Part one of term paper
A critic, Edward Wagenknecht explains that the scarlet letter upon Hester's breast in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter "had not done its office." This means that the actions of the magistrates punishing Hester for her sin is like usurping God's power, and the scarlet letter keeps Hester from living a miserable, guilty life such as the ...

Part two of term paper
... not be delt with like a crime. When he states that “The scarlet letter had not done its office”(160), Hawthorne shows that the magistrates did not effectively punish Hester. Furthermore, Hawthorne shows that the magistrates are arrogating God’s power. Thus, he feels that only God can effectively punish sin and that anything otherwise is sacrilegious. The scarlet letter upon Hester does not chastise her but only prevents Hester from grievance and unhappiness. Moreover, Dimme ...