In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Ethan Brand,” the title character undertakes a quest for the Unpardonable Sin; but the story does not simply follow the Scriptural definition of this sin: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10). Hawthorne’s Brand defines the Unpardonable Sin in terms of a separation of the intellect and the heart, of losing his “hold of the magnetic chain of humanity.” Brand evidently experiments with people, drawing out the evil that lurks in their souls and bringing his victims to ruin to further his search. This presentation might suggest that sin is to be seen in secular humanist terms–there being nothing higher than man, there is no greater morality than love for humanity. Yet Brand’s definition incorporates much traditional language: “The sin of an intellect that triumphed over the sense of brotherhood with man, and reverence for God, and sacrificed everything to its own mighty claims!” It is not merely the connection to one’s fellow men that is disturbed, but a larger chain of being and a higher obligation. Brand goes on to remark on the consequences of his sin: “The only sin that deserves a recompense of immortal agony! Freely, were it to do again, would I incur the guilt. Unshrinkingly, I accept the retribution!” This is the language of divine judgment and punishment, the language of a man shouting defiance at a tribunal higher than his fellow men. Sin and Forgiveness in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Ethan Brand” Justin D. Lyons
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