Scarlet Letter
Throughout history, many great philosophers of the past, such as Plato or Aristotle, have commented on their views of our inscrutable human nature, searching for reason or justification to explain human behavior. Many different theories have hypothesized it as either selfish or altruistic, boastful or humble, a great entity which allows man to prevail, or a mere thing which easily corrupted, crumbled and weakened. Similarly, Hawthorne, portraying his individual view of human behavior, writes his commentary of it in his "Custom-House". Through this introduction to his novel, The Scarlet Letter, describing members of the Custom-House, Hawthorne illustrates the fragility of human character and its tendency to become easily corrupted. Hawthorne, comparing the characters and their behaviors in the novel to those of the Customs House, reveals the feebleness of human nature and the commonality of all people. As a result of our error, we endure grief, which ties us together providing mutual ground for everyone to sympathize and forgive one another.Hawthorne exploits a particular member, the father of the Custom-House, an Inspector working carelessly with complete security of a regular income, creating a
may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part," suggesting one's physical state to dwindle as a result of their inner self-character declining. Hawthorne uses characters both in his "Custom-house" and Scarlet letter to portray the feebleness of human nature and stresses the importance to build "manly character. Through the church or society Dimmesdale manages to create an alter personality free from the hidden guilt he carries, although not liberating him from the burden he feels. In association with this idea, Hawthorne describes the "chief tragic event of the old man's life, his mishap with a certain goose," when in his lifetime he "had been the husband of three wives, all long since dead; the father of twenty children, most of whom had like-wise returned to dust" (11-12). Similarly, Hester's passion also seems to always be concentrated solely on one thing or another. Throughout the novel, Hester's passion serves as a motif, symbolizing sin in reoccurring trials caused by "wounded, wasted, wronged, or misplaced passion" (180). He relies on this personality, making purposely "vague confessions" into the pulpit (99). In both "The Custom-House" and Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne not only shows weakness in human nature caused by passion, but also reveals human nature's tendency to decline when accustomed to leaning on a particular crutch for too long. This paradox, calling the officer a gentleman while at the same time comparing him an animal, satirically shows the extent to which human nature can decline when paying more attention to instinct rather than human emotion. This insight into the officer's life exposes the frailty in his character caused by perhaps his greatest flaw of having such misplaced priorities. Hawthorne, through Chillingworth, comments on how "a bodily disease. The promised paycheck acts as a support providing the officers a post to lean on while their own might slowly slips away. Roger Chillingworth even comments on "how passion takes hold upon man, and hurrieth him out of himself!" Although ironic coming from Chillingworth, this comment furthers the argument of man easily regressing into a lesser state due to passion.
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