Sample Essay on:
Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' / Historical Significance Of Adultery

Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' / Historical Significance Of Adultery. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.

Essay / Research Paper Abstract

5 pages in length. Intolerance towards acts of adultery was alive and well, historically, during the period of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The sexual repression and hypocrisy that reigned during the seventeenth century -- as compared with the more relaxed attitudes of today -- was evident within the Puritan culture. The writer addresses such sexual imprisonment as it relates to the mentality of that time. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

Page Count:

5 pages (~225 words per page)

File: D0_Scarl4.doc

Buy This Term Paper »

 

Unformatted sample text from the term paper:

climate with regard to infidelity. Historically, carrying on an adulterous affair back in such an era of Puritanism and traditional values was not taken lightly; in fact, by todays standards, such horrific treatment for what is now considered an everyday occurrence was more harsh than murders suffer by current standards. Those who acted out of the vows of matrimony centuries ago, as Hester Prynne did in The Scarlet Letter, paid a high price for their momentary pleasures of the flesh. In those days, the Puritans saw to it that such a crime was "punishable by death" (Zabarenko PG); behavior so unbecoming of a religious devotee deserved no less. However, Prynne escaped such a fate when she did the unthinkable: she chose to sleep with a "self-righteous" (Zabarenko PG) priest who ultimately fathered her child. After her adulterous affair was discovered, Prynnes punishment of wearing a red A on her bodice acted as a vivid reminder to all who saw her. Yet human beings were still human beings even back then -- it is just that extramarital affairs were not looked upon as an acceptable activity. While they are not exactly condoned within todays society, there has been a remarkable change in attitude toward the punishment of such sexual indiscretions compared to those of Hawthornes time period. "What people are saying is that this is wrong but the temptation is great and its part of being human that we fall into temptation. The extra thing about adultery is that if a person admits they were wrong and the spouse forgives ... thats ...

Search and Find Your Term Paper On-Line

Can't locate a sample research paper?
Try searching again:

Can't find the perfect research paper? Order a Custom Written Term Paper Now