The Scarlet Letter is a story that brings to light many social and religious issues. Although the time period for this film was set deep into America’s past, there are instances today whereby a person may be alienated by society for holding on to their convictions. The problem with religion (which is boldly expressed in this film) is that people following all of the strict social rules have a tendency to forget that they are not perfect. It is so easy to look down upon another person simply for being human or just making mistakes. In a town full of self-righteous people, Hester Prynne is stoned by hurtful words and harsh treatment from others who had forgotten their own imperfections. Living in a town such as this could make a person forget their own God-given ability to think independently. However, there is no stronger character in literature than Hester. She had a keen knowledge of herself that allowed her to stand up to the governing men who condemned her. There was a relationship between the scarlet letter that was forced upon her and her own self-image.
The image represented by her red letter A was quite contrary to the image that Hester Prynne had of herself. She seemed to have a very positive self-image. This was evident in the way she asserted herself in the court when men interrogated her. Even when they were preparing to hang her, she was asked to surrender the name of her child’s father and confess of her sin. Hester said that she may have sinned in their eyes, but who knew if God felt the same. This was a bold statement to make in front of people who wanted nothing more than to kill her. There is a correlation between having a positive self-image and defending oneself. Had she been wallowing in self-pity and shaming herself for the act of loving the minister and conceiving his child, she would not have had the strength to stand up for herself. More importantly, if she were completely dominated by the religious rules in this society, she might have still had the affair (since she was just being human) but she most certainly would not have defended herself.
Hester Prynne was ridiculed by society primarily because she had an affair and a child with a man who was not her husband. She was no less a believer in God and Biblical teachings as her fellow townspeople believed. According to a study, various versions of legitimacy theory predict that a duty and obligation to obey legitimate authorities generally trumps people’s personal moral and religious values (Skitka et al., 2009). In the case of Hester’s life, the authority she obeyed was her heart (although the judgmental, gossiping women might say she obeyed the devil). Her heart was so full of love for Arthur Dimmesdale that her morals regarding marital fidelity and requirements to suppress lustful desires were impossible to obey. This is one of the ways in which she was different from the rest of society. The laws were set upon their interpretation of the Bible. Following the laws of this town was equated to honoring the Holy Scriptures. Hester Prynne had a more realistic and logical understanding of the Bible and this was evident in her character. For instance, in the room with the women she said that she speaks directly to God and he answers her. While in court, she told the men that the Bible says, the women shall teach the women (Hawthorne 1850). No one could refute her. Thomas M. Cooley lectured on the use of religious arguments in political dialogue. His clarity on the subject explains how Hester was subject to “religious convictions by legislators and judges” (Greenawalt 1985). The contrast between Hester and the society where she lived explains why she refused to stop wearing the scarlet letter. For her it was a symbol of their shame and not her own. It reminded her not to allow them to shake her convictions. It was a symbol of her strength which was fueled by her undying love for the minister.
Hester Prynne’s self-identity was illustrated so colorfully in this film. It was perhaps symbolized by the pretty red bird which made cameo appearances at significant points in the film. She was the rainbow that stood out from the grayness of the people. She was educated and had read many books on various subjects. Hester knew how to think for herself. She did it without allowing the cruelty of others to make her second-guess her decisions. As they threatened and humiliated her, she boldly exclaimed that the father of her child is her husband for life and she honors him. Hester viewed herself not as being above others but in close contact with God. Her faith in God (in addition to love for the minister) was what allowed her to endure an unbearable pregnancy in a filthy, cold and neglectful jail. On the contrary, the society that branded her with a negative symbol didn’t view her that way. She was viewed as an adulterer. She was dirty, shameless and beneath everyone else as a nasty sinner. Despite the minister’s attempt to teach everyone that no one is perfect, the townspeople could only focus on their perception of her as they forgot their own imperfections.
Hester Prynne was in love with a man who nourished her soul. Aided by this, she learned what all his theology had never taught him—the power of love to sustain and guide and teach the soul (Loring 2007). The minister in turn was sustained and kept alive by her love during his darkest days. The hypocrisy of the story’s characters was blaring and the phoniness was almost too much to bear. To summarize the difference between Hester Prynne and the society she tolerated, she was shamed and given the identity of a harlot deserving of unrelenting ridicule. Hester’s view of herself was that of a liberated woman who was free to love a real man who truly had the same feelings for her.
In conclusion, religious persecution is often bloody and implacable and is remembered and resented for generations (Unknown 2014). These people fled European persecution, yet they subjected Hester to the same treatment in the name of religion. Hester Prynne gives women (and anyone who is an outcast in a social structure) permission to love freely and deeply, think for themselves and speak their own minds.
- Greenawalt, Kent. “Religious Convictions and Lawmaking.” Michigan Law Review. no. 3 (1985): 352-404. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1289007 (accessed April 24, 2014).
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Boston: Dover Publications, 1850.
- Loring, George B. “Hawthorne’s ‘Scarlet Letter’.” Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. (2007): 484-500.
- Skitka, Linda J., Christopher W. Bauman, and Brad L. Lytle. “Limits on legitimacy: Moral and religious convictions as constraints on deference to authority.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. no. 4 (2009): 567-578. 10.1037/a0015998 (accessed April 23, 2014).
- Unknown,. Library of Congress, “Religion and the Founding of the American Republic: America as a Religious Refuge: The Seventeenth Century.” Last modified 2014. Accessed April 24, 2014. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html.
