Elements of Hypocrisy in puritan society in The Scarlet Letter
The research aimed at finding out the Puritan hypocrisy depicted in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” and describes its impacts on the individuals. Hypocrisy is one of the social issues contained within the literary work. The final project by using library research the researcher observed a novel entitled The Scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and used some books, articles, and other writing to support the analysis. By using descriptive qualitative method, the researcher used The scarlet Letter as the descriptive data and to discover the information related to the subject matter. Under the use of sociological approach the researcher focused on analyzed the social contents of the novel by comprehend reading and deep understanding, and as a result of analysis, the data were interpreted through description on the subject matter. From the research, it is found that Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Governor Bellingham, Mistress Hibbins and the very society, in which they lived, are the victims of Puritan hypocrisy. We begin to see just how these characters deeply immersed in hypocrisy from inside. Hypocrisy is evident within all the characters because they all say some things but do not hold true to their belief. There is puritan clergyman known as Arthur Dimmesdale who commits an act of fornicating with an attractive and charming woman, Hester Prynne. Arthur Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy described at Puritan settlement in Boston, as a reverend Church Minister. He takes his honored seat in society to present two different personalities to hide his sin. However, Dimmesdale as a hypocrite, teach the people attending his sermons to admit their crimes to society and then he himself denies from doing the same. He hides his sin of adultery with Hester and leaves her alone to face the hardships of the penalty. Roger Chillingworth is a man who, in spite of the fact that he was once a heartfelt, intellectual man, has been changed in the name of revenge into an evil, a malevolent kind of human being. Chillingworth’s vengeful and evil nature revealed in his harsh manipulation and torture of Dimmesdale. Chillingworth; is the cruelest character who plotted to destroy his wife’s heart and her secret lover. However, due to cruel hypocrisy of the society, Hester and her daughter suffer a lot. Hester Prynne the main character, a mother of an illegal child. However, Hester commits a sin of adultery, but she is not the worst character in the novel. Indeed her husband left her alone to a new land, she then committing sins out of true love. Therefore, Hester is penalized by wearing the letter “A” on her bosom throughout her life, a penalty meant to castaway and forever representing as an adulterer. Yet all of Hester’s deeds are done out of love, love for pearl and love for Arthur Dimmesdale that does not make her the biggest sinner. In this novel, Hawthorne heightens the hypocrisy of the Puritans in order to describe them as the real sinners. However, the society criticizes Hester Prynne for her sin, those who blame her are not without sins themselves.
