Excellent question!
The simple answer would be "No," at a general level, and at first.
However, as Hester's life goes on, the answer changes to "Yes." As the legend of Hester's "sin" became solidified in the minds of the villagers, the effects of her actions and consequences will have an impact centuries later, as you can see in "The Custom House." In fact, according to the author, what took place in the village may serve...
Excellent question!
The simple answer would be "No," at a general level, and at first.
However, as Hester's life goes on, the answer changes to "Yes." As the legend of Hester's "sin" became solidified in the minds of the villagers, the effects of her actions and consequences will have an impact centuries later, as you can see in "The Custom House." In fact, according to the author, what took place in the village may serve as an interesting story to be told to future generations.
Here is the support for both arguments.
Argument: There was no physical benefit in Hester's sin
Upon the commission of Hester's sin, the only things that happened at a big scale were the following:
- Hester goes to prison alone, while Dimmesdale (who sinned along with her) gets to hide the sin and live in the free community.
- Hester gets put in the scaffold periodically to withstand the public scorn of the puritan villagers. And Dimmesdale is one of the magistrates who probes her publicly!
- Hester suffers the public punishment of wearing the scarlet letter for the rest of her life. She suffers as a result of it; she becomes the pariah of the town.
- Hester suffers from the public hatred and humiliation of the women of the village.
- Hester has Pearl, who actually reminds her of her sin, over and over. Ever since birth, Pearl has been a handful that Hester has had to deal with, alone.
- Chillingworth enters the settlement to torment Hester and Dimmesdale, attempting to avenge the "sin" committed against him by the two.
- Hester's once luxurious black hair and strong presence were reduced to nothing. She would wear her hair completely covered, and she adapted to the rules of austerity of the puritans.
All this being said, nothing physically appealing, nor beneficial, was ever gained from her sin.
Argument: the sin did not benefit Hester, nor changed her for better or worse at a spiritual level .
- Hester was neither more religious nor more repentant from committing her sin before nor after her punishment.
- Hester even admits that she would go to the forest with Mistress Hibbins, the witch, if the magistrates dared to take Pearl away from her.
- Hester has some degree of faith in that things will get better in her life. She also has a degree of faith that Dimmesdale will love her and go away with her and Pearl. All that will come to a bitter end. Dimmesdale will die at the scaffold and won't even assure her that he will see her in the afterlife.
These are the reasons why, upon first learning about Hester's story, we realize that all would have been easily fixed if Hester had never been caught, and if Dimmesdale had just had the gumption to escape with her. No actual benefit came out of her sin.
On a larger scale, however, there are some things that did make a difference.
The sentence in chapter 13 summarizes Hester's life:
The scarlet letter had not done its office
This shows that there has been some spiritual gain, mainly at a moral level. Hester became empowered by the scarlet letter. She says that the letter has taught her, and shown her what she had done. Pearl, an extension of the letter, is also proof that Hester was able to sacrifice and endure whatever came her way.
In "The Custom House," we learn that the story of what took place between Hester and Dimmesdale became nearly legendary, supported by the remains of the glittery red letter that the author finds among the leftover things in his old post.
Therefore, Hester's sin does not come to full effect, nor shows its entire effects, at the beginning. It all comes full circle much later, after Hester and Dimmesdale have both passed on.
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