The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky share a common theme: the consequences of escaping punishment. This article explores the authors' views on psychological punishment as a sentence far worse than any under the law. It focuses particularly on the personal tortures of the main characters in these novels: Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, Raskolnikov, and Sonya. It also explores the dynamic between female characters and their male partners. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The type of punishment seen in these novels is not that typically implied by the word, defined as “the imposition of a penalty for a wrong, offense, or violation.” Dimmesdale and Raskolnikov try to escape punishment and endure immense mental suffering and psychological torment before their crimes are revealed to the public. Hester's punishment is given at the beginning of the book, while Sonya receives none from the law. However, both of these characters, like their male counterparts, also suffer mental punishment that can be seen as a much greater punishment than public shaming and incarceration. The Scarlet Letter is set in a Puritan settlement in New England. Hester Prynne's husband, Roger Chillingworth, sent her to America and promised to meet her there later. However, he never arrived and was presumed dead. Hester Prynne has an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the town's ministers, and becomes pregnant. The town hears about this and is abuzz with gossip about who the father is. Hester refuses to reveal her identity and is considered an adulteress. His sentence is to forever wear a scarlet letter "A" embroidered on his chest. Dimmesdale sees all this happening, but does not confess his secret to the town. Chillingworth has now arrived in town and is also present to witness Hester's punishment. As the story progresses, Dimmesdale's guilt and worry cause him to become gravely ill: “His form became emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had in it a certain melancholy prophecy of decadence; was often observed… placing his hand over his heart, with first a blush, and then a paleness, indicative of pain (Hawthorne 225).” Another physical mark also appears on Dimmesdale in the form of a letter "A" on his chest, a "visible manifestation of the 'ever-active tooth of remorse, gnawing from the depths of the heart outward,' as critic David Stocking puts it . Chillingworth, now a doctor in town, moves in with Dimmesdale under the pretense of curing him. However, all Chillngworth really wants is to discover Dimmesdale's secret, and Dimmesdale's condition only worsens under his care. When Chillingworth asks him why some men never reveal the secrets of their hearts in life, Dimmesdale replies: "Cilful though they may be... they avoid showing themselves black and dirty in the eyes of men... Then, to their unspeakable torment, they walk among their fellows, appearing pure… while their hearts are all stained and stained with iniquity which they cannot rid themselves of” (Hawthorne 236) refers indirectly to himself and reveals the extent of his secret tortures him. We also see his reasoning for keeping the secret; he holds a high position and does not wish to lose his stature. The Puritans believed that sin was shameful and ostracised those who sinned, as Hester believes of people can be worse than carryingwith the secret, but Hawthorne provides plenty of evidence to prove otherwise. Dimmesdale knows that he is a “remorseful hypocrite,” but he does not have the courage to reveal his crime and begins to “detest his miserable self” (Hawthorne 247, 248). His self-hatred leads him to suffer even more and he begins practicing ancient rituals such as fasting, holding all-night vigils, and even whipping himself "until his knees trembled beneath him" (Hawthorne 248). Dimmesdale eventually confesses that he is the father of Hester's child and dies soon after. Dimmesdale's illness is similar to the one that affects Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov kills a miserable loan shark named Alena Ivanova and her innocent sister, Lizaveta. After committing the murders, he rapidly becomes ill and becomes increasingly paranoid; He begins to constantly worry that others will suspect him. When he receives a summons from the police, he immediately thinks the worst. He says to himself: “I've never had anything to do with the police! And why would it happen today... If I'm finished, I'm finished! …This is a trap. They want to lure me into a trap and then spring it” (79). It turns out that the summons concerns a simple question of rent, which is completely unrelated to what Raskolnikov fears. Raskolnikov's disease is also evident throughout much of the book. After the murder, he returns home and falls asleep. When he awoke, “he was seized with a fit of shivering so violent that his teeth chattered uncontrollably and every limb trembled (75). He passes out at the police station after finishing discussing his rent situation, and his condition worsens as the days pass. He becomes distant, talks about things that don't make sense, and often smiles for no reason, while his friends and family begin to fear for his sanity. Another negative effect of Raskolnikov's crime, and perhaps his greatest punishment, is alienation from his friends. and family. Raskolnikov decides that it is best to separate from his sister Dunya and mother for a while. He tells them, “I wanted to tell you…as I was coming here…I wanted to tell you…that it would be better if we separated for a short time. I don't feel well, I'm not easy... Whatever happens to me, whether I die or not, I want to be alone” (264). Raskolnikov feels the need to distance himself. When his best friend, Razumikhin, chases him and asks him the reason for his sudden departure, “something strange [passes] between them,” and Razumikhin realizes what Raskolnikov has done (265). Eventually, Dunya also finds out about the murder. As she said her final goodbyes, “he motioned to her impatiently, even irritably… 'I'm cruel, I know,' he thought, beginning to feel ashamed of his irritated gesture. «But why should they love me so much, if I am not worthy of it? Oh, if I were alone and no one loved me… All this would never have happened!'” (440). Once again, we see how strongly Raskolnikov believes that he should be alone. Dostoevsky uses this last farewell between brother and sister to show the extent of the mental consequences of the crime. He finds comfort in Sonya, a girl forced into prostitution to support her family. Eventually, Raskolnikov, with Sonya's help, realizes what he has become and that the only way to end his suffering is to confess to the police. He does so and is sentenced to eight years in Siberia. However, it is evident from the end of the book that his imprisonment is much less painful than his time on the run from the law: “His attitude towards his new life was very direct and simple; he had a clear awareness of his situation, expected no immediate improvement, entertained none of the frivolous hopes so natural to his situation, and showed almost no surprise at anything in his new surroundings."(Dostoevsky 457). He appears much calmer than when he was hiding his secret. In the end he also comes to terms with his crime, realizes that he is in love and looks forward to life after Siberia. The women in these books also suffer a kind of personal punishment. Although they do not flee from the law, like Dimmesdale and Raskolnikov, Hester and Sonya also suffer in their own way. Hester has already been tried and found guilty of the crime of adultery. His material punishment is wearing the scarlet letter, but he also has to face citizens and their vicious stares and comments. He does not flee the Puritan settlement because he feels that "it had been the scene of his guilt, and here should be the scene of his earthly punishment...and so...the torture of his daily shame would ultimately purify his soul", (189). Hester imposes this punishment on herself because she feels she deserves it. Hester lives in the woods with no one but her daughter Pearl. She subjects her life to hard work as a seamstress and even when she shows penance, it is not accepted. The mental torment Hester experiences is a greater punishment than her sentence of solitary confinement. “One day, as her mother bent over the cradle, [Pearl's] eyes were caught by the glittering… letter; and, raising her little hand, she grasped it—then, panting, Hester Prynne grasped the fatal symbol, instinctively attempting to tear it away; so infinite was the torture inflicted” (203). Hester's almost physical pain shows the extreme extent of her mental torture, so great that it almost seems real. Toward the end of the book Hester briefly removes the letter and "breathed a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish lifted from her spirit...her sex, her youth, and all the riches of her beauty, they returned." from what men call the irrevocable past… and a happiness previously unknown” also returned (301). The letter sucked the life out of Hester; without it, not only her beauty but also her happiness momentarily return. Sonya, in Crime and Punishment, faces a punishment that surpasses any punishment the community police could have inflicted on her. Sonya's punishment does not come from outside, from a community or a court, but from within. Prostitution is the cause of her torment. Its effects are very obvious: she is very poor and unhappy and everyone in town looks down on her. A letter written by Dunya's boyfriend states that Sonya is "a girl of 'notorious' conduct" (200). Additionally, a woman and her daughter refuse to attend a funeral party for Sonya's father because the woman did not want her daughter to associate with people like Sonya. We can see the effects of Sonya's "punishment" in the way she interacts with others. . He often responds to people in a surprised and frightened manner. When she enters Raskolnikov's room and finds his family there, she is described as "shy" and "embarrassed". This could result from the constant and severe control by citizens. We can also see the conditions of his life; Raskolnikov notices a "simply and even poorly dressed girl" (199). All the money he earns goes immediately to his stepmother and brothers; she has almost nothing left, but she must continue her shameful occupation for the sake of her family. Despite the fact that Hester and Sonya are also tormented characters, they are described by Hawthorne and Dostoevsky as stronger characters – more mentally and emotionally stable – than their male partners. Hester and Sonya are sources of comfort to Dimmesdale and Raskolnikov respectively; both try to help and save men. For example, when Dimmesdale tells Hester that he wants to give up because he feels like a “man without a conscience” (290), she tries to encourage him: “You are wrong in that. You are.