He lived with his troubles and was distressed by the thoughts of his sin on a daily basis throughout his life. In The Scarlet Letter, concealed sin took a great affect on Arthur Dimmesdale through his ministry role, physical well being, and through his agonized soul. Truly, Dimmesdale's ministerial status has a considerable influence on his concealed sin. "People say, said another, 'that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to his heart that such a scandal has come upon his congregation" (Hawthorne 178). He is constantly put on a pedestal, "the agony with which this public veneration tortured him.
Chillingworth is a learned man and his intellect was so important to him that it showed in his physical features. As the story progresses, Chillingworth’s physical appearance begins to change with his dedication to seek revenge against the one Hester committed adultery with- Dimmesdale. When Hester sees Chillingworth at the governor's house she notes “how his dark complexion seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen” (103). Chillingworth is becoming more evil over time because he is consumed with revenge which is reflected in the darkening of his features and increased deformity. His darker features reveal the darkness in his soul, while the physical deformity suggests a corruption in his soul.
“I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (3.4.136-138) In this quote, Macbeth is telling himself that because he has stepped into evil so deeply, it will be hard to go back to morallity because he will never be able to rid of this guilt brought onto him. He begins to feel so remorseful, that he starts hallucinating and realizing that he has done such treacherous deeds. Even though he can still see how his actions are terrible, as the play develops, he begins to inch deeper and deeper into his own destruction of innocence. Macbeth had always felt threatened by Macduff because Macduff knew what a traitor he really was. Therefore, he had wanted to plot to end Macduff’s life as to not pose a threat on his reign any longer.
Double standards resonate deeply in “The Scarlet Letter.” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses specific characters to represent many different evils in society. One of these evils, hypocrisy, exists as one of the most important themes in the novel. At very specific and timely points in the book Hawthorne and the Narrator are able to portray fraudulence as the root of why the world seems to fall apart for Dimmesdale. Because of his hypocritical tendencies, Dimmesdale pains the people closest to him; including himself. Even though Pearl was willing to have a relationship with her father, Dimmesdale's heart was not strong enough to fully reveal himself to his own daughter until much too late.
Macbeth is scared by the blood of Duncan. However, the blood may not be seen by others since it is only figurative. It is the eternal reminder to those characters of the terrible sin that they have committed. This symbol functions as a figurative tattoo that may not be removed from the hands. It drives Lady Macbeth to insanity that will eventually bring her to her collapse.
The Puritans view this letter as a symbol of the adultery. The letter also put Hester through torture: "Of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but there was a quality so much more terrible in the solemn mood of popular mind, that she longed rather to behold all those rigid countenances contorted with scornful merriment and herself the object"(54). This implies that Hester's sin of bearing a child without the presence of a husband will always be remembered. In the middle of the novel is a transition period where the letter "A" is viewed differently than before.
According to Brown, “The dramatist depicts incidents which arouse pity and fear for the protagonist [Antigone], then during the course of the action, he resolves the major conflicts, bringing the plot to a logic and foreseeable conclusion (Brown, para 5). The tragic hero in Antigone is Creon. Tragic heroes are not all good and not all bad. Creon suffers a great deal due to his tragic flaw and destructive pride. Creon believes the gods make him suffer the loss of his wife and son as punishment for his pride.
He purposely uses powerful adjectives in his phrases, such as “burnt her inside out” and “she was in great agony”; the word “agony” is emotive because it suggests an extremely unbearable pain. Sheila responds “miserably” which illustrates that she has been saddened by the news the Inspector had announced. However, this has an impact on Sheila but Mr and Mrs Birling, who are set in their ignorant time frame of mind, fail to see this. Their callous attitude prevents them from accepting any blame or responsibility for their own actions, and they fail to recognise that all actions have consequences. Their social class is also revealed when they are talking about Eva Smith.
In The Scarlet Letter evil is portrayed in many ways. A woman and her child are forced to live in shame because of two men’s indecencies. While most people in that time believed the way a Puritan should, others were more rebellious. Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale, both considerably older men, express evil all throughout the story. Chillingworth, a man of age and wisdom, has a dark side that many don’t see.
Repulsion and desire theme is portrayed by the way Eddie repeats his father’s sins in juggling relations with Countess and May; same way the Old Man abandoned both May’s and Eddie mother by leaving them tortured and distraught by their obsessive love for him. May has feelings that same pain and anguish may rule her entire life because she is unable to totally live without Eddie, and this saddens the pair, leaving them to face their doubtful future being apart. As the play indicates however, the incest pair’s future promises additional emotional reunions as well as necessary, but painful moments of abandonment as evidenced where May hate Eddie after leaving her and equally loves him back after returning. In stage performance, lighting and sound are employed to convey distraught feelings, and violent emotions experienced by May and Eddie. As the play commences lights fade to shades of darkness, and the ‘Wake Up’ song by Merle Haggard is heard with its sound increasing gradually as lights rises; to convey the growing range between Eddie and May.