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Lacey Wallace

Ms. Klimas

English 10 pre ap

08 November 2017

The Intolerance of The Puritans

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he uses a selection of visual

detail, negative tone, and the use of contrasting images in order to convey the frustration he

feels with the Puritans show of intolerance.

Hawthorne's use of visual detail to show his unhappiness with the intolerant

Puritans is displayed when he says, “the red infamy upon her breast would give a

sympathetic throb, as she passed near a venerable minister, or magistrate, the model of

piety and justice, to whom that age of antique reverence looked up, as to a mortal man in

fellowship with angels. What evil thing is at hand? Would Hester say to herself” (73). Hester

Prynne is the main character of this novel, who holds the never ending weight on her heart

of being an adulterous, who bore a child while being held in prison. Part of her punishment

was to wear a scarlet “A,” standing for the word adulterous, on her chest for the remainder

of her life. As an unintentional consequence, Hester realizes while wearing this letter that

her fellow townspeople sin as well. This revelation relates to how Hawthorne is frustrated

with the hypocrisy in the Puritans, that these people who are supposedly pure, have sin in

their hearts, and yet feel they have the right to judge another. Because the puritans are

intolerant of one another, anybody that sins is afraid to come forth and reveal their sin.

Another way Hawthorne portrays this intolerance is when he says “the prejudices which
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they shared in common with the latter were fortified in themselves by an iron framework of

reasoning, that made it far tougher labor to expel them. Day by day, nevertheless, their sour

and rigid wrinkles were relaxing into something which, in due course of years, might grow

to be an expression of almost benevolence” (134). In this moment, Hawthorne is discussing

how the leaders of the town had softened. The Puritan culture is so ingrained in the leaders,

that they struggle to let it go, but over time they give up and decide it is no longer worth it

to continue to punish Hester, which irritates Hawthorne. These people are supposed to

stick to what they’ve learned, but in this passage Hawthorne reveals that the leaders maybe

aren’t as strong as they seem, meaning that the Puritan religion itself is weak. Along with

this technique, Hawthorne uses a negative tone to display his frustration with the intolerant

Puritans.

The use of negative tone to show the Puritans intolerance can be found when

Hawthorne says, “the truth was, that the little Puritans, being of the most intolerant brood

that ever lived, had a vague idea of something outlandish, unearthly, or at variance with

ordinary fashions, in the mother and child” (78). Hawthorne does not support the idea that

the Puritan lifestyle is ingrained in the children, and that their parents are teaching them to

be intolerant of those that sin. Phrases such as “intolerant brood” and “outlandish,

unearthly, or at variance with ordinary fashions” have a negative tone, and the effect of this

is that it reveals Hawthorne feels the Puritan customs are old fashioned, and over

exaggerated, and he is suggesting that if at all possible the children may be more intolerant

than their parents. These children who have barely learned anything about life have already

decided to judge others prematurely, and Hawthorne has a negative and hopeless view of

what the future holds for society. Another example of Hawthornes negative tone is when he
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says “we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the

readers. It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be

found along the track, or revive the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow”

(42). Words such as “pluck” “frailty” and “sorrow” give a negative feeling, showing

Hawthorne’s frustration with the Puritans. He feels they take something wonderful, one last

shed of light, and transform it into darkness. In this analogy the character Hester can be

compared to that one beautiful flower left. Hester, once a stunning, and vivacious young

lady, is slowly changed by the intolerant Puritans. Because of the Puritans treatment of

Hester, she morphes into an old, worn, broken-down, sad, ruined by her sin, lonely woman.

That one “sweet moral blossom” had been taken, stomped on, and left there to die. Finally,

Hawthorne uses contrasting images to further display his frustration with the intolerance

of the Puritans.

The use of contrasting images is best described by the character of Dimmesdale. He

is one of the town’s ministers, and is a symbol of reverence, and goodness to the town, yet

he has guilt, sin, and anger in his heart. Hawthorne describes the two different sides of

Dimmesdale when he has the character say, “I, who have laid the hand of baptism upon

your children...I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a

lie” (119). Dimmesdale goes to the pulpit, and preaches of scripture, but when he steps off,

he changes into a different person, who is ridden with guilt and agony from his sin, and

becomes a sickly, old, man. This explains that since the Puritans are an intolerant people,

this can affect the health and well being of others. People are too afraid to reveal their sins,

which is part of Dimmesdale's internal struggle. While he knows the right thing to do is to

confess and take the blame for his sin, out of fear that the Puritans will persecute and judge
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him, he chooses not to confess. He becomes sicker and sicker, worrying that he will be

caught. If everyone in this community behaves this way, justice will not be served, and this

aggravates Hawthorne. Another contrasting image found in this novel is when a giant letter

A imprints itself in the side of a mountain, which is described when Hawthorne explains,

“the appearance of an immense letter- the letter A- dull red… but with no such shape as his

imagination gave it; or, at least, with so little definiteness that another’s guilt might have

seen another symbol in it” (129). When Dimmesdale looks at this shape, he sees the letter

A, believing it stands for the word adultery. However, when the townspeople see the letter,

they believe it stands for the word angel, to describe their governor who had just died.

Intolerance is displayed through this situation because the Puritans think that they are

perfect, and that they, or anybody else could not sin. But in reality, they are too afraid to

admit what symbol they actually see because of how they might be treated when they

confess their sin. Through this, Hawthorne’s frustration is displayed because when the

Puritans see a sign from heaven they don’t second guess it they just go with it and

Hawthorne is displeased that this is all these people rely on. With each of these three

devices, Hawthorne is able to display his frustration.

Hawthorne's uses of vivid detail, a negative tone, and contrasting images all tie

together to form a novel that is based on sin, and the affects of that sin. In the end,

Hawthorne's overall purpose is not only to display his frustration with the intolerance of

Puritans, but also to express his concern with society as a whole, in order to spread

awareness that intolerance needs to end.