International Journal of English and Literature (IJEL) ISSN 2249-6912 Vol. 2 Issue 4 Dec - 2012 21-26 TJPRC Pvt.

. Ltd.,

PSYCHOANALYTICAL TRAITS IN NATHANIEL HAWTHORNES THE SCARLET LETTER AND FYODOR DOSTOEVSKYS CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
URVASHI KAUSHAL Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat- 395007, India

ABSTRACT
The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthornes masterpiece is an endearing tale of love, adultery and penance. In this novel, Hawthorne explores the repercussion of crime in the strict Puritan Society of New England. However, what forms the epicentre of the novel is the internal turmoil of the characters involved and affected by the act of adultery. Hawthorne delineates the feeling of guilt, hatred, love, sympathy which controls the mind of the lead characters. Fyodor Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment traces the exploits of an intelligent, ambitious youth in the transitional Russian society. Through this novel, Dostoevsky explores the consequences of a well planned murder and delineates the mind of an otherwise innocent youth, disturbed by his act of crime. For more than a century these two novels have been analysed from various perspectives but what remains unexplored is the similarity in their depiction of the aftermath of crime. In both these novels Hawthorne and Dostoevsky have used similar technique in presenting the troubled psyche of the protagonists as a consequence of crime. Hence, this paper is an attempt to bring forth these two classics and analyse the use of psycho analysis in them.

KEY WORDS: Psychoanalysis, Stream Of Consciousness, Crime, Sin, Isolation, Consequence INTRODUTION
Psychoanalysis, as a technique in literature became immensely popular with the emergence of stream of consciousness technique. In Psychology, Psychoanalysis designates concomitantly three things- Firstly, a method of mind investigation. And especially of the unconscious mind; secondly a therapy of neurosis inspired from the above method; and finally a new stand alone discipline which is based on the knowledge acquired from applying the investigation method and clinical experiences. According to Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis is a specific mind investigation technique and a therapy inspired from this investigation. However, even before the publication of William Jamess Principles of Psychology where he coined the phrase Stream of consciousness, writers in various parts of the world were experimenting with techniques to delineate the mind of the characters. Two such writers are Nathaniel Hawthorne and Fyodor Dostoevsky who used the method of mind investigation in their works. This paper aims to analyse the use of psychoanalysis by these two writers Psychoanalysis in this paper is used in the context of a method of mind investigation and not as a therapy or a theory to be implemented. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the finest artists produced by the New England Renaissance and one in whom we see a most realistic and penetrating mind. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in a prominent family of Salem, a village near Massachusetts. His ancestors were instrumental in the establishment and strict adherence of Puritanical Code of law. Hawthornes obsession with his past and his hometown, Salem, established a deeper kinship with his Puritan ancestors and if crime was an awful reality for his Puritan ancestors, it became a psychological obsession for Hawthorne. Apart from the background, another thing that added to his moral contemplation was his love for isolation. Whether it was because of a

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change of place or an injured foot, Hawthornes childhood was mostly spent indoors. He grew to love his hours of solitude in which his only companions were his story books which he read hour after hour. Hawthornes love for solitude and reading earned him few friends during his college years. After graduation he spent twelve years of self-imposed isolation spending his time in reading the history of Salem and New England. The impact of isolation on his personality was such that he spent hours in introspection which also helped him in his speculation of the human psyche. His first novel The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850 which instantly became famous for its in depth analysis of the consequence of crime. The novel opens with the first scaffold scene in which the heroine, Hester Prynne is introduced as an adulteress, who had broken the moral order of the Puritan society. Two years ago, Hester was sent to Boston by her aging husband who was to follow her after sometime. Instead her husband reaches Boston to see her stand on the pedestal of shame, holding her child, the living proof of her crime. Hester faces her ignominy alone and is undeterred by the requests of the priests and leaders of the community to name her partner in sin. Ironically her partner in sin, Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale was also present and silently observes Hester bear her humiliation alone. Dimmesdales lack of courage to confess his crime makes him a miserable man. Even while Hester accepts her sin and wears the letter A symbolising adulteress on her bosom, Dimmesdale suffers from a burden on his soul. In spite of her acceptance of her punishment Hesters love for Dimmesdale is not diminished. Instead she plans of escaping to England with Dimmesdale and their child, Pearl. On the surface the novels seems to be a simple story of love, betrayal, revenge and guilt. Hawthornes use of psychoanalysis to delineate the thoughts of the characters makes it an intriguing masterpiece. He depicts not just the external events but also the mind of Dimmesdale. As Hawthorne writes, Notwithstanding his high native gifts and scholar- like attainments, there was an air about this young minister an apprehensive, a started, a half- frightened look- as of a being who felt himself quite astray, and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own. (86) Dimmesdales passionate appeal to Hester, to relieve a guilty heart of a life of hypocrisy, unravels before the readers his own role in the crime. In the terrible ambivalence of his position, Dimmesdale wants Hester to name him, even as he does not want to be named. Therefore he says: Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness, for believe me, Hester, though your partner in crime were to step down from a high place and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can the silence do for him, except it tempt himyea, compel him, as it were- to add hypocrisy to sin. Hence through these lines Hawthorne shows the dilemma in the mind of Dimmesdale where being named would bring shame and disgrace, but also the relief of standing clear in ones own identity. His appeal to Hester is thus sincere. He is asking her to help him in a way that he cannot help himself. The impact of crime on the mind of Hesters partner is shown to be of greater significance by Hawthorne. Although Dimmesdale is able to save himself from the public humiliation and punishment that Hester has to face he becomes a miserable man. His mind is tormented by his unconfessed sin. While describing the state of the minister, Hawthorne writes: About this period, however, the health of Mr. Dimmesdale had evidently begun to fail....His form grew emancipated; his voice though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of decay in it; he was often observed , on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain.(146)

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Dimmesdale suffers because he carries a secret in his hearts, which he cannot confess openly. However he realises that his social status as a pastor in the Puritan society, makes his involvement in the act of adultery even more condemnable a crime than that of Hesters. He was her pastor and her spiritual mentor. It had been his duty to guide Hester in her pursuit, but he became a violator of a moral code. In this context, Terence Martin remarks, But we gradually come to see why he cannot help himself. For, with all his physical and psychological debility, which makes him seem weak and gives him the posture of a moral invalid deserving of pity, Dimmesdale is afflicted with a devious pride. He cannot surrender an identity which brings him the adulation of his parishioners, the respect and praise of his peers. His contortions in the guise of humility only add to the public admiration which, in turn, feeds an ego fundamentally intent on itself. (115 Terence Martin) Thus, Dimmesdale passes his days in a state of dilemma, where on one hand he wants to scream and confess his crime, and on the other, enjoy the love and respect of his parishioners. During one of his nights of penance, the thought of going to the scaffold comes to Dimmesdale. And he goes to the scaffold in the darkness of night. Fortunately he sees Hester and her daughter Pearl whom he calls to join him on the scaffold. The three stand together on the scaffold, forming a chain. It was a mock confession, where Dimmesdale tries to gather courge to stand with his partner and his product of sin. But he still lacks the courage to do so in the day time, as he tells Pearl the same. However from the pedestal of shame, Dimmesdale sees a great scarlet letter A in the sky, which according to him was an indication of his guilt. Dimmesdales troubled heart is further harassed by Hesters husband, Roger Chillingworth who under the pretext of a physician, sticks like a leech with Dimmesdale and makes him weaker by probing time and again into his secret thoughts. Rev. Dimmesdale is finally able to overcome his dilemma towards the end of the novel when he realises that in spite of being tempted to escape to England with Hester and Pearl he will not be able to run away from his conscience. Hence after his election sermon he accends the scaffold along with Hester and Pearl at mid day and confesses his crime to the gathering. Thus in spite of Chillingworths vehement protests he unburdens his soul, he bids farewell to Hester and Pearl and attains peace. Hence Hawthorne suggests that only when Dimmesdale confesses his crime to the public, is there hope for his soul. He clears his conscience, which for seven years had been in an agony of guilt. In this novel Hawthorne has also probed the presence of evil and its consequence, through Roger Chillingworth, who vows to avenge the wrong done to him and Hester. He commits a crime blacker than the ministers as he decides to make torturing Dimmesdale the purpose of his existence. He probes Dimmesdales mind with the intention of torturing him. He lives to stop Dimmesdale from confessing his crime and relieving his conscience. Thus, aiming to make Dimmesdale meet his death burdened by his own guilt, he uses his skill as a physician to keep Dimmesdale alive, so that he can continue to punish him psychologically. He wrecks a terrible revenge upon Dimmesdale through seven years of consummate torture, seven wilful, malicious, treacherous, vengeance. His exhilaration on finally seeing the letter A carved on the bosom of sleeping Dimmesdale, conveys the evil in his heart. Through the character of Chillingworth Hawthorne also shows the transformation that a person undergoes when his mind is occupied with evil thoughts. Old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of mans faculty of transforming himself into a devil.(205) An analysis of Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter will not be complete without his contribution to psychoanalysis. As Arlin Turner in his book Nathaniel Hawthorne writes: In his recognition of hidden life and his description of mental processes, Hawthorne was a psychologist ahead of his time.(73) Without the proper knowledge of the concepts of psychoanalysis Hawthorne has used it to delineate the impact of crime on the minds of his characters. In case of Hester, he has successfully shown the distinction between her external

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actions and her thoughts. In Dimmesdales case we come to know his true identity, from his thoughts. The chapter, Interior of a heart, reveals the mental suffering and agony of the minister. His reputation as a priest is now at its height, but his life is at a very low ebb. He is haunted by all kinds of visions. In case of Chillingworth, Hawthorne use psychoanalysis not just as a tool to depict the evil intentions of the physician but also shows Chillilnworths misuse of it by reading and influencing the minsters mind. Hence we can say that through his insight and use of psychoanalysis and symbols Hawthorne has depicted the consequences of crime on the minds of the lead characters. He has traced their mental states to show how they suffer and ultimately pay for their wrong deeds. Fyodor M. Dostoevsky was born on Oct.31, 1821 and grew up in a country that was preparing the grounds for revolution. Dostoevskys personal life was as turbulent as the Russian society. In his youth he was inspired by the intelligentsia which secretly dreamt of utopian socialism. He was imprisoned for attending secret meetings of such groups. But his experience in prison also provided Dostoevsky with an unusual insight into the criminal mind, which greatly helped him to enrich his works. Being a keen observer of the society Dostoevsky was able to reveal in his novels the social and psychological problems that confronted Russia in the nineteenth century. Crime and Punishment is the first of his five major works and it reveals the authors mastery over psychological observation and analysis. It reveals the in depth experience of a young man before and after he commits a murder. Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov was a brilliant the student who belonged to artisan class, and had come to St. Petersburg to study law. Coming from a poor family, which had almost no means of livelihood, it gradually became difficult for Raskolnikov to continue his education. A revolutionary and a brooder by nature, he falls under the spell of some radical ideas, which were gaining prominence among the youth of that age. Raskolnikov propounded a theory according to which humanity can be divided into two categories the supermen and the lice. The supermen with their strength of will create history and the lice, the ordinary people do not contribute anything new. He composes an article in which he expresses his revolutionary ideas, that the supermen can commit a murder, for the benefit of the society and by their intellectual and logical planning, finish the act, without being caught. With this view in mind Raskolnikov contemplates murder and to put his theory into action he chooses an old, greedy and deaf pawnbroker. His task becomes easy because of a number of coincident. But even before the actual crime Raskolnoikov feels frightened and suffers from nightmares and even feels disgusted at his own thought as he tells himself, How loathsome it all is! Can I, can I ever? no, it is absurd, preposterous. How could such a horrible idea ever enter my head? Could I ever be capable of such infamy? (10) Though Raskolnikov plans the murder carefully, the murder itself is carried out almost mechanically, with a mixture of devious cunning and neurotic blundering. He reaches the pawnbroker, Alenas house with a blunt hatchet and commits the murder in cold blood. He strikes her twice and witnesses her falling down in the pool of blood. But soon after her death Raskolnikov feels frightened and nervous. He forgets his logical plan and is able to take few things. In his state of nervousness he realises that he had left the door open and Alenas sister, Elizaveta had returned. Hence Raskolnikov is forced to kill her. Even after careful planning he makes one blunder after another. As he is ready to leave, the door bell rings. After waiting for sometime the caller gets suspicious and leaves to get help. Raskolnikov stands behind the door terrorised and later slips out and hides in an empty flat that was being painted. He returns home in a state of anxiety and falls in an unconscious sleep.

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Soon after the murder Raskolnikov finds himself in a state of delirium. He is subject to violent fits of emotion which exhaust him and render the outer world invisible. He wakes up from his state of semi consciousness and surveys his clothes for blood- stains. Later in his interaction with the police, Raskolnikov is always full of guilt even though the police never suspects him. A major consequence of his crime was that he begins to find it difficult to tell dream states from waking ones. He is unable to recall his visitors and the only thing that stirs his consciousness, is the talk of Alenas murder. Pre-occupied with the murder, even in his state of delirium, Raskolnikov becomes a victim of his own act. He fails to find peace and is continuously troubled by the thoughts related to the murder. Crime isolates him and the guilt instigates rage in him. In his interaction with people, he is often angry and suspicious. His conscience continuously tells him that what he did was a loathsome act. This makes him gloomy and irritated. Raskolnikov thus becomes a criminal in search of his own motive. He is aware of several motives that keep eluding him as his thoughts shift among them, and there are times when they all seem equally unreal to him. Thus he becomes desperate in his needs of a single uncontroversial motive. He asks himself: If it had really been done deliberately and not idiotically, if I really had a certain and definite object, how is it that i did not even glance into the purse and didnt know what I had there. Then why have I undergone these agonies and have deliberately undertaken this base, dirty and degrading business. (72) Hence, the crime that he had committed generates a punishment in his mind. Instead of elation and power, he feels uncertainty and confusion. His meeting with Porphirus Petrovitch an intelligent detective who was given the charge of Alenas murder case unnerves him. Porfirys indirect talk of murder but delayed cross-examination of Raskolnikov troubles him. The burden of his guilt draws him away from his family and towards Sonia, a kind girl who is forced into prostitution due to poverty. Her immensely spiritual nature helps him in unburdening his soul and he confesses his crime. She understands his suffering and asks him to go to prison, rather than to live a life carrying a burdened conscience. But even though he was troubled Raskolnikov is not convinced, as he does not want to confess. Both Sonia and Porfiry in their own way change Raskolnikov. With his keen penetrating psychological insight Porfiry impresses upon him the necessity of confession. His knowledge of Raskolnikovs article and the psychology of a criminal mind helps him play a game with Raskolnikov where he hints that he knows about his crime but does not openly confront him. Porfiry and Sonia both saw that Raskolnikov was a man of ideas, a sort of rebel but misdirected therefore they wanted to bring in spiritual transformation in him. By his use of psychoanalysis Dostoevsky brings about the thoughts of another criminal Svidrigailov, whose lack of remorse after committing his wife and servants murder makes him different from Raskolnikov. In spite of his numerous efforts Raskolnikov fails to be a ruthless, selfish superman like Svidrigailov. On the other hand the influence of Sonia and Profiry and his troubled conscience guide Raskolnikov to the path of peace. He finally confesses his crime. In his eight years in prison he learns to repent his act and realises the ineptness of his theory. He realises that according to his theory, for the superior person crime was really trivial, but he was not able to regard it as trivial and was further disturbed by it. Hence with his restored faith he starts his journey to gradual regeneration. As the real subject of the novel is the mind of Raskolnikov, Dostoevskys knowledge of psychology cannot be ignored. Through his deep penetrating psychological insight, he has given a clear picture of Raskolnikovs suffering after the murder. Dostoevsky narrates Raskolnikovs thoughts and dreams to show what troubles his mind. After the murder, Raskolnikov lives in confusion. He cannot find the real motive of his crime. As Philip Rahv writes : Never quite certain as

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to what it was exactly that induced him to commit murder, he must continuously spy on himself in a desperate effort to penetrate his own psychology and attain the self-knowledge he needs if he is to assume responsibility for his absurd and hideous act. (Rene Wellek Ed. - 20) There is a conflict between the rational conscious mind and the unconscious mind. His unconscious mind repeatedly tries to betray him into exposing his own guilt, and his rational conscious self tries to protect the criminal in him, and justify the act. Through Raskolnikovs inner turmoil Dostoevsky also tries to show the contradiction between good and evil in man. For instance, after Raskolnikov excitedly tries to save a drunken young girl from the aged rake who hounds her, he gives into equally sudden despair and says, Let them devour each other alive, for all I care. The sudden shift of mind accompanies him, when after committing brutal murder, he helps the Marmeladoffs by secretly leaving money in their house. Dostoevsky also tells us about the dreams and visions that haunt Raskolnikov. He is haunted by dreams, like the one in which he is again striking at Alena, who refuses to die and laughs at him. Through his psychological insight, Dostoevsky shows how Raskolnikovs illusions about his superiority are shattered and his reason and intellect fail him during and after the murder. Dostoevskys main concern was to show how, only logical justification of an act is not enough. Ones conscience should also approve. With the use of psychoanalysis he shows that inspite of Raskolnikovs efforts to justify his crime through reason, he is surrounded by doubts. Even though for a whole month, no one suspects him, his punishment rendered by his conscience begins soon after the murder. Thus both the characters, Arthur Dimmesdale of The Scarlet Letter and Raskolnikov of Crime and Punishment are internally punished even before their crime is detected. Hawthorne and Dostoevsky have delineated the mental confusion and agony of these two characters to show how they are torn between the desire to confess and their inability to do so. The anguish, pain and suffering caused by the very conscience of the criminal have been justly portrayed because of the use of psychoanalysis by the writers. With their deep understanding of human nature and expertise in their craft they have produced masterpieces which, in power and impact, have been rarely surpassed in the field of literary art. The novels of these writers reveal that they were not just great creative writers but also psychologists.

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. Nathaniel Hawthorne. (1992) The Scarlet Letter. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited. Fyodor M. Dostoevsky (1993) Crime and Punishment. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited. Philip Rahv. (1962) Raskolnikov, Hegel, and Nietzsche. Dostoevsky: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Rene Wellek. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall Inc. 4. Arlin Turner. (1961). Nathaniel Hawthorne: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston Inc. 5. 6. Terence Martin. (1965). .Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers Inc. Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisTechniques and Practice. 2002. Retrieved from

http://www.freudfile.org/psychoanalysis/definition.html.