Justice at the Scaffold in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Ess

justice at the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter Richard Harter Fogle acknowledges the aspect of the superhuman as the theatre of absolute insight, justice, and mercy few of Hawthornes tales and romances can be adequately considered without taking it into account (Realms of Being and Dramatic Irony 309). This superhuman aspect surfaces through godly Justice in The Scarlet Letter. On the other hand, the merely human application of justice emerges through the Puritan laws, or Earthly Justice. The struggle for achievement in the novel between Earthly and Divine Justice becomes a central theme, reflected in multiple aspects of the plot. However, the focal point in this struggle manifests itself at the hold up in Boston, where Divine Justice materializes and ultimately triumphs over Earthly Justice. The thematic struggle at the battleground of the scaffold unfolds and develops through Hawthornes three scaffold scenes. Earthly Justice dominates the first scene, where the Puritans for ce the stoic Hester Prynne, bearing the scarlet A on her bosom, to stand on the scaffold in front of the cackling, denounce Puritan crowd. Hawthorne explains that shame...was the essence of this punishment (41). Moreover, Ernest Sandeen verifies that a sinner feels shame before his fellowman and fear before his God (The Scarlet Letter as a cheat Story 360), meaning that Earthly Justice induces shame as Divine Justice creates fear. Therefore, since Hesters punishment reduced her to shame on the scaffold, Earthly Justice distribute its punishment, asserting its authority, in this first scaffold scene. Also, Dimmesdales reluctance in this scene to admit his guilt diminishes the hope for Divine Justice, which is fo... ...werful yet merciful Divine Justice that unfailingly watched over them. Works Cited Abel, Darrel. Hawthornes Hester. The Scarlet Letter. tertiary ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York Norton, 1988. 300-308. Fe idelson, Charles, Jr. The People of Boston. The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York Norton, 1988. 371-375. Fogle, Richard Harter. Realms of Being and Dramatic Irony. The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York Norton, 1988. 308-315. Sandeen, Ernest. The Scarlet Letter as a Love Story. The Scarlet Letter. 3rd ed. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York Norton, 1988. 350-361.