Introduction
The book has several themes that will be covered in this paper. The central theme in this piece is the theme of sin. Sin is covered throughout the book, and it not only covers the acts which do not meet the expectations of the religious standards and beliefs of the society in which one exists in but also covers the acts of sin committed as a way of expressing rebellion against the same religious and societal values (Crews, 1989). The narrative also covers the way the society depicted in the narrative reacts to the people who are considered to be sinful, and how the society acts selectively on the issues considered as sin depending on a person's social status. The adulterous act of love between Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale ends up with Hester being sentenced, while Dimmesdale's case is swept under the carpet because of his social position. Apart from the sentence that Hester receives, she is also subjected to isolation due to having a child out of wedlock, which is considered to be a sin.
Secondly, there is a theme of conforming to religious standards set in society. The theme of conforming to religion goes hand in hand with that of sin since when one sins, they are considered to have failed to conform to the set standards of the society and religious beliefs too. It is for the lack of conformity that Hester finds herself living in isolation as punishment for her lack of conformity to the standards of the society. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, conforms and keeps silent on the issue, which results in him not going through the same treatment that Hester went through (Crews, 1989). The narrative also seeks to criticize the hypocritical religious practices, where those who conformed to the religious practices despite being guilty of sin were considered pure, and those that did not acknowledge the same were branded to be evil and treated harshly. This shows that the religious practices of the day were misinformed and were bound to bring about chaos in the society where they were practiced.
Existence of personal and public guilt
The existence of personal and public guilt is also covered in the themes of the narrative. Despite the personal guilt that Hester suffers, her non-conformity and lack of social status lead to her public embarrassment when she is subjected to isolation and stigmatization for committing adultery and having a child out of wedlock. On the other hand, Dimmesdale suffers from personal guilt since he conforms to the requirements of society and keeps quiet when the society mistreats Hester while he does not suffer the same consequences, yet they sinned together.
Conclusion
Through the way that Hester handles herself, the theme of feminine perseverance is brought out quite clearly. Despite the challenges that she goes through, Hester can remain resilient and robust for the sake of the baby that she had, and she does not give up hope. She is also used by the author to show the extent to which women can sacrifice to provide their loved ones with the happiness that they deserve (Khalid, 2020). It is through the use of Hester as a character that we see the resilience of women even in the contemporary society, whereby they sacrifice a lot for the sake of their loved ones while the men in similar situations run away or conform to the situations in a bid to escape the consequences that come with the issues at hand.
