2nd Theme: Predetermined Identities

In the novel, it is shown that if a person wants to fit in and be accepted by the community, they must
act according to the laws and abide by them. If anyone decides to act differently or voice their own
opinions, they will have to face severe consequences due to the rigidity and stubbornness of the
government.

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s predetermined identity was one that everyone looked up to and that
everyone expected him to act as an example and flawless prototype. After committing adultery with
Hester Prynne, he is forced to hide the fact that he is Pearl’s father and pressures himself to never
acknowledge that fact. However, overwhelmed and pained by this dark secret and self-denial,
Dimmesdale confesses at his pulpit many times, but every time, his parishioners “reverence[d] him the
more” (129). That was the cause of his predetermined identity because everyone refused to believe
that their minister was anything but holy. They assumed that if Dimmesdale was discerning his sins in
such a fervent manner, the “spectacle that beheld in their own hearts” would be worse. Dimmesdale
realized that he could not escape his sin or his identity and that caused him the greatest suffering of
all.

Similar to Dimmesdale, Hester learned that she could not hide her true identity. Marked by the letter
“A”, Hester’s predetermined identity is that of an adulteress. After being released from jail, Hester had
the choice to run away to another country and remove that emblem on her chest. However, she
accepted the fact that “it [was] too deeply branded” (60) and it would be no use to take it off. Instead,
she acknowledged it as part of her life and identity. As she wore it with no sense of shame, her
compassion and eagerness to help slowly pushed back the meaning of ignominy that the scarlet letter
had and instead, transformed it into a positive and comforting mark.

Nevertheless, in Chapter 17, Hester still clings and glimpses at a hope that the scarlet letter can be
forever removed from her identity when she and Dimmesdale forgive each other and plan to run
away to Europe. After unclasping the badge from around chest and tossing it away close to the river,
Hester is restored back to her formal beauty as she lets her hair down and smiles in happiness.
However, Pearl comes back as a reminder that her identity can never be removed and it is only until
Hester pins the letter back on, does she truly learn the lesson that predetermined identity can never
be denied or thrown away.

Unsurprisingly, the citizens of the Puritan community also have to face their predestined identities.
Forever confined by their surroundings and the laws around them, the Puritans in the community had
to agree with whatever the counsel deemed or with whatever the holy priests said. Unable to give
opinions or voice comments, the Puritan settlement portrayed in the novel gives the reader a
foreboding sense of something dark and wrong. Everyone acted like robots and whoever
malfunctioned or disobeyed would have to face the most severe consequences.

Nathaniel Hawthorne concludes with the fact that identity is a part of who we are. It is not something
we can change forever or forget about because it is linked to our sins, our failures, and ultimately, our
past. The only thing possible for us humans to do is to accept that fact and hold on to our identities,
for when we lose the things that define who we are, we lose ourselves.