An Unnatural Family as the Punishment for Sin in Hawthornes Scarlet Le

In an introductory paragraph to Nathaniel Hawthornes works, Perkins and Perkins say that Hawthorne elevated some of the darkest events of the colonial period and transformed them into universal themes and questions(Perkins 433). One of these themes is that of the penalty of sin. In Romans 623, Paul says that the wages of sin is death and Hawthorne seems to share this view, or at to the lowest degree some version of it. This view is prevalent in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In it, the penalty for Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdales sin is a family that is disfigured and unnatural. Dimmesdale, the father in this family shies away from his patriarchal duties and stands by while he lets Hester do all of the work regarding Pearl. First of all, Dimmesdale is absent for the majority of Pearls life. He is prove in the town barely hardly ever sees Pearl, even though she is his daughter. He says that Pearl has, only twice in her little lifetime shown good-will to him(Hawthorne Ch.19). O ut of seven entire years, Dimmesdale and Pearl have shared only two meaningful moments together. Dimmesdale has obviously shied away from his duties as a father to Pearl. blush though she is illegitimate, it is his responsibility to help raise her. He also does not deal with Pearl directly when she is acting like a crazed animal. He implores Hester to calm her, telling Hester to pacify her, through any means to show him if thou lovest me(Hawthorne Ch. 19). Hawthorne uses specific images through the words of his characters to show how much Dimmesdale is shying away from his responsibilities as a father. As a father, Dimmesdale should be raising his child to become a contributing member of the Puritan society in Massachusetts. Instead of doing this, Dimmesd... ..., but this is exactly what Pearl does over both Hester and Dimmesdale. Clearly, during the forest scene, Hawthorne is giving the reader a sense of how unnatural this family that came from a single adulterous act is. It she ds light on Hawthornes romantic views because it shows how an unnatural family is detestable. In a much more broad sense, it gives the reader a glimpse of Hawthornes own private theology. He firmly believes in severe consequences for sin and it shows in his novel. Works CitedHawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. New York Bantam Dell, 2003. PrintPerkins, George, and Barbara Perkins. Nathaniel Hawthorne. The American Tradition in Literature. Ed. Perkins and Perkins. twelfth ed. Concise ed. Boston McGraw Hill, 2007. 433-36. Print.The Holy Bible New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan Zondervan, 1996. Print.