The Scarlet Letter

"Themes of Guilt in the Scarlet Letter" by Alan Goldhorn    	

What is guilt?  We all
have guilt about something.  Maybe forgetting something,  lied about
something, or even did something that shouldn't of been done.  In The
Scarlet  Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we saw guilt fester in the minds
and outward appearance  of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur
Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth.    	When you hear the word guilt what
do you think it means?  Guilt means  remorseful awareness of having done
something wrong or of having failed to do  something required or expected.
 Does that sound about right?  Guilt is something  everyone has.  Its this
mental manifestation that lets us know when we did something  wrong but no
one knows it yet.  Guilt is very powerful.  Some people after awhile give
in  to this guilt and confess what they did. In The Scarlet Letter,
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale commit a great sin.   Because of this
great sin, it causes them immense guilt and sadness though out the rest of
 the book.  One of the main character's that is affected the most is
Arthur Dimmesdale.   Dimmesdale handles it in a different way though, to
him its more of a "concealed sin."  A  example of this is, "It may be that
they are kept silent by the very constitution of their  nature.  Or - can
we not suppose it - guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal
 for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves
black and filthy  in the view of men; because, thenceforward, no good can
be achieved by them; no evil or  the past be redeemed by better service." 
Dimmesdale also has another reason for his  concealing, he wants to remain
silent so that he can continue to do God's work as a  minister.    	Hester
Prynne handles her guilt in another way.  Instead of worrying about it day
 after day and letting to fester, she makes it outward.  At the beginning
of the book she  wears the most awesome clothes and shows the world she's
not guilty for what she has  done.  An example of this is, "And never had
Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in  the antique interpretation of
the term, than as she issued from the prison."  Also she shows  it with
the scarlet A on her chest.  Instead of just putting some dumb A on her
chest she  spends the time and embroiders it with red and gold thread and
even wears the scarlet A  long after she could have removed it.    	Roger
Chillingworth appears at first to be the one that was sinned on but though
 out the book that changes with every page of the nasties that
Chillingworth has caused.   Even with the major sin of Hester Prynne and
Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger's sins are much  greater.  First Roger knows that
he never really did love Hester and says he did wrong by  marrying such a
young wife that also didn't love him.  But Roger doesn't notice is second 
sin, taking revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale.  An example of this is, "We are
not, Hester,  the worst sinners in the world.  There is one worse then
even the polluted priest!  That old  man's revenge has been blacker then
my sin.  He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of  a human heart. 
Thou and I, Hester, never did so!"  Because Chillingworth's sin was the 
blackest his fate was the most horrible of the three.  	To overcome this
great guilt the character's handle it in there own way.  Hester  Prynne
handles it by trying to hide nothing, trying to show the world, see what I
did and  I'm proud of it!  Arthur Dimmesdale handles his terrible guilt by
concealing it to himself.   To overcome it he would whip himself, take
long walks into the forest, and even get in a  secret interview with
Hester.  His final output to the world was to tell them all on the 
scaffold of his great sin on election day.  Roger Chillingworth handles
his guilt by not  showing he had any.  Ignorance played a big part for
Roger and in the end he also tells and  notices what a great sin he has
caused.   	What comes to the mind when guilt is said?  Good, bad or are
you just plain  confused? Everyone has this problems about guilt, its not
just yourself.  Right?  In The  Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
guilt affected many people.  Guilt is very powerful  and festers in our
minds and hearts of everyone when wrong doing occurs.