Essentialism vs. Constructionism in the Scarlett Letter
The Scarlett Letter addresses the issue of essentialism versus constructionism. Most of the characters seem to be essentialists, believing that there is a definite right and wrong, guilt and innocence; that there is sin. Even Chillingworth, the open-minded man who half-adopted Indian traditions, believes strongly that the adultery that Hester committed (though admittedly inevitable) was wrong. The story itself, however, communicates casts doubt on essentialism. Pearl, the child born out of sin, has no such inclination to follow religious or societal strictures. Dimmesdale, to whom “it would always be essential to his peace to feel the pressure of a faith about him” (102), makes an argument through his actions (despite his words) for constructionism, as it becomes clear that he is Pearl’s father. He who stands so clearly for the trueness of religion, contradicts himself by keeping his most glaring sin from the world.
We the readers are introduced to the story of The Scarlet Letter with the explicit knowledge that it is not only secondhand, but rather thirdhand. We are thusly made aware of the fact that the story must have been inevitably distorted as it passed through Pue, and then through the current writer, who could have just as easily given us Pue’s account. Furthermore, the writer describes to us in detail the extent to which he had been bored with his life. Given the circumstances, it is not hard to imagine that the writer used this story as way to introduce passion into his own life, and likely exaggerated the passion in the story for this purpose. The “The Custom-House” serves to communicate that the story that follows will be reconstruction of the past to serve the purposes or the present, not an accurate account of what happened.
The theme of societal expectations is introduced in “The Custom-House.” We see the author and the workers in the custom-house under the thumb of societal rules. The author suffers from its strictures. It is unclear who is controlling whom in the author’s world, but it is made startlingly clear in the world of Hester Prynne. Hester is judged and persecuted relentlessly by the whole town. She has no choice but to submit to her townspeople’s glares and words of hatred. On top of that, she judges herself harshly. When did Hester Prynne begin to carry this guilt of sin inside of her? Was she born with the idea or raised to believe it? We can begin to look at the broader question by looking at Pearl. Readers are informed that “throughout all, however, there was a trait of passion, a certain depth of hue, which she never lost” (75). Moreover, “the child could not be made amenable to rules” (75). Pearl was clearly not born with the idea of guilt ingrained in her. She speaks boldly to her mother, seems intelligent far beyond her years, and claims that she has no heavenly father. Morals, in this story, find their power through religion. Pearl seems immune. She herself is an argument for constructionism, and it is her presence around which this whole story is built.
Tags: constructionism, Essentialism, passion, The Scarlet Letter
February 18th, 2013 at 9:26 pm
Hi Eli,
You are going to be the spokesperson for The Custom-House tomorrow in class. What you say about assumptions of essence versus societal construction may be a bit too rigid here since Hawthorne probably wasn’t that far beyond assumptions of a human essence. But, what you are on to is his discussion of art in the presentation of truth. The section on romance and the artist will be key to your discussion, so take another look at it and see how that might provide the seedlings for what a century later will become the social construcionist viewpoint.