Passion and Authority in The Scarlet Letter
Author(s): Nina Baym
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The New England Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Jun., 1970), pp. 209-230
Published by: The New England Quarterly, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/363242 .
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PASSION AND AUTHORITY
THE SCARLET
NINA
W
IN
LETTER
BAYM
ITH thecomposition
of The ScarletLetter,Nathaniel
Hawthorne,aftertwo decadesof hesitationand experimentation,finallyacceptedhis vocationas an authorand produced a major work.In thisbook he definedthe focusof all
fourof his finishednovels: theconflictbetweenforcesof passion and of repressionin thepsycheand in society.The book
also gavedefinitive
symbolicshapeto a numberofelementsin
his continuingexplorationof thistheme.In Hester,he developed the "dark lady" typeof his storiesinto an embodiment
of thesoul's creativeand passionateimpulses;thistypeis subsequentlyvariedto formZenobia and Miriam.In Dimmesdale
he presentedthemostmemorableversionof the guilt-prone,
emotionallydividedyoungmenwho are so oftenat thecenter
ofhis work.And, havingtreatedthePuritansin a numberof
he fixedon a use forthem
waysin hisshortstoriesand sketches,
as symbolsof authorityand repressionin bothsocietyand the
self.
The sexual encounterwhichformsthedonndeof The Scarlet Letterwas an act neitherofdeliberatemoraldisobedience
nor of conscioussocial rebellion.The twocharactershad forgottensociety,and were thinkingonly of themselves,their
passion,and momentary
joy. Yet, in the worldof thisnovel,
wherethecommunity
dominatesall life,to forgettheclaimsof
societyis to sin againstit. But thesinhas no referencebeyond
itssocialdimension,and societyhasno reference
beyonditself.
The community
in whichHesterand Dimmesdalelive is representedas the historicalNew England Puritancommunity,
but the entireworldview withinwhich thishistoricalcommunityconceivedofitselfis missing.
The Puritansdemanded a far-reaching
surrenderof selfhood to society,it is true,but alwaysin theserviceof thevital
and holyworkwhichhad broughtthemto the New World.
This workinvolvedan expansionof the Christianfaithinto
209
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210
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
a renew geographicalterritories,
and, more importantly,
it
the
re-creation
of
trenchment
the
of through
true,biblically
ordained,formsofworshipand communallife.Referencesto
thatpurposeare continuousin Puritanwritings.Winthrop,
in his "Model ofChristianCharity,"gaveit themostmemorable utterance:
For theworkwe havein hand,it is bya mutual
through
consent,
and a morethanordinaryapa specialoverruling
providence,
ofChristto seekouta placeofcohabitaofthechurches
probation
bothcivil
tionand consortship
undera due formofgovernment
of
and ecclesiastical.
In suchcasesas thisthecare thepublicmust
all privaterespects.... We are enteredintocovenant
oversway
withHim forthiswork;we havetakenout a commission
.... For
thisend,wemustbe knittogether
in thisworkas one man... alin
and community
wayshavingbeforeour eyesour commission
thework,ourcommunity
as members
ofthesamebody.
In everything
theydid, the Puritansmade constantreference
out fromthe act to the divine purposeforwhichtheyacted,
and thegreaterwill theywerebound to serve.
Removethissenseof communalpurposeand service,and a
secularautocracyremains-precisely
self-satisfied
whatwe filid
in The ScarletLetter.Althoughthesettlement
has been in the
New Worldbut a littlemorethana decade whentheactionof
the novel begins,thereis nothingof thiscrucialcontextprovided. Reading throughthe firstscaffoldscene carefully,we
finda rhetoricremotefromthatof thePuritans,withGod referredto onlybythenebulousphrase"Heaven" and eventhat
word used only threetimes.There are no referencesto the
"work,"to its "covenant,"and none even to the
community's
thatHesterhas broken.Though much
divinecommandment
is said about sin, littleof thisdiscourseis directlypresented,
and whatHawthornedoes give us bears littleresemblanceto
Puritantheology.On the one hand,thereis no vividsenseof
Hell, and on the other,thereis a doctrinewhichappears to
suggestthatman is bound forheavenunlessand untilhe commitsa sinfulact. Even if Hawthorne'sPuritansbelieve that
man is morelikelythannot in thecourseofhis lifeto commit
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THE SCARLET LETTER
2 11
such an act, the implication of theirwords are thatman's sinful
nature is, at birth at least, potential rather than actual. But
Puritan dogma, which consigned new-bornbabies to Hell, implies quite another understanding of "natural depravity."
It is clear that Dimmesdale holds this unpuritan view of
sin, forhe seems to think that until he met Hester in the forest
he was a sinlessman. Nor do we findhim thinkingof sin as, ultimately,a hardness of heart signifyingalienation from God,
which the sinner could not hope of his own accord to overcome; nor of the vital corollaryof grace (a termwhich does not
once occur in the novel) as God's free and unearned gift of
salvation. We miss God almost entirelyin Dimmesdale's mental life-that overwhelmingsense of Divine presence which is
never absent from the devout Puritan's reflections,expressed
as a desire to be swallowed up in Him, to lie low before Him,
to be melted with love for Him. Dimmesdale's is no soul to
exclaim, with Jonathan Edwards:
My wickedness,as I am in myself,has long appeared to me perfectlyineffable,and swallowingup all thoughtsand imagination,
like an infinitedeluge,or mountainsover myhead. ... And it appears to me thatwereit not forfreegrace,exalted and raisedup to
theinfiniteheightof all thefulnessand gloryof thegreatJehovah,
and thearm of his powerand gracestretchedforthin all the majI should
estyof his power,and in all the gloryof his sovereignty,
appear sunk down in my sins below hell itself,far beyond the
but the eye of sovereigngrace,thatcan pierce
sightof everything
even down to such a depth.
Nor can he plead with Edward Taylor:
Oh! That thylove mightoverflowmyheart
To firethesame withlove; forlove I would.
But ohl My straitenedbreast!My lifelessspark!
My firelessflamelWhat chillylove and cold!
In measuresmall,in mannerchilly,see!
Lord, blow thecoall Thy love enflamein me.
There are only two instances of impassioned religious utterance from Dimmesdale, the firstin Chapter 8 where he
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212
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
pleads thatHesterbe allowed to keep Pearl,arguingin most
unorthodoxfashionthatPearl is "the Creator'ssacredpledge,
that,ifshe bringthechild to heaven,thechild also will bring
itsparentthither!"'Later,in Chapterio, he resistsChillingworth'spryingin thesewords:"ifit be thesoul's disease,then
do I commitmyselfto theone Physicianof the soull He, if it
standwithhisgood pleasure,can cure; or he can kill! Let him
do withme as, in his justice and wisdom,he shall see good.
But who art thou, thatmeddlestin thismatter?-thatdares
thrusthimselfbetweenthe sufferer
and his God?" (p. 137)Dimmesdale'santipathyis justifiedhere,ofcourse,but his argumentis poor. What Puritan,who had been admittedto
churchfellowshippreciselybecausehe had been able to stand
up beforethemembersand giveconvincingpublic witnessto
his conversion(the novel is set beforethe installationof the
Half-wayCovenant)would insistthathis relationshipto God
was a privatematter?How, indeed,in thepresumedcontextof
public detectionand punishmentof sins against God, can
because the
Dimmesdaleevenframesuchan argument?-only
presumedand actual contextsof thisnovel are not the same.
The ministerialqualifications
listedbyHawthornein Chapter
io are such as mightfitDimmesdaleforthiscalling at some
laterera,but notin thePuritanage: "highaspirationsforthe
natwelfareof his race,warmlove of souls,pure sentiments,
ural piety,strengthened
illumined
and
and
by thought
study,
by revelation" (p. 130). Hawthorne's emphasis here, on
Dimmesdale'shumanitarianand humanistictemper,relegates
to minorimportance.2
Christianity
Dimmesdaleis a seriouslydistortedPuritan,and the settlementis distortedin like manner(no truePuritancommunity,
reallyconvincedthat Roger Chillingworthwas "Satan himself,or Satan's emissary,"would have lefthim unmolested,
waiting"with an unshakenhope, to see the ministercome
1 The Scarlet Letter (Columbus, Ohio, 1962), 115. All page referencesto the
novel are to this text.
2 Few of these "precious materials,"as Hawthorne calls them,are displayed
has he become.
by the ministerduring the course of the novel, so self-engrossed
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THE SCARLET LETTER
213
withtheglorywhichhe
forthout of theconflict,
transfigured
would unquestionablywin" [p. 128])becausePuritanreligion
has been replaced by nineteenth-century
sentimentalpiety.
The God of thisbook is a remote,vague,occasionalconcept
ceremoniallyinvokedat thelastminuteand in casesof emergency.He is not the immediate,personal,overwhelmingly
present,inescapableAlpha and Omega of Puritan life and
thought.Discussionsof The ScarletLettergenerallyoverlook
thiscrucial distortion.The questions"whydoes Hawthorne
use thePuritans,"or "howdoes Hawthorneuse thePuritans,"
conceal within them the assumptionthat he uses them accurately.It is generallybelievedthathe sharedtheir"gloomy"
view of human natureand foundit an importantcorrective
to theoptimisticmeliorismofhis own day.While a storylike
"The Celestial Railroad" supportsthis belief,on the whole
Hawthorne'sview of human nature,thoughgloomy,is not
Puritan,and thePuritanshe usesare thePuritanshe invents.
He mustbe held accountableas one ofthefirstshapersof that
mythofthePuritanswhichturnedthemintodourVictorians.
His distortions
cannotbe attributedto ignorance,forhe was
well-readin Puritanwritings;theymustbe attributedto design.Nor can thatdesignbe explainedas a pious unwillingness
tospeculateabout ultimates,
forultimatesare notin question:
the questionis the accurateportrayalof a historicalcommunity.It mightbe argued thathe is "translating"Puritanism
into formsmeaningfulto his own day,but the point is then
thathis translationcuts the spiritawayfromthe forms,leavHawthorne'sPuriing behinda residueofemptyinstitutions.
tan communityconsidersits own laws the ultimatemoral
of the universeto the point wheresuch laws deframework
fine,ratherthanreflector contain,moralityas well as good
and evil.sThis communityinvokesGod to sanctionits own
3 R. W. B. Lewis, in The American Adam (Chicago, 1955) probably speaks
forthe majorityof criticsof this novel when he says that "Hester's deed appears
as a disturbanceof the moral structureof the universe" (112). But this can be
the case only if the Puritan communityis shown to reflect,in its laws and
values, that moral structure,forHawthorne does not deal (as has so oftenbeen
pointed out) with absolutes and universalsdirectly.And the care with which he
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214
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
social systemand to enforcethe generalwill on individual
membersof the group. In sum, in The ScarletLetter Hawthornehas createdan authoritarian
statewitha Victorianmoral outlook. He examines the struggles,withinthis state,of
fromone anothernot as beingsmoreor
twopeople whodiffer
less religious,but as beingsdifferently
bound to the commuaffected
nity,and differently
byit.
Power in this communityis vested in a group of elders,
ministerialand magisterial,who blend its legal and moral
strandsintoa singleinstrument,
and, actingas a group,make
thatpowerappeardiffuseand impersonal.This is thePuritan
oligarchyas an outsideror an unbelievermightperceiveit.
The patriarchalnatureofthisoligarchyis importantforHawthorne'sscheme,whichcontrastsyouthwithage, and women
withmen.The oligarchyis aptlypersonified
in GovernorBellingham,
a gentleman
advancedinyears,
andwitha hardexperience
written
in hiswrinkles.
He wasnotill fitted
tobe theheadand representativeof a community,
whichoweditsoriginand progress,
and its
state
of
not
to
the
of
present
development,
impulses youth,but to
the sternand temperedenergiesof manhood,and the sombre
ofage; accomplishing
so much,precisely
becauseit imagsagacity
inedandhopedso little.(p. 64)
The impetusofthePuritanmovement,
as Hawthornepresents
it here,runsdirectlycounterto the"Americandream,"being
neitherromanticnor libertarian,but distinctly
authoritarian
and conservative.
out
that
the
Pointing
people acceptformsof
as
and
authority divinelysanctioned, henceworshipauthority
in and for itself,Hawthornenotes the symbolsof physical
mightwithwhichthePuritanrulerssurroundthemselves:the
scene,thegovernor's
halberd-bearing
sergeantsin thescaffold
armorin Chapter7 (reflectedin which,Hester'sA is monstrouslyenlarged),and the "weapons and brightarmour of
isolates the Puritans in time and space, while refrainingfrom commentingon
the truthof such dogmas as he shows them to hold, makes it impossible for us
to conclude that his Puritans do serve as spokesmenfor the moral structureof
the universe.
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THE SCARLET LETTER
215
the militarycompany"(p. 237) in the finalprocession.The
rulersjustifytheirauthorityby its forms,and thusthe whole
systemis self-enclosed.
They are dedicatedto preservingthe
valuesand purposesofagingmen,"endowmentsof thatgrave
and weightyorder,whichgivesthe idea of permanence,and
comesunderthegeneraldefinitionofrespectability"
(p. 238).
in his
is
a
term
in
Hawthorne's
discourse;
key
"Respectability"
nextnovel,themostcompleteofhisvillains,Jaffrey
Pyncheon,
will be characterized
as its veryembodiment.And of the oliHawthornesaysthathe "had
garchy'skindestrepresentative,
no more rightthan one of those [darklyengraved]portraits
[whichwe see prefixedto old volumesofsermons]would have,
to step forth,as he now did, and meddle witha question of
humanguilt,passion,and anguish"(p. 65)Dimmesdaleis theonlyyoungman amongthesepatriarchs,
and he holds thispositionby a kind of resoluteclingingto
childhood. He strenuouslyavoids contact with the world,
hopingtherebyto staysinless.He "trodein the shadowybypaths,and thus kept himselfsimple and childlike; coming
and
and fragrance,
forth,whenoccasionwas,witha freshness,
dewypurityof thought,which,as manypeople said, affected
themlike the speech of an angel" (p. 66). By retaininghis
childish naivet6,Dimmesdale tries to avoid the dangerous
period of youngmanhood and achieve old age withoutthe
usual "hard experience"thatprecedesit. This requirescontinuousself-restraint.
relaxaHis sin consistsin an inadvertent
tionofthatself-restraint,
witha consequentassertionofyouth
the
restrictions
of
the elders-an assertionof the pasagainst
sionate,thoughtless,
wilful,and impulsivein his nature.As a
resultofthisact,theministerbecomesa man,ceasesforeverto
be the Senior James's"dimpled nurslingof the skies." Alview
thoughbothJamesand Hawthornesharetheinteresting
thattheguardiansof the nurseryare male, Hawthorne,lacking James'soptimism,is convincedthattheydo not welcome
theircharge'scomingof age. Dimmesdaleknowsthat if his
deed is discovered,he will be thrownout of what is, to him,
Heaven-the societyof elders.It is typicalbothof Hawthorne
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THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
and theromantics
in general,thattheassertion
ofmanhood
involvesa shiftofallegianceawayfromthevaluesofa maleethostowards
dominated
thoseheldratherbya female.
The plotof The ScarletLettermovesfromthispriorsin of
ofsuppressedpas"omission,"theundeliberatebreakthrough
sion,to a moreimportantsin of commission.All the yearsof
punishmentand pseudorepentance
operateonlyto bringthe
loversback to thesceneoftheiroriginaldeed,thereto resolve
on a farmoreradical and shockingaction. Now, theydeliberatelyrejectthejudgmentsocietyhas passedon them-bydetheyin effect
cidingto leave thecommunity
repudiateitsright
forthisdecisionis mainlyHesto punishthem.Responsibility
ter's,whosesevenyearsof solitudehave turnedher intowhat
she was at mostonlyimplicitlybefore,a rebel. Responsibility
forthe subsequentcatastropheis mainlyDimmesdale's,who,
inflamedby Hester'sbeautyas well as her argumomentarily
ment,is led out ofthepathnaturaltohisfeetand thendramatically returnsto it. Unlike Hester,he does accept society's
rightto judge, as well as its specificjudgment;but his dying
speech does not convinceher, for she undertakesalone the
journeythathad been planned to accompanyhim. Not until
thefruitofhersin is securedfromtheconsequencesofa Puritanjudgmenton it does shereturn.And thenherreturnis not
entirelya penitent'sreturn,forultimately,
thoughquietly,she
forcesthe communityto admitthatthe scarletletteris, after
all, a badgeofhonorand nota tokenofshame.
In themain,then,The ScarletLetteris thestoryof thedifferenteffect
on twounlikecharacters
ofan act whichseriously
the
social
code.
The ScarletLetter
transgresses
Conventionally,
is viewed as being about threecharacters,
a triangleor hierabout this aparchyof sinners;yet much is unsatisfactory
it
leaves
in
For
one
Pearl
a
kind
of
limbo,unrething,
proach.
and
for
lated,unattached, unsymmetrical; another,it involves
overlooking(or excusing)muchabout thewayin whichChillingworthis handled.One reallycannotaccepthim as a characterin the same sensethatthe othertwo can be taken.Not
onlydo Hesterand Dimmesdalesharea singlesin,whileChil-
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THE SCARLET LETTER
217
lingworth'sis of anothergenre entirely;he himselfis of a
different
genre.Martin Green's devastatingattackon Hawthorne'stechniquein thisinstancemakesit clearthattheview
of Chillingworth
as a developed,roundedcharacteris untenaA
is
ble.4 character notdevelopedbybeingassertedto be growing duskierand more crooked.Much is incongruousin his
behaviorin termsofthecold,calm,dispositionhe is originally
supposed to have had (which the reader never sees, in any
as an abused husband is not realistic.
event); his psychology
mannerof his
Moreover,we have to deal withthesurrealistic
and
in
the
as
well
as the viobook,
appearance
disappearance
rhetoric
which
is
used
to
describe
him.All
lentlyexaggerated
thesefactorstellus thatChillingworth
operateson a different
of
from
that
of
either
Hester
or Dimmesdale.
reality
plane
This is the same plane occupied by Pearl, like him a semihumanbut mainlysymbolicfigure.Pearl standsto Hesterin
exactly the same symbolic relationshipas Chillingworth
standsto Dimmesdale.
This symbolicrelationshiphas severalaspects.Pearl and
Chillingworth
represent,to begin with,Hesterand Dimmesdale's sin; and sincethatsindid indeedoccur,theyhave,in the
worldof thenovel,objectivereality.But thesecharacfantasy
tersrepresentthesin as it is feltand understoodbyeach of the
two actors,and since thesetwo feel and perceiveverydifferentlyabout whattheyhave done,thedeed assumesa different
embodimentin each one's emotionallife.Pearl is Hester'ssin
and Chillingworthis Dimmesdale's,and the differencebetweenthemis one ofthesharpestand cleareststatements
about
hero and heroine.Hesterperceivesher deed in the shape of
the beautifulchild,wild, unmanageable,and unpredictable,
who hasbeen createdfromit; Dimmesdaleseeshisin theform
ofthevengefuland embittered
husbandwhohasbeenoffended
it.
Pearl
and
by Lastly,
Chillingworth,
splinteredofffromthe
charactersto whom theyproperlybelong, representdisharmonyand disunitywithinHester and Dimmesdale-another
4 Re-Appraisals: Some Commonsense
Readings in American Literature (New
York, 1965),78-83.
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218
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
result of theirpassion. Each characteris at odds, however,with
a differentpart of his nature: crudely,Hester is tormentedby
her passions, Dimmesdale by his conscience. The end of the
book, when these two symbolic charactersdisappear, portrays
the reintegrationof these shatteredpersonalities. As Dimmesdale dies, Chillingworth dies; as Hester, leaving the society
that has tortured her, resumes a full humanity, so Pearl becomes a complete and living child.
Hester is torn between a genuine desire to feel that society
has judged her rightly,that there is a purpose and a reason for
all the sufferingshe endures, and a far deeper, irrational conviction thatwhat she has done is not sinful.
Man had marked thiswoman's sin by a scarletletter,which had
thatno human sympathycould
such potentand disastrousefficacy
reach her,save it were sinfullike herself.God, as a directconsequence of thesin whichman thuspunished,had givenher a lovely
child,whoseplace was on thatsame dishonoredbosom,to connect
her parentforeverwiththerace and descentof mortals,and to be
finallya blessedsoul in heaven! Yet thesethoughtsaffectedHester
Prynnelesswithhope thanapprehension.She knew thather deed
had been evil; she could have no faith,therefore,
that its results
would be forgood. Day afterday, she looked fearfullyinto the
child's expanding nature; ever dreadingto detectsome dark and
wild peculiarity,that should correspondwith the guiltinessto
whichshe owed her being.(pp. 89-9o)
Here we see Hester accepting, on a conscious level, the idea
that Pearl is guilty; yet the name she gives the child indicates
her truer conviction. Similarly, her handling of the letter itself reveals rejection of the social definition of her deed. An
artistwith her needle ("then, as now," Hawthorne comments,
"almost the only [art] within a woman's grasp"), she turns the
letterinto a work of art by gorgeous embroidery.The art there
exhibited is fundamentallyamoral; that is, sheerlydecorative,
delighting in itselfforits own sake. Hawthorne calls it a "rich,
voluptuous, Oriental characteristic,-a taste forthe gorgeously
beautiful," which finds no possibility for exercise except in
the "exquisite productions of her needle." Thus Hester's
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THE SCARLET LETTER
219
needlework is self-expressiveboth because it realizes her energy
and because the form (to the extent that she does not punish
herselfby making coarse garmentsfor the poor-a masochistic
enterprisefor which Hawthorne reproves her) corresponds to
her nature. In the social context,the amoral, sensuous activity
of her art takes on moral significance,because by making the
letter beautiful Hester is denying its social meaning. The embroidery is a technique by which Hester subverts the letter's
literal meaning; thisis well understood by the Puritan women:
"She hath good skill at her needle, that'scertain. . but did ever
a woman,beforethisbrazenhussy,contrivesuch a wayof showing
it! Why,gossips,what is it but to laugh in the facesof our godly
magistrates,and make a pride out of what they,worthygentlemen,meantfora punishment?"(p. 54)
The godly magistrates,however, lack this sort of insight; as
men "distinguished by a ponderous sobriety,rather than activityof intellect," they seldom see beyond the literal. They
perceive the letteron Hester's breast, and do not see what she
has done with it. But Hester's letteris just what the goodwives
say it is: an assertion of her pride in what she has done, and a
masked defiance of the authorities. Although she is a farmore
complex symbol than the letter,a living thing and not an inanimate object, Pearl's identity with it is made abundantly
clear both by Hawthorne and Hester herself.Her aptness for
the role is evident: she is the living product, the literal realization, of the act; she is the reason that Hester can never be free
of the act; she is its consequence as well as its commission. Hester, aware of all this, stressesthe child's resemblance to the
letterby decorating her in exactly the same style.
Her mother,in contrivingthe child's garb, had allowed the gorgeous tendenciesof her imaginationtheirfull play; arrayingher
in a crimsonvelvet tunic,of a peculiar cut, abundantlyembroideredwithfantasiesand flourishesof gold thread.... It was a remarkableattributeof thisgarb,and, indeed, of the child's whole
appearance, that it irresistablyand inevitablyreminded the beholder of the token which Hester Prynnewas doomed to wear
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220
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
upon her bosom.It was the scarletletterin anotherform;the
scarletletterendowedwithlifel (pp. 101-102)
ishermother's
"workofart"(not,as some
Pearl,liketheletter,
criticshaveargued,Dimmesdale's).5Neithersymbolis a perfectrepresentation
ofthisidea,buteachcontributes
toit.The
a
artistic
is
created
letter,
bytheplay
though true
production,
of imagination
on a sociallyreceived,and basicallyunconform
themagistrates
which,
believe,impliesguiltin
genial,
itsveryshape.ThisguiltHester,through
therestricted
means
of surfacedecoration,attemptsto deny.On the otherhand,
Pearl is an entirely"original"form,springingnot only from
sourcesbeyondsociety'scontrol,but fromsourceslargelybeyond the artist'scontrol.This "original" Hester tries,somewhat ineffectively,
to fitto the letter'smeaning.The truth
about art,to Hawthorne,lies somewherein theblend ofthese
and artifact,
and betweenthesocialand
conceptsoforganicism
privateimperatives.And the whole question of artisticcrelinkedto thequestionofsocial guilt.At
ativityis inextricably
once acceptingguiltas the price of creation,and denyingit,
Hesteris mentallytorn.She is torn,too,betweena willingness
to endurea punishment
shecannottrulyconcurin as theprice
forremainingnear Dimmesdale,and a normalhuman rejectionofmiseryand suffering.
Pearl embodiesmorethanher mother'sdeed; she also symbolizes a part of Hester's nature-the wild, amoral creative
core of theself.With thispartof herselfHesteris verymuch
at odds; thesplintering
of theselfis implicitin theveryexistenceofan alterego. The social viewof thispartof theselfis,
ofcourse,condemning:thisis thesin-producing
segmentofthe
soul. Truly to assentto herpunishment,
Hestermustcome to
feel thatthe judgmentof her natureon whichit is based is
to feelguilty,operatingon
just. She does makea sincereeffort
the time-tested
that
if
one
behaves as thoughone
principle
feelsguilty,patientlyand continuously,one will eventually
createthe condition.She triesto restrainand disciplinethe
5 See, e.g.,
Rudolph Von Abele, The Death of the Artist(The Hague, 1957),
45-58.
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THE SCARLET LETTER
221
childaccordingto society'sjudgments,but ultimatelyshe cannot be so false to herself.She dressesPearl like an opulent
princessand letsherrunwild; hereherown wildnesshas outlet. Perhaps Pearl's most importantfunctionas the doppelgangeris to expressall theresentment,
outragedpride,anger,
and evenblasphemythatHesterfeelsin her punishment,
but
cannotvoice. One recallsthe famouscatechismscene,where
Pearl proclaimsthat"she had not been made at all, but had
been pluckedby her motheroffthe bush of wild roses,that
There is expressedin thisspeechan
grewbytheprison-door."
angryrepudiationofGod, oftheoligarchs,and ofDimmesdale
as well-resentments
Hestercan barelyadmitto herself,freely
her
child.
uninhibited
spokenby
Hester'sultimatelyunshakeablebelief in the goodnessof
thispartofherself,
itswildchaoticnaturenotwithstanding
(albe
its
to
sometimes
sure, intensity
though,
appallsand frightens
her),savesherfromtakingthereadilyavailableand morecommonroute,thepathleadingstraightfromthegovernor'smansion: witchcraft.
The witchesare rebellious,of course,but
theirrebellionis predicatedon an acceptanceofsociety'sjudgmenton them.They believetheyare evil,and theyrejoice in
theirwickedness.Hester'slonelypath,takenless out of consciousdecisionthanout of temperamental
is thatof
necessity,
refusingto believeherselfevil.
In her solitude,her emotionsstifled,she comes to think
moreand morecritically
ofsociety.She "assumeda freedomof
...
our
which
had theyknownof it,
forefathers,
speculation
would have held to be a deadliercrimethan thatstigmatized
bythescarletletter."At a laterpointin thenovel,Hawthorne
calls hervantagepointas estrangedfromsocial institutions
as
thatof the "wild Indian," and commentsin verysignificant
languagethat"thetendencyofherfateand fortuneshad been
to setherfree"(p. 199).So long as she remainsin Boston,she
is restrainedfromshowingthisnewlyacquired radicalismby
her obligationsto Pearl (or,differently
put,by her simpleinstinctforself-preservation),
but it is not Pearl who keepsher
in Boston.
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222
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
By the time HestermeetsDimmesdaleagain in the forest,
all social tiesbut one have disappeared.Only her feelingfor
Dimmesdaleis left.This has bound herto Boston,and so long
as sheremainsthere,shemustweartheletter.The plotmoves
Hestertowardscastingofftheletter(just as it movesDimmesdale towardsassumingit), and thisaction is impossibleuntil
Dimmesdaleeitherleaves Bostonor otherwisefreesher. It is
the usual case in Hawthorne'sfictionthatthe "dark" woman
is a farmorepassionate,imaginative,
and intellectually
daring
than
the
but
she
is
also
the
less
the
more
man,6
cold,
being
hence
fate
is
be
her
found
to
tied
loving-and
inextricably to
thatmore timorous,conventionalman. Thus, in the forest,
withDimmesdale,Hesteris not permittedto pretendthatshe
is freeoftheletter;notin theforest,
but on thescaffold
when
Dimmesdale dies, Hester is liberated-insofar,indeed, as
womancan hope to be liberated.This is also whyHester,returninglaterto Boston,looksback on herexperiencewiththe
hope forthe revelationof a new truthwhichwill "establish
thewholerelationbetweenmanand womanon a surerground
ofmutualhappiness."Having castofftheletterand savedher
child,Hesterhas been as freeas anywoman;
guilt-conceived
apparentlyshe has learned that no woman, as societynow
stands,can be trulyfree.Probably,too,herveryreturnto Bostonis meantto symbolizethelimitsofa woman'sfreedom,circumscribedbylove.
Hesterthen,is brandedguiltyby society,but graduallyrejects that brand; Dimmesdaleis consideredinnocentby society,but graduallyassumesa stigmaofguilt.He is a complete
contrastto Hester,exceptin one crucialrespect:
psychological
bothofthemmust,ultimately,
at whatevercost,be trueto the
of
their
own
natures.
Hestermustrejectthejudgimperatives
mentof theletter,no matterhow she triesto assentto it; and
Dimmesdalemusttake thatletteron himself,no matterhow
6 One must take exception to Roy R. Male's general thesis,in Hawthorne's
Tragic Vision (Austin, 1957), that the woman is the conservativeforce holding
back the speculative male: Hester and Dimmesdale, Zenobia and Coverdale or
Hollingsworth,are only two of many counterexamples.
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THE SCARLET LETTER
223
much a part of him strugglesto resist.But where Hester is
naturallyindependentand romantic,Dimmesdale is social
and conservative.
His choiceof profession
as well as his astonin
ishingearlysuccess it,make clear thathe is a real man of
society.
Mr. Dimmesdalewas a truepriest,a truereligionist,
withthe
andan orderofmindthat
reverential
sentiment
largely
developed,
alongthetrackofa creed,and woreits
impelleditselfpowerfully
passagecontinually
deeperwiththelapseof time.In no stateof
societywouldhe havebeenwhatis calleda manofliberalviews;
it wouldalwaysbe essentialto his peace to feelthepressure
of a
faithabouthim,supporting,
whileit confined
himwithinitsiron
framework.
(p. 123)
Never one to give thegenesisof his characters'psychicstructures,Hawthornedoes not explain why Dimmesdale is inclined to revereauthority,but he makes clear that this is a
ratherthanan ethicalmatterwiththeminister.
psychological
Dimmesdale'sneeds and dependenciesmean that he is not
It appears,indeed,thathe hasremainedignorant
hypocritical.
of his own passionatenatureuntilhis encounterwithHester
revealsit. Hesterplaysa rolehereregularlyallottedto women
ofhertypein Hawthorne'sfiction:tocorrespondtoand arouse
the dormant,repressed,unrealized,or unacknowledgedpassions of the men. But Hester does not createpassion in the
his spiritualminister;thereis a passionatenatureunderlying
ityall the time,as Hawthornesuggestsin a varietyof ways.
There are signsofa strugglein hisconstitutional
pallor,in the
tremorof his mouthdenotingboth "nervoussensibilityand
a vastpowerofself-restraint."
Even moreinteresting
are indications,increasingly
emphasized as thenovel progresses,
thatthe truesourceof Dimmesdale's power and influenceover his congregationis not the
to whichhe, in sincerepiety,attributeshis minisspirituality
terialgifts,but is thatsame despisedand submergedpassion.
The chiefmeansby whichDimmesdaleswayshis listenersis
hisvoice,whichis madean instrument
ofpassion.
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224
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
This vocal organ was in itselfa rich endowment;insomuchthat
a listener,comprehendingnothingof the language in which the
preacherspoke,mightstillhave been swayedto and frobythemere
tone and cadence. Like all other music,it breathed passion and
pathos, and emotionshigh or tender,in a tongue native to the
humanheart,wherevereducated.... Now [Hester]caughtthelow
undertone,as of the wind sinkingdown to repose itself;then ascended withit, as it rose throughprogressivegradationsof sweetness and power,until its volume seemed to envelop her with an
atmosphereof awe and solemngrandeur.(p. 243)
This sobbing, passionate voice, which "gushed irrepressibly
upward" full of plaintiveness and anguish, speaking with "the
whisper, or the shriek ... of sufferinghumanity" has nothing
whatever to do with Dimmesdale's intellectual or spiritual being. By-passinglanguage, reason's instrument,the tones of the
voice come straight from the romantic heart. Dimmesdale's
power is multiplied manifold afterhis encounter with Hester,
because that encounter has represented the firstsurfacing of
that heart, and because thereafterit can no longer be completely repressed. As ignorant as he about the source of this
new art, Dimmesdale's parishioners "knew not the power that
moved them thus. They deemed the young clergymana miracle of holiness." Hawthorne makes the nature of the attraction
felt by the people to Dimmesdale even more clear when he
comments that "the virgins of his church grew pale around
him, victims of a passion so imbued with religious sentiment
that theyimagined it to be all religion, and brought it openly,
in theirwhite bosoms, as theirmost acceptable sacrificebefore
the altar" (p. 142).
Passion, which has made him an artist,has made him, as he
thinks, a hypocrite as a minister. Dimmesdale is bewildered
and horrifiedby his success. In the social context, art itself is
guilty,and a man like Dimmesdale, deeply committed to the
furtheringof social aims (permanence and respectability)but
who is yet an artist, is necessarily the most psychologically
ravaged of human beings. In a sense, Dimmesdale's profession
(prior to his meeting with Hester) had assuaged his conflictby
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THE SCARLET LETTER
225
channeling his energies into accepted social patternsand permittinghim to rationalize about the source of these energies.
His affairwith Hester and the accompanying development of
his artisticpowers destroythis refuge. His professionbecomes
a source of torment.Unable to identifyhis "self" with the passionate core he regards as sinful,he is even less able to admit
that this sinful core can produce great, true, sermons. He is
obsessed with a feeling of falseness.His act with Hester almost
immediatelybecomes loathsome to him. The partof him which
is Puritan magistrate,and which he thinksof as himself,condemns the sinful "other."
The ugliness of his act, as it appears to him, is well expressed
in the hideous figure of Chillingworth who materializes, as
Hawthorne implies repeatedly, out of thin air, to persecute
him. This monster becomes his constant companion and oppressor. If Pearl (to borrow a Freudian metaphor) is a representation of Hester's "id," then Chillingworth represents
Dimmesdale's "superego." That he is meant to be part of
Dimmesdale's personalityis made clear not only by the magical
ways in which he appears on and disappears from the scene,
and his unrealistic fixation (for a cuckolded husband) on the
guiltyman, but also by the physical and occupational similarities ofthe two men and theirspatial disposition under the same
roof.
The twowerelodged in thesame house; so thateveryebb and flow
of the minister'slife-tidemightpass under the eye of his anxious
and attachedphysician.... Here, the pale clergymanpiled up his
foliosof the Fathers,and the
library,rich withparchment-bound
of
and
monkisherudition.. . . On the otherside of
lore Rabbis,
the house, old Roger Chillingwortharrangedhis studyand laboratory... providedwitha distillingapparatus,and the means of
compoundingdrugsand chemicals,which the practisedalchemist
knewwell how to turnto purpose.With such commodiousnessof
situation,thesetwo learned personssat themselvesdown,each in
his own domain,yetfamiliarlypassingfromone apartmentto the
other,and bestowinga mutual and not incuriousinspectioninto
one another'sbusiness.(pp. 125-126)
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226
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
The identification
withthe watchfuleye of
of Chillingworth
thepersonality
linkshimat once withboth intellectand conscience.'Cut offfrompunishmentin the real world (forreasons we shall shortlyconsider),Dimmesdale substitutesinternalpunishment,and thischangeis symbolizedby the replacementof his kindly,benevolentministerialcompanion,
Wilson, by this malevolentdemon. Chillingworth'scruelty
Hawthorne'sidea thattheinternaljudge freed(exrepresents
actlyas Pearl, at the otherend of the psyche'sspectrum,is
and adaptationto theworldintowhich
freed)from"reference
it was born" is unmitigatedly
unforgivingand remorseless.
"All thatguiltysorrow,hidden fromthe world,whosegreat
heartwould have pitiedand forgiven,
to be revealedto him,
the Pitiless,to him,the Unforgivingl"
In all thevariousspeculationsabout thatletteron Dimmesdale'sbosom,one likely
possibility,that it has been broughtout by Chillingworth's
"drugsand chemicals,"has been peculiarlyoverlooked.But
perhapsthisis howHawthorneallegorizedtheworkofa gnawingconscience.
That Chillingworth
is, by virtueof his age, a sortof father
a
classical
Freudian explanationof Dimmesfigure,suggests
dale'sfeelingsofguilt.On a larger,mythicalscale,itsymbolizes
his senseof havingoffendedthe "fathers,"the patriarchs,
the
the
he
male
And
has
offended
them
less
oligarchs,
gods.
by
having stolen "their"woman,fortheyare all men without
women,and do not appear to covet Hester for themselves,
thanbyhavingrepudiatedtheirvaluesbyjoiningwithher.In
theforestshe is clearlypresentedas an alternativeto them.As
wife,she becomesthe alternativeto him: to
Chillingworth's
his sterilepaternityshe encounterswithan imageof "Divine
Dimmesdale,ofcourse,is not "conscious"of the
Maternity."8
7 The identificationof
Chillingworthwith the intellect links him to Hawthorne'sgallery,in the stories,of unpardonable sinners.But in this and later
novels we see this theme of the intellect-passionor head-heart dichotomybeing brought into a much larger context,wherein it is interestinglymodified,
because intellectis now allied to Puritanical repression,as well as to authori-
tarianinstitutions.
8Onesenses
herethedimoutline
ofa romantic
fiction
alonglinessetdown
wherethe"aggressive
ofJudaism,
and
byNorthrop
Frye,
myths
Christianity,
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THE SCARLET LETTER
227
rebellionimplicitin his act,forhis was a sin of passion,"not
of principle,nor even purpose." Sincerelyhorrifiedby his
and punishdeed,he embarkson a long courseof self-torture
bodied
ment;buthe doesnotconfess.These internaltorments,
forthmosthorrifyingly
in Chillingworth,
are the strategy
by
whichDimmesdalekeepsfromconfessing.
His beliefthathe is
beingpunishedenableshim to keep his guiltsecretby pacifying his senseofjustice.The questionof Dimmesdale'sfailure
to confess,
then,is morecomplicatedthanit firstappears.
Of course,he is terrified
by the social consequencesof his
confession.One who leans so heavilyon the social structure
would be almostcertainlydestroyed
ifhe werecastout ofit as
Hesterhasbeen.Fora beingwhodefineshimselflargelybythe
image he sees reflectedback fromthe watchingeyesaround
him,loss of social place impliesa loss of identity.But confession would representsomethingmore:a finaland irrevocable
capitulationto thesenseofguilt.No matterhowhe persecutes
himself,no matterwhatmasochisticfreereignhe givesto his
grotesquelydistortedconscience,he does not fullyassentto
his guiltuntilhe admitsit openly,foropen admissionhas irreversibleconsequences.The failureto confessis theone and
onlywayin whichDimmesdaleresiststhejudgmentwhichhis
to enforceupon him.Chillingworth,
conscienceattempts
thus,
forthejudgmentofsociety,
as a substitute
actsalso as a strategy
for forestallingthat judgment,is a bufferor a protection
against an ultimatecondemnation.Once Dimmesdale confesseshe has,psychologically,
no alternativebut to die; Chilthe
does
lingworth physician
quite literallykeep Dimmesdale
alive all theseyears,even if but to torturehim. This is, of
Plato's Timaeus, reflect[ing]an urban, tool-using, male-dominated society,
where the central figureusually develops out of a father-godassociated with
the sky"is givingway to a "Romantic redemptionmyth"where "somethingof
the ancient mother-centeredsymbolismcomes back into poetry." A Study of
English Romanticism(New York, 1969),6, lo. Wordsworth,Shelley,Byron,and
Blake are all cited as poets centeringfictionson a maternal goddess figurewho
is also, often,sisterand bride. In Hawthorne's forestthe Apollonian tradition
is being rejected for the Dionysian. This is why Chillingworth,who appears
superficiallyat odds with societybecause of his iconoclastic scientificrationalism, may in factrepresentthe extremeabstractionof its underlyingprinciples:
the repressiveand inhibitingmale intellect at its most sterile and destructive.
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228
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
anagonizingly
roundabout
method
method-aneurotic
course,
-of resistance,
butit is appropriate
to Dimmesdale's
divided
to fast,endureany
values.Notto confess;
to scourgeoneself,
kindofprivate
and
one's
body soula veritable
making
penance,
for
ratherthan
internal
forces-anything
playground
punitive
openlyto say"I am guilty."This is thetechniquebywhich
Dimmesdale
in thenotionof
triestofendofffinalacquiesence
hisguilt;ifhe lacksHester'swilltodefy,
he hasat leastsomethingofa willtoresist.
But thescenein theforest,
wheretheloversdecideto flee
own
has
results
break
thatwill.Dimmesdale's
which
together,
him
leaves
the
behavior
after
he
forest
convinces
astounding
beyondanydoubtthathe is,indeed,a morallypollutedand
floodofdemonsare
hideously
guiltyman.A trulystupifying
releasedfrom
himwhenhe asserts,
thatthesocial
deliberately,
law no longerbindshim.He has turnedthecontrolof his
selfthathasbeenclamoring
for
psycheovertothepassionate
freedom
andrecognition
describes
all theseyears.Hawthorne
itas "a revolution
anda
in thesphereofthought
andfeeling"
andmoralcode,in thatinterior
"totalchangeofdynasty
kingdom." But ratherthanfindinghimselfin thisrevolution,
He undergoes
a kindof rebirth,
Dimmesdaleloseshimself.
buta terrifying
neitherhis surroundings
one. He recognizes
is
Moreunsettling
thanhischangedperceptions
norhimself.
hischanged
of
and
behavior-the
lewd,
sequence blasphemous,
He
crudesortsof actshe is temptedto perform.
childishly
faceswhatappearsto him incontrovertible
evidenceof the
of
nature.
his
own
This
ofhimpassionate
experience
iniquity
is
this
into
the
decisive.
Whatever
moral
interior,
self, glimpse
hemight
havebeendisposedtomakeforhispassionate
defense
toHester's"whatwedid
hemighthaveassented
self,however
ofitsown"in theforest,
whenhewasledto
hada consecration
exclaim,
thouartmybetter
"Oh,Hester,
angellI seemtohaveflung
myself
andsorrow-blackened-down
-sick,sin-stained,
upontheseforestandtohaverisenup all madeanew,andwithnewpowers
leaves,
Himthathathbeenmercifull"
toglorify
(pp.201-202)
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THE SCARLET LETTER
229
thisdispositiondisappearsentirelyonce he is out oftheforest
and sees how littlehis new powerslead him to glorifyGodhow theylead, in fact,in the oppositedirection.He ceases,
to evadefinalpunishment.
He turnshisnew
then,hisattempts
burstof life into the writingof his greatestsermon,still bewildered"thatHeaven shouldsee fitto transmit
thegrandand
solemnmusicof its oraclesthroughso foul an organ-pipeas
he." Then he deliversit, confesses,and by thatconfession,
executeshimself.
On thescaffold,
twodisintegrated
achieveresopersonalities
lutionsappropriateto theirnatures.Hester'schange,now that
she is freedfromthecommunity,
is represented
byPearl's disenchantment.
a
human
Pearl
By becoming
being,
effectively
disappearsas an alterego or an allegoricalprojection.Instead
of twofragments
ofa singlepersonality
we now have twopeothen
Hester
takes
her
child
from
the
Puritancommunity
ple.
into a societywhereshe may betterfulfillherself-anironic
reversingof the Americandream,for the Americanis sent
backwardsin timeand space to a moreadvancedand enlightened Europe.A natureas severelyand implacablyat warwithin itselfas Dimmesdale'scan findpeace only in death. This
death deprivesthe parasiticconscienceof a hoston whichto
feed,and Chillingworth"positivelywitheredup, shrivelled
away,and almostvanishedfrommortalsight,like an uprooted
weed thatlies wiltingin thesun." Hawthorne'streatment
of
Dimmesdale,fromtheencounterin theforestto theexpiation
on the scaffold,
has a convincingpsychologicalinevitability;
Hesterhas certainlymeantwell,but as FrederickCrewssays,
she does not really understandDimmesdale's nature.9She
imagineshimtobe a personfarmorelikeherselfthanhe really
is. "Give up thisname of ArthurDimmesdale,and make thyselfanother,and a highone, such as thoucanstwearwithout
fearor shame,"she exhorts.The name,a social label like the
scarletletter,is easilyassumedor put aside forHester,but not
forDimmesdale.He is whatsocietycallshim."Whathastthou
todo withall theseironmen,and theiropinions?"Hesterasks,
> FrederickC. Crews, The Sins of the Fathers (New York,
1966), 143-
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230o
THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY
he
butreleasedfromtheironframework
he needsforsupport,
liberated
to
sustain
him.
His
findsno innerprinciple
wholly
creates
butsurnotEmersonian
imagination
imagesofbeauty,
roundshimwithhorrors.
This "twist"in theplotisfoundrepeatedly
in Hawthorne's
fictions.
Cutloosefrom
thefragile
theirmoorings,
egosofmost
ofhisheroesarewhirledintofrightful,
fantasies
nightmarish
ofliberated
fearsand desires.
Brown
is perGoodman
Young
hapsan epitomeofthisevent;butmanyotherexampleswill
cometo mind.No one escapesfromthesenightmares
undefeatedexceptthe stolidRobin Molineux.The patternexbased on his
presses,forone thing,Hawthorne's
response,
totranscendental
aboutimaginsight,
psychological
optimism
itprovides
inativeliberation;
a balancetothe
andforanother,
of his own fiction.
romanticism
As muchas Hawthorneis
drawnto,andmovedby,romantic
values,he knowstoomuch
ofthe"horrors
ofthehalf-known
life"to be able toaccedeto
a simpleutopianvision.The onlyvaluesexpressed
in this
novelareromantic;
andyettheauthordespairs
oftheirfulfillment.His conclusions
in The ScarletLetter,as he examines
thesetwoversionsof thestruggle
betweenselfand society,
havea doublygloomythrust.
On theonehand,he finds(and
assertswithincreasing
vehemence
in eachsucceeding
novel)
lifeinsociety
tobe thedeathofart,oflove-oftheheart.Withthewilful,amoral,andchaoticaspectsoftheunoutdenying
socialcore,he yetasserts
itsprimacy
and itsbasicvalue.But
ontheotherhand,hedoesnotbelievethattrueself-fulfillment
ispossible.Menarebornintosociety,
andshapedbyit.When
out
strike
towards
theunknown
and unimagifreedom,
they
thestronger
nable,theyaredefeated,
bytheactionofsociety
againstthem,theweakerbytheirowninternal
collapse.Hawthorne's
fictions
an
extensive
ofvarious
provide
compilation
kindsofinternal
these
are
different
fromonecaseto
collapse:
butthevisionwhichinforms
themisconstant:
notof
another,
butofa Romantic,
a Puritan,
Hell.
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