True redemption of sin comes from suffering. When a person goes against what they judge as wrong, the only way to be freed of the guilt that their actions have caused is to feel the pain emotionally from the guilt of their sin. The guilt they feel on the inside and the shame they have to face others is their atonement. Feeling that guilt shows that the person has recognized their sin as wrong and the constant reminder from the pain of guilt and shame of the sin forces the person to change their ways. Recognizing the sin and changing the ways that are inside the person that could possibly justify the sin, is the definition of true atonement and redemption. Others find that emotional suffering is insubstantial, and they need something more tangible to truly suffer from. Therefore, they turn their manifested emotional pain into physical pain by means of self injury, to have the physical pain serve as the atonement instead of the emotional suffering since the person cannot relate to their emotional pain and by not relating to the emotional pain they cannot use it as an atonement because they don't experience it as the real pain that it is.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter shows how each type of suffering (emotio
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In Dimmesdale's case he needed to suffer internally to atone to himself and then confessing was easy for him and even brought a smile to his face. She couldn't handle emotional things and therefore she needed physical evidence of pain, so she could atone internally but she was only tricking herself for she'll never fully atone internally for she never let herself. Crying would relieve her of some of her burden and she's physically punishing herself by not letting herself have this relief. Hester atones physically while Dimmesdale, her lover and reverend of the community, atones emotionally but both are only redeemed when they each atone in both ways of atonement, and only through suffering. Hester's emotional guilt is not just from committing adultery but it started building up inside her when she married Chillingworth. She sought out this love that she was denied from Chillingworth and found it in Dimmesdale. Hester's method was not practical because she ignored the fact that she must first atone to herself. She shuts everything out and puts on the A hoping that the letter will take the pain away. Hester wears her A physically (externally) to redeem herself emotionally (internally) because it took her guilt and turned it into physical pain, which she could understand. Hester's A is constantly reminding her of her sin and causing her pain, but it also gives her relief, knowing that the A will lead to her redemption. He died after confessing because he had fully and purely forgiven himself, and had showed everyone that he was Pearl's father.
Dimmesdale and Hester both couldn't have been redeemed without suffering. The community doesn't even know that he has committed a sin which deteriorates him inside, knowing that he would have to come out and confess this information in front of them all. All he needs to do to complete his atonement is to confess to the public, but he holds back because he knows that as the town's spiritual leader is he transgresses a law and is able to forgive himself there must be holes in the system that they don't see, and this would put doubts into their minds about their whole religion. It is clearly seen that Hester is addicted to the relief that the painful A gives her because when she has the oppurtunity to take it off she refuses.
Approximate Word count =
1362
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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