Narducci 1 Domenic Narducci Mr.

DiBona English 9 A 1 April 2013 On Puritan Hypocrisy In the words of Shakespeare, [if] to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men's cottages princes' palaces (1.2.206). The Scarlet Letter is an intense criticism of Puritan hypocrisy drawing on the beliefs of the romantic writers and it exemplifies Shakespeares words through its characters and their ironic interactions. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, is one of the main writers of the romantic era and a transcendentalist. The combination of romanticism and transcendentalism contributed to his high regard of nature, and to his belief of puritanical hypocrisy, since these two movements are centered around the ideas of nature, individualism, and logic, not the idea of a Christian god. Furthermore, Hawthornes grandfather burned witches at the Salem Witch trials, an act that would haunt Hawthorne his entire life. These three factors combined to make Hawthorne recognize the hypocrisy of Puritan society and inspire him to write his book criticizing it. Throughout the romance, Hawthorne employs use of heavy, almost humorous, irony as a criticism. He uses irony in his characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale and Pearl, in The Scarlet Letter to emphasize the hypocrisy of Puritan society through their interactions with it and each other. The hypocrisy in puritan society is evident in Hesters interaction with it. In Puritan society, one is expected to adhere to the belief that they are on a hill, where they must be the perfect being and live in the way of God. However Hester breaks this code by committing

Narducci 2 adultery with the Minister. According to the Puritans, [she has] raised a great scandal... in godly Master Dimmesdales church (Hawthorne 53). Dimmesdale also commits adultery with Hester; so, he to commits adultery in his own church. However, while Dimmesdale is the one who died from this guilt at the end of the romance, Hester is the one who becomes esteemed and considered almost saintly by the time their sin has taken its toll. While Puritan society punishes only Hester, despite Dimmesdale admitting his guilt to the congregation in its entirety, in the end it actually betters Hester and destroys Dimmesdale. Furthermore, although the puritans believe Hester to be evil, they still come to her that there might be [a] call for the finer productions of her handiwork (Hawthorne 69). Hester, although a sinner, wears simplistic clothing while her clients, those of the Puritan society, request lavish clothing to be knitted at her hand. The irony is manifold in these requests, as, it is the very people who punish her for sinning that come to her for these clothes. The clothes themselves are of a lavish and ornate style, which is avoided since it draws attention away from their sole purpose and savior; God. Yet, the sinless judge that is the Puritan society is also committing this sin against God, while Hester adheres to a higher standard than it. As Nicholas Canaday Jr. states, [the] heavy irony is based upon the contrast between savagery in the wilderness and righteousness in godly New England (18). Hester exists as the wilderness, falling victim only to a love that lasted seven years, and is considered savage, yet the hypocritical puritans believe they act in the just name of God, when in reality they are no better than the standard they hold Hester to. Dimmesdales guilt-heavy life and ultimate demise demonstrates the ironic predispositions evident in Puritan society. In a society that claims to be built around God, the minister would be a symbol of perfection and divine goodness. Yet, Dimmesdale commits adultery with Hester and never faces the public eye for it until seven years later when he dies.

Narducci 3 Dimmesdale, a penitent man, attempts to admit to his congregation several times that it was he who committed this heinous crime with Hester, and [they] heard it all, and did but reverence him the more (Hawthorne 120). Hypocrisy is evident here, as the Puritans request that the man who committed this crime admit it and be brought to justice, yet when an admission of guilt comes they only revere the man saying it. Hawthorne particularly emphasizes the stubbornness of the puritans and their unwillingness to believe that the minister has done wrong. Since the puritans believe in God as the ultimate source of goodness, Dimmesdale could not possibly be evil in any way, and, therefore, he is using the admission of guilt as a way of saying that, they are all sinners, when, in reality, he is trying to relieve himself of the pain of this burdened guilt. Hawthorne further stabs at Puritan society, as the minister, the best among them, falls to the temptations of sin and [teaches] some wicked words to a knot of little Puritan children who... had but just begun to talk (Hawthorne 181). He is corrupting the innocence evidencing his evil and his wrongdoing, yet the Puritan society turns a blind eye to this atrocious act, and, instead, scrutinizes Hester for merely falling in love. Here the irony exists in the contrast between the actions of and the beliefs about Puritan society (Canaday 18). For example, one would assume a Minister in a god central society would hold a position in which he would do no wrong. When, in fact, the opposite holds true and he is the worst sinner of them all. Hawthorne makes a brutal stab at puritanism and the hypocrisy of such a society. Pearl, considered a dichotomy, shakes the very foundation of the Puritan system of beliefs, as she was born in evil, yet holds the ideal that truth is the fundamental goodness in the universe. The puritans would believe that Pearl must be evil as she was born as the result of a passionate sin, yet Pearl is not all evil. Pearl is part angel and part devil, but maintains an innate need for the truth. Furthermore, Pearl is wild and free, and, while in nature, she is at home. For

Narducci 4 example, Hawthorne writes that [a] wolf... came up, smelt of Pearls robe, and offered his savage head to be patted by her hand (169). According to the Puritan belief, God is evident in all nature, the freedom of the natural world, and the untapped frontier is evil. Pearl is an embodiment of all of those things, yet, when savage animals come to her, they are suddenly and paradoxically tame in Pearls wild freedom. The irony here exists in the goodness of something that the puritans would call evil. Hawthorne argues that nature is pure by itself, and a godly society is unnecessary for goodness to prevail, completely contradicting the beliefs of the puritans. Furthermore, Hawthorne states [the] angel and apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure, and beautiful (215). One can infer that this refers to Pearl, as Pearl embodies all of these things. Pearl, is to be the savior of the world, yet puritanism argues that she is evil, and her saving of the world is sacrilege, as that is the job of God. Hawthorn, again, stabs at the hypocrisy of Puritan society and the irony of their beliefs, and the real results. A Puritan would say that Pearl is demon offspring, yet Hawthorne states she is the savior of the world, an angel. Pearl is the wilderness, freedom and nature, doing no wrong and accepting only the truth, while the puritans live a false life in which they have placed themselves in a position higher than all. According to Hawthorne, therefore, the puritans are the exact opposite of what they claim to be. Hawthornes beliefs about the hypocritical nature of Puritan society are evidenced by the use of irony in his characters throughout the romance. By pointing out the many evils of Puritan society, which is focused more on religion than nature, Hawthorne demonstrates that a focus on nature and its purity creates a balanced and stable society. Furthermore, he demonstrates how a society so focused on God can miss the beauty and freedom that is already present in the world. And, he satirically mocks the ignorance present in Puritan hypocrisy. In conclusion, Hawthorne

Narducci 5 shows how Puritan sincerity and truth are masked behind the lie that is hypocrisy as present in the irony of the characters in his romance.

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Works Cited Canaday, Nicholas. "Ironic Humor as Defense in "The Scarlet Letter"." The South Central Bulletin (1961): 17-18. Web. 1 April. 2013. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Open Source Shakespeare: 2003. http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=m erchantvenice&Act=1&Scene=2&Scope=scene. 3 April. 2013.