Carta Escarlata en Inglés RESUMEN.

...

While Dimmesdale and Chillingworth can’t find a healthy balance between their freedom and their morality, Hester Prynne is both free and good, acting as a foil to both characters. She chooses to not hide her affair from the Puritans which liberates her from the constraints of Puritan ideals. She wears her A proudly on her chest “in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread” 80 while Dimmesdale hides his in guilt. Unlike Chillingworth, she pursues multiple passions in her life, resuming her sewing work and devoting her life to raising Pearl. Also unlike Chillingworth, she chooses to act morally, comforting “the wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion” (393) like herself who had been shunned by the Puritans. She takes control of her life not by pursuing goodness and freedom, but simply by acting good and free unlike Dimmesdale and Chillingworth who fail to balance their own sensibilities. Through this, she eventually earns back the respect of the Puritans, despite that not being a goal that she strived to attain. This is symbolized by the scarlet A on her breast becoming an “object of love and interest” (391) instead of one of shame at the end of the story.

Freedom and goodness in the Scarlet Letter aren’t abstract ideals or goals to be achieved, but are simply traits that are defined by one’s own personal choices. Dimmesdale loses his freedom by staying silent about his affair with Hester but maintains his good nature and continues to help the community. He embodies the spirit of morality and good. Chillingworth loses both his freedom and his goodness in the pursuit of revenge on Dimmesdale. Both theses characters’ struggles cause their deaths and are a direct result of their own choices in how they utilize their freedom and morals. Only Hester maintains her goodness without sacrificing freedom. She doesn’t pursue anything, she knows that in order to be free and good, she has to simply act freely and morally.

Bibliography

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Scarlet Letter." Scarlet Letter, The (1850): n.

pag. Planetpublish.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

"Personal Freedom in The Scarlet Letter vs. Moby Dick." Canonical Thoughts. N.p., 08

Dec. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.