ruth in all parts of his life. In his novel The Scarlet Letter Hawthornes philosophies can easily be perceived. Hawthornes commentary in his book that the outward guise of purity was but a lie, and that, if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom besides Hester Prynnes was in fact his view of the Puritan church. Hawthorne believed that Puritanism focused entirely too much on visible saints, who from what human eyes could see were perfectly sinless. These supposedly sinless people were automatically accepted into the church. In his novel, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was the most tremendous visible saint of all, and had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office with the townspeople. However, he was the most hypocritical having been Hester Prynnes partner in adultery. The rigidity of Puritanism and its emphasis on original sin is what Hawthorne felt undermined morality. It is this same harshness that kept Dimmesdale silent for many years fearful of the consequences of confessing his sin publicly because he fears the penaltydeath. He longed to speak out from his own pulpit at the full height of his voice, and tell the people what he was. Yet, this could not happen in the Puritan society. This iron hand the church held over communities of the time is what Hawthorne resented. It only led people to bury their sins deeper in their hearts, just as Dimmesdale did in The Scarlet Letter.Hawthorne, a Romantic writer, used his technical skills of allegory and light/dark imagery in The Scarlet Letter to enlighten his readers with truths. He was very allegorical, using characters and plot together to portray a moral lesson. Pearl is used in this novel as an allegory for truth. Throughout the work Pearl acts in ways that are untypical of someone of her infancy. Yet, Hawthorne uses it to bestow upon the reader a lesson. Pearl says that the reason her mother wears the scarlet lette...
