The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne, N.)
"'Mercy on us, goodwife,' exclaimed a man in the crowd, 'is there no virtue in woman, save what springs from a wholesome fear of the gallows? That is the hardest word yet! Hush, now, gossips; for the lock is turning in the prison door, and here comes Mistress Prynne herself."
(s. 52)
" 'Tell me, mother!' said the child, seriously, coming up to Hester, and pressing herself close to her knees. 'Do thou tell me!'
'Thy Heavenly Father sent thee!' answered Hester Prynne.
But she said it with a hesitation that did not escape the acuteness of the child. Whether moved only by her ordinary freakishness, or because an evil spirit prompted her, she put up her small forefinger, and touched the scarlet letter.
'He did not send me!' cried she, positively. 'I have no Heavenly Father!'"
(s. 98)
" 'Madman, hold! What is your purpose?' whispered he. 'Wave back that woman! Cast off this child! All shall be well! Do not blacken your fame, and perish in dishonor! I can yet save you! Would you bring infamy on your sacred profession?'
'Ha, tempter! Methinks thou art too late!'"
(s. 252)
4/5
In The Scarlet Letter the reader can notice a constant opposition between good and bad, morality and immorality, the Christian faith and the local folklore, and, ultimately, God and Devil. The reader needs but little knowledge on the Bible to be able to point out some rather obvious similarities between certain biblical characters and the characters of The Scarlet Letter.
According to the Christian tradition, the only perfect human being - the only human being never to have committed any sin - was Jesus. Mr. Dimmesdale's attempts to lead a perfect life, however, get rather close to those of his God. His one mistake, the one that in the end claims his life, makes him even stronger, at some sense. The fact that even he has erred makes him more human, and brings him closer to his congregation despite the fact that they do not know of his sin.
It is relatively easy to point at Mr. Dimmesdale as the most saint-like character of the book, but finding his evil counterpart is a bit more complex process. One of the main ideas of The Scarlet Letter seems to be to point out that even the Puritans were not quite as pure as the name implies. Nevertheless is Mr. Chillingsworth perhaps the most potential candidate for this title.
At several occasions, the author refers more or less directly to Chillingsworth's "old studies in alchemy". Widely considered, alchemy can be understood as the process of turning a subject or a common substance into another - perhaps into one with a greater value than the original. At least in my opinion, it is not hard to point out that one of the most obvious undertones of The Scarlet Letter is to describe how an elderly English scholar changes, first into a completely different man, in order to find out the identity of Pearl's father, and later into something not quite human but something that resembles more Devil itself.
(s. 52)
" 'Tell me, mother!' said the child, seriously, coming up to Hester, and pressing herself close to her knees. 'Do thou tell me!'
'Thy Heavenly Father sent thee!' answered Hester Prynne.
But she said it with a hesitation that did not escape the acuteness of the child. Whether moved only by her ordinary freakishness, or because an evil spirit prompted her, she put up her small forefinger, and touched the scarlet letter.
'He did not send me!' cried she, positively. 'I have no Heavenly Father!'"
(s. 98)
" 'Madman, hold! What is your purpose?' whispered he. 'Wave back that woman! Cast off this child! All shall be well! Do not blacken your fame, and perish in dishonor! I can yet save you! Would you bring infamy on your sacred profession?'
'Ha, tempter! Methinks thou art too late!'"
(s. 252)
4/5
In The Scarlet Letter the reader can notice a constant opposition between good and bad, morality and immorality, the Christian faith and the local folklore, and, ultimately, God and Devil. The reader needs but little knowledge on the Bible to be able to point out some rather obvious similarities between certain biblical characters and the characters of The Scarlet Letter.
According to the Christian tradition, the only perfect human being - the only human being never to have committed any sin - was Jesus. Mr. Dimmesdale's attempts to lead a perfect life, however, get rather close to those of his God. His one mistake, the one that in the end claims his life, makes him even stronger, at some sense. The fact that even he has erred makes him more human, and brings him closer to his congregation despite the fact that they do not know of his sin.
It is relatively easy to point at Mr. Dimmesdale as the most saint-like character of the book, but finding his evil counterpart is a bit more complex process. One of the main ideas of The Scarlet Letter seems to be to point out that even the Puritans were not quite as pure as the name implies. Nevertheless is Mr. Chillingsworth perhaps the most potential candidate for this title.
At several occasions, the author refers more or less directly to Chillingsworth's "old studies in alchemy". Widely considered, alchemy can be understood as the process of turning a subject or a common substance into another - perhaps into one with a greater value than the original. At least in my opinion, it is not hard to point out that one of the most obvious undertones of The Scarlet Letter is to describe how an elderly English scholar changes, first into a completely different man, in order to find out the identity of Pearl's father, and later into something not quite human but something that resembles more Devil itself.