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Essay / Love and Hate in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Love and hate require intimacy and knowledge of the heart. Both emotions leave the individual subject to the emotion and become essential for survival. If an emotion develops into a perceptible obsession, it may eventually leave the zealous lover or equally zealous hater feeling discouraged and despondent once he no longer obtains the object of affection. Excessive emotion binds the parties involved; Furthermore, the main difference is how a society perceives it. As evidenced in literature, history, and modern entertainment, humans display a fascination with love. Hate acts in opposition to accepted behavior. However, the opposite poles often derive from inbred roots: a passion “devouring logic”. Love demands to be seen in a different way than hate, even though both emotions face the same obvious infatuation. According to The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, love and hate are full of passion; however, love functions incongruously in relation to hate. Hate remains the opposite of love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Although conceived from sin, love exists as a direct contrast to hatred. Hawthorne writes: "Love, whether newborn or awakened from a mortal sleep, must always create a ray of sunshine, filling hearts so full of radiance that it overflows into the outer world" (139). . The heroine Hester Prynne, a ray of sunshine in the subjugation of her sin, displays rebellious but caring behavior. She mainly looks like she has sacrificial love for her child Pearl. The community gives Hester “the mark of Cain” because of her sin of adultery. The authorities believe that she does not seem capable of properly caring for this child. With her stubborn character, she persuades the governors to let her keep Pearl. Hester insists: “Pearl is my happiness[.] – she is no less my torture! Pearl keeps me here in life” (Hawthorne 77). The pearl is more than a repercussion of sin; she remains a reason to live for Hester. Hester feels "alone in the world, rejected by it, and with this one treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt that she possessed unassailable rights against the world and was ready to defend them to the death." death” (Hawthorne 77). With a cold-blooded, deceitful husband, a lying lover, and a scolding community, Hester has nothing in the world but her mischievous child and the red badge of shame. Later, Hester has the opportunity to remove her cap and the scarlet letter while in the forest with her lover, Dimmesdale. Without a doubt, she takes it off without hesitation. However, Pearl throws a tantrum as soon as she is removed. No longer recognizing her own mother, Pearl “gesticulates wildly and, in the midst of it all, still points her little index finger at Hester's breast” (Hawthorne 144). In an attempt to appease her unruly daughter, Hester puts the letter and cap back on her. Hawthorne writes: “As if there were a withering spell in the sad letter, her beauty, the warmth and richness of her womanhood disappeared, like a waning sun; and a gray shadow seemed to fall on her” (145). Hester loves Pearl so much that she gives up her personal beauty for the happiness of her daughter. Love is sacrificial; sacrifice is love. “[Loving] her child with the intensity of a single affection,” Hester’s kindness uniquely endures (Hawthorne 123). Continually, Hester shows her love when she interacts with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, her secret lover. His affection for Dimmesdale, a man too.