Author Nathaniel Hawthorne believed that the source of evil can come in two forms; historic or psychological. Evil can penetrate a person in different ways, and from different causes. Some are struck by evil in a form of deceit, greed, or pride, as seen in Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Evil can also strike a person in the form of political, social, or religious repression, as seen in Hester Prynne. Some, are able to overcome evil, and others grow weak from evil and are never able to overcome it. In this book, we are able to see that Hester is able to overcome her historic evil while Chillingworth and Dimmesdale are weakened by the evil wit ...view middle of the document...
" There stood Hester Prynne standing alone with a baby in her arms, being punished for a sin two people committed. This did not make Hester angry nor did she want to seek revenge on her lover, she continued to refuse to give the townspeople the satisfaction of knowing the babies father, and left them to wonder and seek themselves. By doing this, Hester does not allow her evil to become psychological, ultimately and unintentionally saving herself. By being able to seclude to herself and her daughter Pearl, Hester was able to suppress her evil and not let it overcome her. Hester did not grow weaker over the seven years that the book takes place, she allowed her sin to make her stronger to the point where she was ready to leave the New World in the end of the book. Hester had gained courage and bravery throughout seven years and overcame the evil she was repressed with by her society.Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth are both overcome by evil psychologically by their deceit, greed, or pride. Arthur Dimmesdale was seen as a honorable Puritan that practically no one would believe to commit any evil or sin. Ironically, Dimmesdale commits the worst of all Puritan sins, adultery. He fathered a child out of wedlock and watched his mistress be publicly humiliated and punished for a sin he also committed. Although never politically punished, Dimmesdale received the worst punishment of all. He allowed his guilt and deceit practically destroy him. A type of evil grows inside of Dimmesdale as he remains cowardly and guilty for a crime he does not admit to. Dimmesdale punishes himself by putting a permanent scarlet letter on his chest, similar to Hester's, in a place that it is unknown to all but himself. He also does not eat and becomes so sickly that the townspeople began noticing a dramatic change in his figure. Over a course of seven years his body tapered down and he aged far beyond his years. Eventually, this evil brought him to his early death on the scaffold. Chillingworth's evil seems to take form in his search for reven...