Flaws In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne

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Curiously, humanity has always managed to get in its own way. Not a single human being who has ever lived, except for Jesus Christ, has found a way to be perfection: without flaws, without quirks, without faults, and without past regret. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne is undoubtedly a flawed woman. But when attacked and tried for these flaws, she finally accepts her punishment with admirable dignity, enduring to lead the rest of her life. By choosing to act in this manner, the true nature of her character shines through and she goes on to lead a life worthy of example. The Catholic Church has also been attacked for its many self-acknowledged flaws and past faults, which it has strived to rectify by accepting its guilt and seeking to …show more content…
In essence, people are inherently flawed, and because of this, institutions are composed of flawed people. It is how these people and institutions react when confronted with their flaws, or sins, that truly define their character. Hester Prynne and the Catholic Church both have faced severe tribulations and bigoted retaliation that would have broken lesser beings and have emerged better for it. However, this self-evident truth is not exclusive to archaic examples. Joe Paterno, the formerly renowned American college football player and head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, for instance, was once crowned as the winningest coach in NCAA FBS history (Biography.com). Needless to say, his reputation was close to unrivaled, and yet when the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal was brought about, all of his achievements and philanthropic acts were overshadowed and forgotten, despite lacking substantial evidence that he even participated in the cover-up. Despite this, Paterno was forced out of his position and his landmark statue was …show more content…
The Puritans may have come to Massachusetts seeking religious freedom, but they certainly weren’t going to extend that religious freedom to Catholics” (Knight). In the second chapter of The Scarlet Letter, “The Market-Place”, the reader is presented with a scene in which the “autumnal” and “hard-featured” matrons are deciding which cruel and unusual punishment would be most appropriate to assign Hester, the supposed town whore, despite being vile sinners themselves (Hawthorne, 44). This blatant hypocrisy is similar to the long-standing anti-Catholic sentiment in that the persons involved separate themselves from their own humanity and sins in order to employ a “holier-than-thou” approach while demonizing the victim. They do this, primarily, for two reasons. The first reason is to elevate themselves from their sinful flesh and up towards godliness, and the other reason is outright ignorance and fear. While in The Scarlet Letter, one of the “suggested” punishments was branding Hester’s forehead with a hot iron, anti-Catholics have taken it upon themselves to unleash more
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