In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is led to have an affair by her repressed unconscious desires, what Freud calls the id. Similarly, Arthur Dimmesdale struggles with his internal guilt and refuses to confess his sin; he attempts to think rationally and therefore embodies the ego. Finally, Salem himself represents the superego, which confines an individual's behavior to societal norms; the author directly expresses his contempt for this puritanical society. Hawthorne uses these elements of the story ironically, portraying society's moral boundaries as wrong and praising Hester for transcending these boundaries; using sarcastic diction, he therefore uses Freud's id, ego and superego critically. Specifically, an analysis of each character's actions – Hester's return to society and Dimmesdale's cowardly self-loathing – reveals a distinctly different personality in the two, linked to Hawthorne's belief in the hypocrisy of society . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayHester's affair, spurred by her unconscious desire to celebrate her brand of shame rather than let it cast a shadow over her reputation, leads him to be banished to the margins of society; the heroic language used to describe her later reinstatement suggests that Hawthorne admires Hester's drive and passion and therefore the psychological element she represents, the id. When Hester and Roger meet face to face for the first time after his return, she confesses to him what he already knew: “I felt no love and feigned none” (Hawthorne 53). The author immediately provides us with a justification for Hester's sin, and with the phrase "neither feigned any" he also begins to establish Hester's honesty and credibility. Although he is immediately introduced to the societal repercussions of Hester's sin—the opening scene depicts her emerging from her prison cell—Hawthorne quickly asserts his sympathy for her condition, thus setting a precedent for further characterization. Additionally, the letter she carries serves as the primary motivation for her actions, due to her unconscious desire to rebel against the societal constraints imposed on her. Hawthorne calls the Letter "her passport to regions where other women dared not enter", suggesting that it allows her to decide her own moral state rather than being dictated to by society; he describes her “spirit of native courage and activity” and once again glorifies her condition (130). Given that living away from society allowed Hester to explore these new “regions,” one can immediately conclude that Salem has stunted her moral exploration for the worse. Hester's creativity and desire to change the meaning of the Letter is manifested through her sewing. Hawthorne states that "[she] had in her nature a rich and voluptuous oriental characteristic, a taste for the magnificently beautiful which, except in the exquisite productions of her needle, found nothing else in all the possibilities of her life." , to practice on” (58). Here, Hawthorne provides a stark contrast to Hester's confident exterior in the first part of the novel; Having been excluded from society, she now finds herself faced with limited options in daily life. In this case, specific adjectives like “rich” and “voluptuous” offer positive connotations, and these project a tone of support for Hester despite her dismal state. Soon enough, Hester was able to regenerate her reputation to the point that her work became what is called "fashion", and the letter is believed to mean.