Traditionalist view of Scarlet Letter

Traditionalist view of Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter describes the life of Hester Prynne and how her sins hurt not only herself but also everybody else whom she was ever close to.   The point of view that seems to be most supported, logical, and believable is the traditional view.   Traditionalists believe that Hester sinned through blind passion and her sin caused tragedy.
The romantic view claims that Hester has no shame or remorse for her sin and that she is even proud of it.   This is untrue because "judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another" is a perfect example of her acknowledging her sin as something that she isn't proud of.   The romantic view also says that Hester gave everything to love.   This is also untrue because if she truly loved Dimmesdale she would have told him that Chillingworth was her husband from the very beginning.   She should not have made the promise to conceal Chillingworth's identity when she knew all along that Chillingworth's only intent was to torture Dimmesdale.   The final and most obvious reason that the romantic view is flawed is that to hold the romantic view one must discount the final chapter.   If you discount the final chapter then it isn't the same story.
The transcendentalist point of view is by far the most pathetic defense for Hester's actions.   The transcendentalists believe that Hester was not really married in the sight of God and that she had never truly been married.   Whether you like it or not, when you take your wedding vows you are officially married in the sight of God.   Hester never should have married Chillingworth in the first place if she didn't love him.   He might have tried to force her into marriage but every person is responsible for his or her own actions and can decide for themselves whether or not they want to get married.   Another point of the transcendentalist view that seems absurd is that they believe she sinned against her own conscience.   All along she knew what she did was...