Guilt is a self-inflicted innervation authors throughout history have expressed within their literature, with no restrictions in regards to the authors time period or culture. Many of these authors explore this concept of an internal struggle through the rationalization of their characters, and through the medium of the dialogue between these characters. In order to assess the guilt present within Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, it will be useful to have a precise definition of guilt. The Oxford Dictionary defines guilt as "a feeling of having committed wrong or failed in an obligation," and defines a hyperactive conscience or guilt complex as being "a mental obsession with the idea of having done wrong." There are differing ranks of guilt depending upon one's idea of the seriousness of the transgression he or she has committed, and Hawthorne also subtly distinguishes sin in his novel this way as well. In The Scarlet Letter, the wrongly committed action, or sin, is adultery: a very serious offense in puritan morality. The actions taken by each party to satisfy their guilt complex is inconsistent and individual in response. Hawthorne's main female character, Hester Prynne, has no option; she cannot conceal her iniquity from her peers, for obvious biological reasons. However, Hester's partner, Dimmesdale, has a choice; his choice of secrecy is dependent upon Hester's complicity. Dimmesdale chooses to remain reserved because of his own cowardice, and this choice is supported by Hester throughout the entirety of the novel. Nonetheless, the guilt from his sin causes Dimmesdale to be affected by an immense guilt complex. Consumed with guilt, this hyperactive conscious morphs into a "mental obsession" which ravishes him through the eventual deterioration his mental health, and ultimately, exterminates him. Dimmesdale does, however, seek to exonerate this self-created guilt. This rationalization is one that Hawthorne feels is important to one's spiritual (and physical) health and well-being.
Dimmesdale's eventual deterioration of his mental and physical health within the novel is originally caused by his sin, but is amplified, and allowed to take a greater presence in his life because of his own cowardice. Dimmesdale avoids conviction for his sin by abstaining from the scaffolding Hester and Pearl stand on. Dimmesdale's alibi for not standing with his daughter and Hester is simply, "all the dread of the public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him; and he was already trembling" (Hawthorne 184). Even in his revelation, does Dimmesdale remain apprehensive, only hinting at the fact that he may be the father of pearl by saying "-behold me here, the one sinner of the world! At last! At last! I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood; here with this woman" (Hawthorne 305). This cowardice allows his sin to manifest itself in the form of his guilt complex, "Mr. Dimmesdale was overcome with a great horror of mind, as if the universe were gazing at a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart. On that spot, in very truth, there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain" (Hawthorne 176-177). This "scarlet token" of natural sin is allowed to manifest to the point where it gnaws at him with poisonous bodily pain because of his previous cowardice of public rebuke. "There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution" (Wilde 81). By the same (scarlet) token, Living a life with a mind plagued by a guilt complex ultimately deteriorated Dimmesdale's body and soul to no more, and with this transduction, Hawthorne argues that when sin and guilt become entangled with your soul, you need not do more than to expose it within the light, causing it to convulse with accommodation from the difference in contrast, to release its entanglement, and liberate you from its satanic destruction.
In addition to Hawthorne's comments on guilt's role in the punishment of sin, Hawthorne criticizes puritan ideals through his characters. For instance, Dimmesdale's ironic view of hierarchical sin, a derivative to that of Alighieri's allegory, where his character, Dante, views paganous souls residing on the shores of Acheron, to an inverted trinity of traitors forever punished for their sin (Alighieri). However, according to puritan ideals, The Holy Bible declares that failing to adhere to God's law in even the slightest, makes a man guilty, and therefore worthy of eternal punishment (James 2:10). In puritan morality, the murderer, the liar and the proud man are all equally guilty in God's eyes and all earn the same punishment. Hawthorne's channel of his personal views through Dimmesdale is revealed within his dialogue with Hester, "We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so" (Hawthorne 234). Additionally, through Hester's dialogue, Hawthorne even explains that sin is natural, by referring to the early days of their relationship as a "consecration," suggesting that the couple sees their "sin" as
having been no more than the fulfillment of a natural law (Hawthorne 234). "Guilt is the price we pay willingly for doing what we are going to do anyway" (Holland). Using his characters as mediums for discussing and criticizing puritan morality, Hawthorne reveals his true beliefs, which contend with those of his ancestors.
Guilt, a universal concept used to describe the feeling of emotional distraught, which acts as an internal punishment for sins committed. Guilt is only a derivative for which sin creates, while cowardice allows the manifestation of a guilt complex, a satanic tool of destruction. The properties of sin being hierarchical and only a fulfillment of natural law are both concepts that argue against puritan ideals, while above are all statements relative to Hawthorne's own personal views. Hawthorne's exploration of the concepts of guilt and sin, and guilt's role in sin, leads to stimulating intellectual discussion, as well as a further view into the human psyche. "The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness" (Hugo 14).
