "moral" problems and their influences and consequences on the characters of the novel. There are three protagonists in the Scarlet Letter， namely： Hester Prynne， Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Prynne is publicly punished sinner， but she returns good for evil， spends years of life in disgrace strongly； after washing the guilt in penance， the scarlet letter has become a symbol of virtue. Dimmesdale conceals his sin， suffers from mental torture， and finally has the courage to confess， and gets new morality in death. While Prynnes husband Chillingworth retaliates by unscrupulous divisive tactics， turning to the embodiment of evil， becomes an unforgivable sinner. After revenge he lost the spiritual support， finally hedied apathetically.

2. Character analysis

Hester Prynne is a passionate， brave and beautiful young woman not to stick at trifles， because of adultery she is punished and condemned by the Puritan society， sentenced by the Puritan court to wear the scarlet letter "A" （Adultery） on the chest to represent the pillory. The adultery word "A" is put on her chest to torture， humiliate and punish her. At this time， the scarlet letter "A" is the expression of sin and punishment， is the embodiment of good and evil， no matter what she uses “to cover up the mark， the pain is always in her heart”. In order to protect the beloved， she is willing to take responsibility， is subject to heavy penalties. Prynne does good in those years of guilty and humiliation， the letter "A" on her chest turns into "Able"， "Admirable". Finally， Prynnes courage to bear， the spirit of self sacrifice and meticulous care for others in life to make the letter "A" to become “Affection” and "Angel".

The young clergyman Dimmesdale broke taboos， fell in love with Hester， as a priest， but he had an affair with Hester， which is contrary to his moral values， at the same time， he watched his lover being under the insult in a public occasion， was charged with adultery， and wearing the shame word "A"， he has no courage to bear public humiliation together with Hester， and he concealed affair to retain reputation and status. But the hypocrisy caused no peace in his heart， he was often sleepless， his body was emaciated， he had pale face and trembling voice. Although Dimmesdale saves others in words and deeds， his heart is restless， the more he does good， the more intense is his guilt， until confessed his sin before dying at the gallows Hester once publicly exposed， only to see his devout God with peace of mind.

Hester's husband Chillingworth is a clever scholar， and later study medicine. He found his wife pillory in the gallows， but selfishly chose not to disclose true identity so as not to be stained with the shame of Hester. When Hester didnt reveal the name of adulterer， he cant tolerate and forgive his wife's behavior， with his intuition he decided to implement the adulterer secretly for the cruel revenge. Revenge thought made his soul distorted， appearance has also become deformed. He changed his name to live in the Puritan city Hester lived， lived a religious life and chose Dimmesdale as his mentor. In seven years， he lived in one room with Dimmesdale craftily， looked coldly from the sidelines at the physical and mental pain of Dimmesdale， the madness of the spirit of revenge makes him degenerate into a demon who has no human nature.

3. The embodiment of the theme of atonement

3.1 Hester and Atonement theme—Self redemption

Hester appears as "sinner" at the beginning ， the Puritan society has led to her being cast aside， but she did not choose to escape. The scarlet letter A is a mark of shame， but in those years of being isolated， her life was pure and flawless. With her delicate needlework， as long as there was a chance to benefit people， she immediately admitted sisters love. For every demand of the poor， she is willing to show her meager income. When Hester's behavior is affirmed by all， many people will not even explain the red letter A according to the original meaning. They say that it is "competent" （Able）.

Hester gets inner peace and freedom earlier than Dimmesdale and Chillingworth， because from prison experience， the scaffold of the pillory， social abandonment， "A" word on the chest， and Pearl as a living witness. Such penalty would become a "shelter" to her. Because she has nothing to hide， and nothing is lost. Hester is publicly punished sinner， after bearing the burden of guilt， even evil sign she wears become a symbol of the angel of humanity monument.

3.2 Dimmesdale and Atonement theme—Self punishment

Compared with Hester， Dimmesdale is cowardice， hypocrisy and selfish， this is the inevitable result of religion restriction he suffers from. His soul is in sharp opposition between divinity and humanity. For him， the two aspects are unable to give up， giving up any one means pains or even destructions. He struggled in the contradictions for seven years， although he eventually exposed "evil" brand on his chest， completed moral purification and rising of the soul， he is always in the conflict between divinity and humanity， reason and intuition.

Dimmesdale didn't get the release of the sin， after his most glorious sermon， he finally stepped onto the scaffold for public admission of guilt. He stood together with Hester and Pearl， confront the sin honestly. In the experience of the repentance of morality and conscience and sincerely exposed the sin， Dimmesdale got redemption and rebirth.

3.3 Chillingworth and Atonement theme—The Fall of self

Chillingworth was a symbol of evil in religious society. He was old with gloomy personality and physical deformities； he married the beautiful young wife Prynne not for love， but just let Prynne lit the fire in his lonely and desolate heart to get spiritual comfort. His sin was reflected from two aspects： One was that he violated the laws of nature and wish of Prynne， from the day he married Prynne， his sin began； The other was the revenge of Chillingworth which was moral sin. Chillingworth was driven by the evil in his mind， in order to find out the accomplice to Prynne to revenge， he disguised himself as a doctor and one of the most trusted friend， tracking poor Dimmesdale anytime and anywhere， looking for every chance to find out the hidden things in his mind， torture and hurt his heart at will， and tried to stop him from confession on the scaffold. This behavior was blasphemous to Christianity， Chillingworth committed the unforgivable sin as devil.

4. Conclusion

From several characters in the novel we saw different situations， which are based on their own choice. The heroine chooses the road of self redemption， self improvement and self perfection. Everyone has a possibility to improve human nature， change themselves. The bad things that have been done in the past， what is its influence on today， to make yourself more depressed or stronger？ Past experience can make one recognize his own weaknesses and flaws， to turn over a new leaf and make things up to a constantly perfect own path. It is the self consciousness of human nature and the self perfection of life.

【Reference】

[1] Yao Naiqiang. The scarlet letter [M]. Nanjing： Yilin press， 1996.

[2] Zhong Zaiqiang. the Salvation of Humanity—An important theme of "the Scarlet Letter"[M]. Hawthorne from Journal of Nantong University Social Science Edition， 2006.

[3] Liang Qingfu. The True Dream， Regression of Human Nature theme exploration of the Scarlet Letter from Journal of Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics[M]. Social Science Edition， 2010.

[4] Tu Xiaowei. On Crime and Punishment—the View of Ethics in the Scarlet Letter[M]. Journal of Kaifeng Institute of Education， 2009.

【作者簡介】

王維娜（1981—），女，漢族，江蘇人，本科學歷，單位：中國人民大學，主要研究方向：英語語言文學。