My first reaction to the first four chapters of the novel is that they could have been a lot shorter. Although I have an appreciation for the well thought out and artfully put together words, I do feel that it is tedious at times. Overall, though, I enjoyed these chapters. Hawthorne's wording and phrasing, repetitive and meandering as it is, is extremely effective at painting the picture and the mood in the readers mind. One of the many example of this is when Hawthorne describes Governor Bellingham as wearing "a dark feather in his hat, a boarder of embroidery on his cloak, and a black velvet tunic beneath-- a gentleman advanced in years, with a hard experience written in his wrinkles. He was not ill-fitted to be the head and representative of a community which owed its origin and progress, and its present state of development, not to the impulses of youth, but to the stern and tempered energies of manhood and the sombre sagacity of age; accomplishing so much, and precisely because it imagined and hoped so little" (Hawthorne 60). While these sentences truly are works of art, Hawthorne could have said that the governor is old and because of this, he is suited to represent the community who is serious and not rash. Hawthorne uses this imagery to indicate to the reader that the Puritan society was a place of seriousness and conservatism. It was able to succeed and do well because everyone had such small hopes for the future that when anything remotely good happened, the society was pleased. Another thing I thought about as I read was the quality of life for the child. The child will always be like the scarlet letter on her chest to Hester: a reminder of her sin. She will probably love the child but it will always be a reminder. This evident in chapter two when she steps out of the prison. She is described as clasping her baby close to her chest to conceal the letter, but then, she judges "that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another" (Hawthorne 50). Not only will the child remind her of her wrong doing but everyone else will view the poor child as an illegitimate child of Hester's who is wrapped in sin. Even the innocent baby may suffer because of the harsh judgment the society places upon it. This is a criticism of Puritan society as well. Hawthorne is highlighting the fact that Puritans could hold an innocent baby as punishable for its mother's wrong doings. What I also find very interesting is Hester's defense of the father and her devotion. When asked to give her child a father, she simply replied "my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one" (Hawthorne 64). Hester is still loyal to her faith even though her fellow believers have treated her so poorly, and would have sentenced her to death. She also seems to have faith that her sins are not transmuted to her daughter, because she believes her daughter can seek a heavenly one.
What is Chillingworth's attitude toward Hester and her act of infidelity?
He is very removed, and does not really care because he claims that he should have seen it coming and that "the scales hang fairly balanced" (Hawthorne 70). He seems to think that it is only fair because he took her youthful years by marring her. He does not seem to care at all, and is more interested in discovering the name of the father than being angry at his wife. Also, he utilizes her guilt to make her promise to tell no one that he is her husband. The whole time, it is clear that he is in charge, almost as if he knows something that she does not. When Hester asked if she has been doomed to the devil, he replies, "Not thy soul" (Hawthorne 72) makes it seem as if he has sold his own soul. Perhaps he sold it for knowledge. He does want to go live at the edge of society, he is smart and he has always liked books.
The outside connection that I chose was the short, The Backwater Gospel. It holds many connections to The Scarlet Letter. In the Backwater Gospel, the congregation is God-fearing and will do anything to try and protect themselves even if it is technically immoral. The women in the Scarlet Letter are ready to sentence Hester to death. They wish that she was to be killed because she did not act in accordance to their beliefs, just as the short goes.
Warning: Creepy and Possibly Disturbing
No comments:
Post a Comment