Isolation In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

There are many ways that people can isolate themselves. Isolation is not always something brought upon one’s self. Isolation can be optional, or a person may have no option in isolation. Stevie Smith, Nathaniel Hawthorne and E.A Robinson show, develop, and illustrate the theme of isolation in their short story and poems.

Psychology can play a major role in novels and the mental state of a character can reveal inner thoughts and desires. A character’s mental state can be classified under multiple psychological instances because they are based on the external influences. Each character’s case is unique and effects them in varied ways. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, characters face isolation of Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale to present his novel as an impact of that isolation.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many locations, which the main character, Hester Prynne, is often acquainted. One of the most memorable locations that Hester can be found in is the forest. Throughout the story, most other places bring sorrow to Hester, but not the forest. The forest is one of the few positive places for Hester. The forest has an encouraging impact on her because of its beauty and acts as a place of refuge for her.

"It was my folly! I have said it. But up to that epoch of my life, I had lived in vain. The world had been so cheerless! My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill and without a household fire. I longed to kindle one!"

Her decision to stay in the town is a form of self-penance which Hester uses to punish herself. Hester’s home is far from the town, but in close proximity to the woods. The woods symbolize her closeness to freedom from her exile, but she is tied to the place of her sin. She believed that New England “should be the place of her earthly punishment (Hawthorne 74).” However, she does meet with Reverend Dimmesdale in the woods, which closely connects both of them to the “Black Man, who haunts the forest”, who is the Devil and the ultimate symbol of evil (Hawthorne 72). She is also described as living in a “moral wilderness”, meaning that her exile from society caused her to develop her own ideas outside of the established ones of the

Hawthorne, in lines 63 to 66, compares Dimmesdale to a poor pilgrim, ready to faint anytime soon, who sees a glimpse of “human affection and sympathy, a new life . . . in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating.” The metaphor here perfectly summarizes what Dimmesdale felt when he saw Hester Prynne. He, the tormented pilgrim, desperately longs for a new life upon seeing Hester, the human affection and a true life. Another metaphor Hawthorne uses is seen in lines 67 to 77, associating Dimmesdale’s soul to a citadel with a ruined wall because of a “breach which guilt has once made into the human soul.” This extended metaphor of the effects of sin and the brokenness and vulnerability of Dimmesdale further expounds on how Dimmesdale’s fragile mental state could only further

In nearly everything she does, as a young child, she finds immense pleasure. However, the forest is also a safe place. the unhappy culprit sustained herself as best a woman might, under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes all fastened upon her, and concentrated on her bosom. Her existence came from what Puritanism deems “evil”. Hester demonstrates human naturalness by obeying her instinctual urges and having a relationship with Reverend Dimmesdale.

I do not want to bother you, for I know that you are always very busy. I am although, very concerned with the situation dealing with Mrs.Hester Prynne, and her young daughter Pearl. A child needs to grow up learning to communicate with others, and making many friends. A life of isolation is not suitable for a child. If Hester was to become ill or injured who would take care of Pearl? Lastly, how do we know if Pearl is being brought up right? Obviously Mrs.Prynne does not have the same morals as we do.

Conflict is first observed through Hester’s ongoing difficulties with her fellow townspeople. Hester receives ridicule from on looking townspeople, as a gossiping woman states, ‘ “At the very least, they

The Forest is seen as a frontier, where anything can happen and anything can exist whether it’s good, freedom, individualism, or even evil. The town, however, is a civilized place where one must follow orders and laws, and a place where human Desires normally do not prosper. The town resembles the evil and the human possibilities meaning that Hester and Dimmesdale’s possibility of being together in the town is not very promising due to how strict and evil that place can be. Hester and Dimmesdale’s human desires however lead them to the forest where anything can exist including their desires to be together. “Thus they went onward, not boldly but step by step, into the themes that were brooding deepest in their hearts. So long estranged by fate and circumstances, they needed something slight and causal to run before, and throw open the doors of intercourse, so that their real thoughts might be led across the threshold”(Hawthorne 163). This statement reveals the nature of the meeting between Dimmesdale and Hester in the forest, and all the emotions that they have kept locked inside their hearts. They both know that this meeting could have only occurred in the Forest because their desires cannot be fulfilled in the Town.

The place of isolation can become the place of revelation. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne's life after having a child, named Pearl, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, was away, having to live with an A on her chest for adultery. The father of the child, Arthur Dimmesdale, had to live with the guilt and continuously hurt himself because of it; the truth remained a secret to almost everyone, except Chillingworth, who planned to get revenge on him because of his sin. Chillingworth then became evil and changed because he wanted revenge on Dimmesdale and the guilt made Dimmesdale feel sick. Dimmesdale died after he told everyone the truth and Pearl gained a sense of compassion when she saw

It’s the irrational fear that every human has in the back of their mind: the fear of man. Everyone is worried about blending in to society’s norms and being accepted by their peers. It is damaging to the human consciousness to be alienated from society. He or she is constantly questioning their every move and will never become comfortable with who they are. They are constantly worried about finding their identity in others and, therefore, lose themselves in the process.

Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. Though she has been banished for committing adultery, she sees that the community needs her. Through her generous accomplishments the community realizes she is a person who, regardless of her sin, can affect the community in a positive way.

There has been a constant dispute over whether people should be governed by determinism or free will. Determinism is the idea that our actions and fate are predetermined and every occurrence can be explained or has a reason for happening; free will, in contrast, is the idea that we have the ability to act independently of external restraints. In the 17th century, Puritan society arose in New England as one that was governed by its religious views, and thus was a deterministic one. Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates this in his novel The Scarlet Letter, in which the characters Hester, Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Chillingworth are alienated by society. Although

The theme of isolation is highly present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.” Isolation Plays a very important role in the novel. Every main character finds themselves isolated in one way or another, but while some are absolutely and thoroughly destroyed by it, others gain loads of power. Characters Hester Prynne, Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale are all victims of isolation in the Puritan town of Boston, due to a different reasons such as Adultery, upbringing, and their past.