earticle

영어

This essay aims to study the collective violence of the Puritan society and the social role of Hester, heroine of The Scarlet Letter. The scientific revolution began in the 17th Century Europe, which brought about the development of rationality. Since then, the subject of individual who acts independently based on his/her rational decision had become important in European society of modern times. In the novel Hester is charged with felony adultery. Her punishment on the scaffold and the following isolation are understood as a type of René Girard’s collective violence. It seems that Puritans overcome the crisis of their society by using Hester as the scapegoat through which they relieve their negative feelings. Meanwhile, Hester imbibes the progressive ideas of Europe while living in solitude, which changes her to an individual with the thinking ability. The novel suggests that Hester’s self-development eventually contributes to social progress in the way in which she gains people’s trust and shares her idea with them.