Triumph Of Humanity Over Divinity—A Psychoanalytic Reading Of The Scarlet Letter

The present thesis attempts to explore the conflicts between humanity and divinity in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter by drawing on the Freudian psychoanalysis.The Scarlet Letter stands as a monument in American Literature with its in-depth probe into human nature and imaginative literary style.The characters in the novel are portrayed with an aim to reveal,what Hawthorne believed to be,the important natural impulses that propel human beings to do good or evil,turning them into angels or devils.Such impulses,good or bad,constitute what is referred to as “humanity” in this thesis.In other terms,this idea is close to what Freud would call Id.Parallel and in opposition to humanity is the concept of “divinity.” In this thesis the divinity refers to the religious and moral beliefs that were instilled in the minds of people living in the Puritan society.It is this concept of divinity that determines the characters' ideas about right or wrong,virtuous or sinful,and influences how they think and respond to events that take place in the novel.In this sense,divinity comes close to what Freud would call Superego.Interpreted through the Freudian lens,The Scarlet Letter is an example of how Hawthorne brings into life the complexities of human mind by showing how the id struggles with the superego and how people's unrestrained humanity will eventually triumph over their sense of divinity.In the context of this analysis,Freud's theory of sublimation is also borrowed to explain how primitive impulses may sublimate into the noble pursuits in the work.In The Scarlet Letter,Hester's id sublimates into her pursuit of true love,beauty and freedom,while Dimmesdale succumbs to his superego or divinity at the expense of his life.Chillingworth eventually yields to his id or humanity,abandoning his divinity by giving Pearl his forgiveness and property.Pearl,a little kid as pretty as her name,presents as a version of the id,and she stands untainted by the restrictions and rules of the Puritan society.Structurally,the thesis is divided into five parts.The first two parts include the Introduction and the Literature Review.The third part discusses Freud's theory of personality structure along with the idea of sublimation and the application of these two concepts in the present thesis.The fourth part analyzes the four main characters in the novel with a focus on their respective struggles between the id and superego,orhumanity and divinity.Last but not least,the fifth part of the paper wraps up the analysis and research in the conclusion.