ok i'm still stuck on how that passage on chp. 18 about the relationship between hester and dimmesdale symbolizes the decay of puritan society. and also hawthorne freakin contradicts himself. remember in chp. 13 when he talks about the scarlet letter ironicaly giving hester more freedom in a way because it allowed her freedom of thought?? well now in chp. 18 he says that when she removes the letter, she feels as if she had never felt the "weight" until she felt the "freedom" HUUUUHHH??? i mean, is that totally contradictory or wut?? so i sit around for a while and try to decipher that,and come up with mebbe the scarlet letter is actually a symbol of FALSE freedom, since it was bestowed on her by the decaying puritan society. so in effect, when she takes off the letter, is it a symbol of her throwing away the "falsehood" that the puritans gave her? and if so, does this mean that the scarlet letter is fake, and that her adultery has already been forgiven, so that while the scarlet letter had some type of meaning when it was first put on, it is now void because heaven has forgiven her thru her penance? cuz it also says that when she takes off the letter, the sunshine "burst" "forth" "as with the smile of heaven". so i guess that it shows that her sin HAS been forgiven, and her wearing the letter is simply another sin, in that it no longer applies to her and her sin. u see what i mean? it just freakin doesnt' make sense. and then remember how in chp. 15, it talks about the pathway that she walks on as being all dark and gloomy and that she could never see the sunlight because of her sin, her sin being that she has not revealed who her lover is? and now in chp. 18 she sees the sunlight because she is now rid of her sin, her sin in THIS chapter being that she keeps wearing the letter even when it is no longer needed? arrrgghh!!.....and then how is this symbolic of puritan decay??? could it be because since heaven "smiles" upon hester and dimmesdale being together again, it shows that the puritans have gone overboard in their harshness in dealing with their society, and that heaven no longers favors their harsh ways?..huh??.does this make sense at all??

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damn i am such an english freak