Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter

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Throughout The Scarlet Letter, mostly in the beginning and the middle, one can see that Hawthorne is struggling between the two ideas of Christianity and Romanticism. The characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale display these two opposing qualities simultaneously. However, although Hawthorne struggled with the deadlock between Christianity and Romanticism throughout the story, he concluded the book with the victory of the Christian worldview. To begin with, Hester is mostly Romantic concerning her salvation into heaven at the beginning and the end of the story. Her primary belief of salvation and God was that he would forgive her if she was tortured and shamed, which would cleanse her beyond what she imagined. “Maybe the torture of…show more content…
Dimmesdale did not know of God’s mercy previously and said, “since I am doomed beyond salvation.” This is Hawthorne displaying his crooked thought of God’s salvation. Because he thought he has already been damned into hell, he plans on being reckless and leave the community. According to the genuine Christian beliefs, there is no sin that is beyond salvation, which Hawthorne did not portray in the book until the ending. Dimmesdale at last says, ““in the name of God, so terrible and so merciful, who gives me grace at this last moment to do what I kept myself from doing seven years ago... Your strength, Hester, but let it be guided by the will that God has granted me!”....“May God forgive you!” (to Chillingworth). “You have sinned deeply too!” He realizes that God will forgive him if he confesses, which he did; also, he recognizes what he should have done years ago- to confess his sin to God and ask for forgiveness, for he will receive mercy from God. He also urges Hester to stop being too independent and depend on God, for he will give her eternal salvation. Chillingworth is the symbol of the devil in this book and has committed countless sins that are “unforgivable” Despite this, Dimmesdale tells Chillingworth to confess so that he can be forgiven of the unforgivable sins committed. Hawthorne also has not recognized the mercy of God and has not mentioned it until the book ends; the author turns towards the true and pure Christian ideas, instead of the ideas that were a melange of Romanticism and Christianity. All in all, the final outcome of the deadlock between Christianity and Romanticism was the victory of Christianity. Throughout the book, he has displayed the hodgepodge of the ideas, but at the end, he clearly demonstrates the genuine Christian
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