Guilt and Punishment.docVIP

Guilt and Punishment 　　Abstract： The following essay makes a comparison of the three major characters-Hester Prynne， Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth from three aspects， which are guilt， attitudes and results. By making comparison， the author’s viewpoint of the theme is obvious： people are all inevitably guilty and faced with punishments， but different people with different natures and different moral concepts may take different attitudes towards the guilt and punishment， and their different attitudes lead to their different results. 　　Key words： The Scarlet Letter； guilt and punishment； attitude； result 　　Ⅰ.Introduction 　　The Scarlet Letter， one of the masterpieces of Nathaniel Hawthorne， just focuses on the very theme by describing a moving love tragedy in North American colonial time. To clarify his specific viewpoint of the theme – guilt and punishment， Hawthrone constructs carefully his three major characters – Hester Prynne， Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth – who have common guilt， different attitudes and different results. So in order to understand the theme thoroughly， it is necessary to compare their guilt and punishment， to compare their attitudes towards guilt and punishment， and to compare their results as well. 　　Ⅱ. Common Guilt 　　Hester Prynne is guilty obviously for she is the principle criminal of the adultery. Hester’s secret love with Dimmesdale is caused by her prurience. Although a female puritan is not allowed to love her minister at that time， Hester， who has not heard from her husband for long， could not restrain her passion when she meets the charming young minister. In spite of the rules of Puritanism and the status of Dimmesdale， Hester reposes her love in the timid clergy bravely but hastily， thus capturing him and committing adultery. 　　Dimmesdale is guilty. His guilt originates from his being Hester’s partner in their love affair，which is forbidden by scriptural law. Although he attributes love to sin and thinks