Essay Sin, Guilt, and the Mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne

Sin, Guilt, and the Mind of Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthornes works are notable for their treatment of guilt and the complexities of moral choices. Moral and religious concerns, in short, are almost always present in Hawthornes work(Foster, 56). Given Hawthornes background, it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that his novels are critiques of Puritanism. Hawthorne lived in the deeply scarred New England area, separated from Puritanism by only one generation. His grandfather had been one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials. Personal issues include the various ways Hawthornes family and specific events in his life influenced his writing. Readers can easily recognize how Young Goodman Brown incorporates†¦show more content†¦He loses all faith in the community, as he says, my faith is gone! There is no good on earth (Young Goodman). He feels he is above them because he was able to resist the devil. He says, Look up to Heaven, and resist the Wicked One! (Young Goodman). Goodman Browns pride is his tragic fl aw, since he has too much therefore it causes his downfall. The pride Goodman Brown experiences differs from that of Hester Prynne. Hester from The Scarlet Letter is an example of pride, self-empowerment and redemption. The scarlet letter, fantastically embroidered with gold thread (Scarlet Letter, 45) is constantly worn by Hester in pride and in dignity. In the city of Boston many people refuse to interpret the scarlet A by its original significance. They say it means Able. After many years, Hester returns to New England. There [is] a more real life for Hester Prynne here, in New England, than in the unknown region where Pearl found a home. Here [is] her sin; here, her sorrow; and here [is] yet to be her penitence. She returns, therefore, and resumes, -of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would impose it. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom (Scarlet Letter, 123). 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