Sin in Puritan Society: Chapters 1-4

The opening chapters of the Scarlet Letter are filled with repetitive symbolism. Although not particularly subtle, Hawthorne’s use of imagery serves to illustrate the contradictions inherent to Puritan society.

We start with a description of the prison door. As Hawthorne describes it, the door is the physical embodiment of the severity of Puritan law. Puritan tradition is old and has  “seemed never to have known a youthful era”.  Moreover, the rust of tradition is obsolete , “more antique than anything else in the new world”. Juxtaposing the archaic Puritan dogma with a New World demonstrates unstable nature of the society. The presumed utopia is not founded on the impulses of youth, but to the stern and tempered energies of manhood, and the somber sagacity of age”. The Puritan’s in their quest for moral perfection, immediately construct a prison, in anticipation of sin.

Moreover, the Puritan notions of beauty are themselves polluted by harsh uniformity. Consider the flora that pre-dated the Puritan settlement. To beautify the area (in their minds anyway), the Puritans dispose of  “burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation”.  In return, a “black flower of civilized society” is planted. Interestingly, although Hawthorne is obviously equating Puritan society with black flowers, the Puritans relate black with the “Black Man”, the epitome of sin. Thus, in their quest for uniform and moral beauty, the Puritans introduce sin into an area that as once pure. The wildflowers of innocence have been replaced with the black flowers of sin.

Moreover, the black flowers have been planted at the base of the prison door. Thus, the supposed utopia has planted sin into otherwise pure grounds. This motif of black sin is repeated with the introduction of Governor Bellingham. The Governor, unsurprisingly dressed in black, through his lavish lifestyle has contradicted the Puritan tenets of austerity. Yet his brazen defiance of Puritan code is unpunished as opposed to Hester’s adultery. Why is Bellingham sentencing while Hester is being sentenced ?

Well, in general unchecked power will lead to sin. Look at cults of modern day. Most involve giving up all worldly possessions. These forfeited possessions are then in the “care” of who-ever the leader is. One example is the Branch Davidian Cult , most notably known for its role in the tragic Waco Siege. Its leader David Koresh had a number of spiritual marriages with young girls consisting of sexual favors.

Thus, just as cult leaders retain their possessions (and those of others), because Bellingham has power, his transgressions of code do not apply. The Puritan model of government where “religion and law were almost identical, and in whose character both were so thoroughly interfused” is a recipe for sin. Because religious authority reigns supreme, sin among the highest levels of society is unchecked. If we look at Dimmesdale. Clearly, he has sinned as much of Hester. Yet, his high stature within society guarantees his immunity. For example, Dimmesdale’s confessions of adultery only serve to convince the regular Puritan sheep of his moral impeccability and virtue.

We can now see that that these issues stem from the stubborn insistence that only a select few can know the mind of God. Hawthorne does mention challenges to this belief with the idea of antinomianism. In this controversial belief, everyone has God within them. Thus, “experts”  are not required to translate the Bible. Anne Hutchinson, a proponent of this system was banished from Puritan society for holding such beliefs. The real issue here is her challenging of the patriarchal minister system. Hutchinson like Hester is ostracized for her defiance of Puritan tradition.

Hawthorne continues to lay this on pretty thick with his increasingly obvious connections between Hutchinson and Hester. Let us look at this rose bush. Finding its symbolic importance is not particularly difficult. The reader is told explicitly that it “symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.” So, it represents a moral, or some redeeming quality to this overly wordy novel. Hawthorne also informs us that the rosebush “sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door”. Moreover, the rosebush defied Puritan attempts to plant the “black flowers of civilization” that we talked about earlier. Thus, the rosebush may be considered to be a by-product of Hutchinson’s original rebellion, a symbol of defiance to outdated Puritan dogma.

Thus, much like antinomianism, Hester’s adultery is not merely a transgression of moral code to be punished. The Puritan society is surrounded by the unknown and fear symbolized by the wilderness. Hester threatens to disturb the system of religion through her actions. Because religion is equivalent to government in Puritan society as we previously saw, adultery undermines the very government of the civilization.

Like Hutchinson and the rosebush, Hester’s adultery too dares to challenge the Puritan society and its patriarchal constructs. Hester’s punishment is meant not only to shame her but to discredit the defiance for which she stood. Thus, Hester’s punishment is designed for the most part to preserve the ministerial system of government.