Isolation and Alienation in Puritan Society

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Isolation and Alienation in Puritan Society by Lawrence Luo In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne examines the effects of alienation and isolation in the darkness of smothering Puritan morality. These effects are presented largely in a negative light; a theme of the book is that alienation and isolation are detrimental to finding true happiness and achieving true moral redemption. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the main characters demonstrate these adverse effects that isolation from society can have on people. After her adulterous affair and fall from decent society, Hester Prynne leads a solitary life on the outskirts of Boston. Though she finds solace from a community that scorns her for her former actions, Hester ultimately suffers as a result of her isolation from other human beings. Her retirement from public life leads her to ponder, alone, the hypocrisy that is and was Puritan morality. She is forced to reexamine her life, and live from day-to-day seeking forgiveness and redemption. Hester never does repent for her actions, but it is a cruel torture that is augmented due to the hypocritical nature of the populace that has condemned her. Hester’s pain at her alienation is apparent in the devotion she holds towards her daughter Pearl, her (and Pearl’s) only company. “But she named the infant ‘Pearl’, as being of great price – purchased with all she had – her mother’s only treasure!” (Hawthorne 83). Their relationship is a tenuous one, but Hester’s maternal bond to her daughter helps her cope with alienation. Through Pearl, Hester learns some measure of empathy again and finds comfort in the fact that someone will accept her for who she is. Pearl does exactly that and more; she intuits the “inner sinfulness” that Hester holds in her heart and displays on her breast, and accepts Hester. When her mother sheds the garments that have held

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