comment on the theme of crime and punishment as presented in hawthorne's the scarlet letter

In the Bible, it has been written "Thou salt not commit adultery." It is god's seventh commandment and those who violate it are sinners.

The Scarlet Letter takes us to the early days of Puritan society. This book has derived its title from the custom which was strictly practiced by the Puritan settles. Whenever a woman was caught in adultery, she had to wear the letter 'A' embroidered in Scarlet colour on her dress. Scarlet colour symbolize blood, death, child birth and life. The scarlet letter is a book which deals with the consequences of the sin of adultery in the lives of three people most affected by it. These three people are Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. The pair of illicit lovers and the aggrieved husband. It is an outrage of one individual against another and against the social code of ethics. 

This story is a story of sin too. That is why Hester and Dimmesdale who have committed adultery cannot be forgiven. The novel begins with a scene where a young woman. Hester Prynne, is standing at the scaffold in the summer morning in the market place in Boston. She has committed adultery and stands in disgrace and tries to hide the scarlet and tries to hide the scarlet letter 'A' on her bosom by holding her child close. Hawthorne describes Hester Prynne as "The woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. a face which besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes." 

People see Hester as a morally degraded woman and expressed hatred. The chief minister and Dimmesdale urge her to confess the name of her lover who should be sharing her but Hester remains silent. Seeing his wife on the scaffold, he decides to conceal his identity and hastily puts his finger to his lips to warm Hester against the betraying the slightest sign of recognition. When Hester is taken back to the prison, a doctor visits her which turns out to be his husband Chillingworth. He tries many a times to know the name of Hester's lover but does not get successful and gets frustrated. 

Hester and Dimmesdale then plan to go to other place and decide to leave on election arrives. When the sermon gets over, people walk out of the church and Dimmesdale walks in. He proclaims his guilt and shows everyone 'A' imprinted on his chest and then dies. 

As Chillingworth couldn't take revenge, he dies of frustration. Here we can say that Dimmesdale is a greater sinner than Hester. He tries to conceal his crime from the public. He goes against the purity of his profession his conscience allows him no rest and he gets troubled constantly by his soul. He adds hypocrisy to his sin. he can't sit or study peacefully. He becomes restless and can't sleep peacefully. He remains awake at night, writes sermons, keeps fast. 'A man must be true confessor' is a puritan belief. 

He goes deeper and deeper into the pit of sin. The secret of is sin burns within him, which prompts him to confess yet he is afraid to reveal himself for what he is. Chillingworth is a more greater sinner. He was absent from Hester's life for seven years. 

In this case, we can say that a person needs love and so Hester fell in love  with Dimmesdale. He is a person who is devoted to cold science. The way in which he broods over revenge and marks down highs victim and drives him steadily to self-destruction is made very creditable when he learns of Hester's shame, he dewiest his very identity and pursues revenge.

 'Sinful father feels more pain than sinful mother.' Whenever we talk about sin, we talk about punishment. God also gave punishment to his children Adam and Eve. By giving birth to the child, she crossed broke the moral order of the society according to the puritan society. Though Dimmesdale loved Hester, he could not cross the Puritan culture moral order of the society. They both are self conscious. Hester is the first sinner. Other people become happy when Hester is punished as they have conditional mind and they do not feel her feelings.

'Sinful mother is more happy than a sinful father.' When Dimmesdale comes to meet Hester in secret place or you have to accept us in daylight in front of everyone." The forest is shown as dark forest. She is tempered there and so she goes there. For people, it is a punishment to go in the dark, deep forest. Hester goes with the child and when she comes out, she is not the same Hester. It is due to the dark forest, she could change the sign A'. 

Hester returns. She has to. Her sin lies in New England. Hester chooses to return to New England to live the ethical life: "But there was a more real life for Hester, here in New England than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. here had been her sin; here her sorrow and here was yet to be her penitence."  

Pearl constantly reminds her mother Hester about her sin or crime which was done in past. When they are living in the forest, Pearl tells Hester: "Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. It will not feel from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet." She can be said a born misfit of the infantile world. The shadow of parent's sin can be seen levering over the child of Hester.

CONCLUSION:- The Scarlet Letter is a tragic story of sin, crime and Punishment which can be learnt by the deeds of all the characters, the crime they committed and the situations they face. The act of adultery is certain a crime against the individual. Same way, it is also a crime against society as it involves the violation of the moral code formulated and honored by the society. Hawthorne has given the concept of sin and evil which is a puritan heritage. Sin and crime was the constant theme in this novel and the consequences of guilt as primarily psychological in nature. Hester's loveliness is shown by a sense of guilt. The story shows the concept of sin, crime and Punishment through Hester's life and Dimmesdale's inner guilt.