Is there a thing such as too much guilt?

By basing many of his pages out of his own family history, Hawthorne was able to relieve himself of the heavy burden of his family’s past. Hawthorne admitted that he had felt guilt for sharing blood with the witchcraft judge, his ancestor, John Hathorne. This inherited guilt made Hawthorne feel some type of guilt for committing a crime he didn’t do, but rather a crime his ancestor committed. His family’s background as Puritans served as a heavy influence on his writings. Puritans, with all their strictness, “simplicity” and taboo of the joys of life, emphasized on sin, pride and shame. Because of Hawthorne’s background, he often wrote pages of the moral corruption in human nature, such as in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Perhaps, Hawthorne felt that generations and generations of guilt ran through his veins as he was born into a somewhat discriminatory community. 
                                                              ❤❤❤Guadalupe Cervantes