Pursuit Of The Answer

735 Words3 Pages
The critic Roland Barthes once said, “Literature is the question minus the answer”. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathanial Hawthorne, the central question over sin and salvation brings about the relationship between the novel and Roland Barthes’ quote. Literally this quote is complicated and can be hard to understand, but, if looked at metaphorically, it means that literature is not about finding the answer, but the question itself. He understands that a good author does not write for the purpose of answering the question, but rather for letting the reader take their own path to find an answer and of their own. Throughout the novel, the author answers the question broadly with love, family, and lessons learned. Hawthorne treats the subject conspicuously as he molds the story of Hester and Pearl around sin. This affects the reader’s understanding by bringing about the realization of the consequences of sin. Hester was forced to live her life constantly reliving the sin that she had committed through her daughter Pearl. Sin is defined as a transgression against the law and has always been thought of as a regrettable act. In this 1850’s novel, Hester Pryne changes this definition. At the beginning of the story, adultery is an unspeakable crime, with the consequences being dire. Along with a sentence in prison, one was to be “marked” and judged forever by a simple letter upon the bosom. Throughout Nathanial Hawthorne’s novel, readers are able to easily sense the constant sin present in the lives of the characters. The obvious example is with Hester and her adultery. This is what shapes the novel. From the opening scene to the final farewells, Hester’s sin does not leave the minds of the readers. Dimmesdale’s sin is harder to sense. Throughout the story, the reader gets hints of his conscious, but it never reveals itself until the very last words of the
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