In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, he focuses on the conflicting views of society and nature in the Puritan society and uses contrast, symbolism, and imagery to convey his beliefs. From the beginning of the novel, color was used symbolically, representing everything from life to death; punishment to freedom. The color red was used throughout the novel, most notably as the scarlet letter. A letter “A” was forced upon Hester’s chest by the Puritan society as punishment for her sin of adultery in the beginning of the novel, with gold lining surrounding a vibrant, red cloth. It felt to Hester as though the red cloth emanated a “burning heat; and as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red-hot iron” (30).
Nathaniel Hawthorne goes into depth about sins that most people don’t want to hear about. During the time period of The Scarlet Letter, adultery was extremely frowned upon, and was punishable by death. Dimmesdale kept the guilt and the pain of what he had done bundled up inside; Hester`s sin was brought to light she stood on a scaffold alone as people watched; Chillingworth was letting his anger and hatred control his very being. Hester along with her baby had nothing else to do, but stand and watch as her lover stood by. As she was tried for the very thing he should be tried for.
On the contrary, imprisoned in the Puritan way of thinking, the scarlet letter leads Arthur Dimmesdale to his fall. He is indeed gnawed by guilt and secrecy. *** The scarlet letter symbolises the Puritan’s stance on adultery and is considered as a deadly sin. The scarlet letter is referred to in almost every page. One has the impression that the letter represents the Puritan’s message that is drilled to the population in order to anchor it in their mind.
We contend that this startling and unpleasant introduction is the writer’s way, of letting the reader know; we are to hate and despise this character. As Chillingworth comes into town and sees his wife being punished for the crime of adultery, by having to wear a scarlet A for the rest of her life. He asks a bystander in the crowed why this woman was being punished. He is told, and his immediate reaction is that the man should also be punished. Hester is then taken back to prison where she was being held,
Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter: The Threshold "But there is a fatality, a feeling so irresistible and inevitable that it has the force of doom, which almost invariably compels human beings to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great and marked event has given the color to their lifetime; and still the more irresistibly, the darker the tinge that saddens it." (Hawthorne 83).With these words, this was the life of Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.” Hester Prynne has committed the sin of adultery and becomes pregnant with her lover’s child. She has to live and wear the letter a, which is embroidered on her clothing. Because of the symbolism of the threshold in “The Scarlet Letter,” Hester Prynne’s life is doubled by the actions she has done. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” Hester Prynne is sent to prison for her sin.
She not only feels deceit herself but she knows others feel it for her. Another big element in both books is despair in the main characters of the story. The feeling of despair is more prominent in Speak because the book focuses more on one character the entire story and not three like in The Scarlet Letter. Melinda’s feelings of despair really shape her character and how she sees herself, until the end of the story where she really gets rid of her despair and becomes almost a different person. In The Scarlet Letter, the character feeling the most despair is Dimmesdale.
While both an obvious symbol of adultery and sin, the scarlet letter worn by Hester is also a recurrent symbol of public judgment in this Massachusetts town. Hester’s behavior is premised on her desire to determine her own identity rather than to allow others to determine it for her. Although a mark of shame as seen by the community, she utilizes the letter as a way of identifying herself and her past experiences. Both this and the mere presence of her illegitimate daughter Pearl are big parts of her character in the story; to pretend that they do not exist would mean denying the essence of who she is. The torment with which she is subjected to by the community is not enough to drive her away, only to send her into a subjective mindset in which she more intelligibly begins to assess the morality of those around her.
One of the most significant A's is one the townspeople see on Dimmesdale's chest at the end of the novel. The letter A has a variety of meanings in the story, as well; it has a different meaning for each character. The community sees the letter as mark of righteous punishment. Hester acknowledges the A as a symbol of humiliation. Dimmesdale sees the letter as a reminder of his guilt.
One well-known example in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter is where the scarlet letter "A" pinned to Hester Prynne's breast represents adultery. The scarlet letter also has other, more subtle meanings. Also, the thesis investigates the main resources of Hawthorne's symbolic images. 1.2 Background of the study Symbolism in literature is the deep and hidden meaning in a piece of work. It is often used to represent a moral or religious belief or value.
Symbol and Interpretation in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. When Hester comes back to New England, Nathaniel Hawthorne comments upon her return with this sentence: she "resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale." The letter, as a "symbol," is thus the central subject of the book; Hester's story itself only corresponds to the "small roll of dingy paper" that provides an insight into the elusive meaning of the letter. The reader is thus invited to consider the whole story as a progressive uncovering of the "truth" of a symbol that constitutes one of the most enigmatic elements of American literature. Critics over the years focused on this search for a hidden significance, and put forward their own interpretation of this "truth."