scarlet letter essay
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Sin and Knowledge
The story of Adam and Eve, getting barred from the Garden of Eden, is a prime example of sin and knowledge. Akin to Adam and Eve, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale both result in sin, although they both have the knowledge of their wrong doings. It is part of human nature for the head and heart to do otherwise; Hester and Dimmesdale share a passionate act of desire. Now they must reconcile with their sinfulness in their everyday routines. There is a necessary state of purity that is part of the involvement of an individual in society as prerequisite to harmony. The evolution and individualization of the human personality includes suffering and separation.
"Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes! these were her realities all else had vanished!..